However advantageous staff development sounds or how much the principal favors it, money and time are needed to build an effective staff development program. The principal must arrange for the funds and schedule staff development time into the school's master calendar. Staff development costs money, and unless the school budget includes funds for convention expenses, travel, consultant fees, lodging, food, materials, visiting speakers, etc., staff development will be relegated to the back burner. The proposal should comprise supporting data that explain all expenses in detail, including supporting rationale statements for allocating as much time and money as possible for staff development initiatives. The wise principal knows that staff development initiatives do not necessarily come from outside the school system.
Outside speakers can help if they know the faculty's needs.
The principal, of course, must match speakers with needs. Conversely, some of the best staff development initiatives come from within the school system. Funds are needed to train these individuals, but once trained, the school has access to inside expertise with little or no additional cost other than the initial training expenses. What initiatives are adopted and where the training is held are variables best determined by faculty and principal collaboration. All these efforts are dependent upon a principal who understands his role in staff development.