With a large white binder filled with endless papers and a never-ending ringing phone, finance manager Harry Delu is committed to teaching students how to use their money productively and responsibly.
The binder, meticulously tracking purchases and expenditures, is not the only thing Delu uses to organize his office. Sitting behind a computer covered in Post-It notes, Delu, who’s been at Venice since 2004, is constantly managing the money for school teams.
“I normally try to educate whoever comes to work with me on the basics of financial literacy: the essence of being disciplined and how to manage your money,” said Delu.
Delu’s goal is to educate students financially and teach them how to appropriately save and spend their money. He said that credit is one of the most important things for students to know about when they enter adulthood. He said it’s important because credit is what’s checked before people can buy expensive things like cars and houses.
“By the time that students get out, they are more or less in the debt of credit cards,” he said. “Credit rating is one of the key things to use in this country.”
The school’s budget is planned before the school year even starts. He said that the budget for the following school year is usually decided in May and is an estimate.
“The budget consists of estimated expenses and the estimated incomes for the school year,” said Delu.
The budget then has to be approved by the district.
According to Delu, sports games, specifically the Homecoming football game, have brought in a lot of income. The Homecoming game alone made $19,600.
Football games have brought $42,000 this past semester even though there were fewer games than in previous years. Additionally, Girls’ volleyball brought in $12,000 from just one tournament. Delu said that next year we are anticipated to have more games which will bring in more profit.
Delu said Title One makes sure that boys’ and girls’ teams get the same amount of money. This way, “there is no discrimination.”
Though there are a lot of profits, there are also expenses that have to be accounted for.
Other school events like the Homecoming dance also bring profit for the school.
“That was $19,000,” he said. “The amount of money we generated includes the sales from spirit packages and individual ticket sales.”
Even though vending machine sales are a consistent income for Venice, Delu advises students to get their snacks from the student store.
“It’s better for them to come to the student store,” said Delu. “The money we generate in the student store is getting back to the students.”
He mentions that the money from vending machines doesn’t always go back to the students.
“It’s like going to a casino in Las Vegas,” said Delu. “It’s a 50-50 chance.”
Delu hopes that students will spend their money appropriately and wisely while participating in school events.
“Safety is one of my priorities, and every student has to be safe whenever we are doing any activities on campus.”
