discuss what potential changes in resources are needed at the district and school levels in order to achieve the goals. With goals in place, it becomes easier to ask if a pro- posed use of resources furthers the district’s mission and contributes to the district’s plan to improve student achievement.
Goals also form the basis for evaluating whether resources have been used effectively. After resources have been used, the effectiveness of that investment can be assessed more easily.
Pay for Priorities
Data on current costs and staffing for existing instruc- tional strategies are essential to the budget process. Data on a school district’s current cost and staffing structure help a district identify underinvestment in high-priority programs, provide a starting point for identifying trade- offs amongst different uses of resources, and may spur an investigation into new ways of providing a service. Personnel is the most significant cost for school dis-
tricts. Hence, analyzing a district’s cost structure must start with understanding staffing patterns and alloca- tions. Districts should also analyze their cost structure more generally. Districts should prepare an inventory of programmatic elements as the foundation for evaluating and prioritizing spending. Ideally, the inventory will include the purpose of the programmatic element, its cost, and some type of objec- tive evidence of its cost-effectiveness. The costs of each element should include all direct costs, including com- pensation for personnel and equipment used. Districts should also identify a clear timeline for reviewing and, where necessary, sunsetting programs. This can improve stakeholder support.
A district should ensure that the programmatic element review and sunset process are transparent, especially the rationale for sunsetting a programmatic element. It should also ensure that all costs associated with the programmatic element are eliminated or real- located to another programmatic element. In the case of personnel, accommodations should be made to the greatest extent possible, including transfer to available positions elsewhere in the district. Of course, budgeting is an inherently political activ-
ity, and incremental budgeting is common because it minimizes political conflict. A non-incremental approach to budgeting must take steps to manage political differ- ences and channel those differences into constructive conversation.
Implement the Plan
After deciding on the instructional priorities that the district will pursue and how to pay for those priorities,
30 MAY 2022 | SCHOOL BUSINESS AFFAIRS
the decisions should be documented in a strategic finan- cial plan. This plan is intended primarily to serve as a communication device that looks at the next three to five years and provides a broad outline of the instruc- tional priorities the district will pursue and how it will pay for them. Further, the strategic financial plan should be com- prehensive, reflecting all district resources. For example, the plan should not be limited to just direct instructional services but should also articulate the role of support services and central services in achieving the district’s performance goals. The plan should also include 100% of the district’s resources (e.g., general funds as well as categorical funds). Finally, a well-crafted strategic financial plan becomes an agreement among stakeholders about what defines success in the district and what it takes to be successful. Accordingly, it is a simple and powerful communications tool. The GFOA recommends that a district document the strategic financial plan in a concise, understandable, and interesting way.
Ensure Sustainability
Finally, the district should establish a reporting process to inform district administrators and the board about imple- menting the strategy. An appropriate timeline and set of milestones should be developed. The district should eval- uate progress towards milestones within its plan of action that will ultimately lead to improved student learning. The experiences of implementing the budget and plan of action, as well as the actual results achieved, should be “fed back” into the budget process for the following year to help the district make decisions on whether to continue, expand, or cut spending on a given program.
Find Out More
The Smarter School Spending process website (http://
smarterschoolspending.org) helps school districts address challenges associated with the ever-present need to improve student outcomes within the constraints of limited funding. The website provides free tools and resources, including GFOA’s Best Practices in School Budgeting.
The website is organized around a multi-step process for districts to develop and implement a strategic finan- cial plan and budget on their own or with support from a technical assistance provider. In addition it provides districts with various resources, from meeting materials to analytical tools that will guide districts through the financial planning and budgeting process.
Carol MacLeod is senior project manager, Research and Con- sulting Center, Government Finance Officers Association. Email:
carol.macleod@
gfoa.org
asbointl.org
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