Best Practices in School Budgeting

How does a school board make sure its budget is aligned with what it wants its students to achieve academically?

The Government Finance Officers Association has devised a systematic approach to budgeting that helps school districts do just that. Matt Bubness, senior manager of the nonprofit organization, outlined those best practices for school board members attending KSBA’s Summer Leadership Institute. 

 

The theme throughout the steps of the approach, Bubness said, is “to help better align resources and student outcomes, to really get that best bang for your buck in what you’re trying to do in promoting achievement and ultimately providing good futures and good outcomes for the kids that you serve.”

Budgeting is more than a financial exercise to be left to the budget director or CFO, he said. “It needs to be much more of a participatory type of process, to really make sure you’re able to achieve the outcome and the missions and the goals that you have as an organization, and as a school district, making sure that you are able to deliver those services adequately – hopefully more than adequately – to your community, to the kids who are attending your district.”

The process should connect the financial and academic sides of a school district, be more proactive than reactionary, and be an ongoing process not confined to the current fiscal year, Bubness said.

In smart school spending, he explained, a district’s strategic plan drives the budget, focusing on student achievement instead of limited resources. He outlined a four-step process that starts with planning and preparing, extends through setting goals and instructional priorities, and then developing a strategic financial plan to pay for them before implementation.

“What we’re trying to do is get out of this mindset in terms of just building upon what you’ve done in the past and instead thinking much more comprehensively in terms of whether or not certain things should be done in the district or things should be done a little differently,” Bubness said. The result provides a framework on which to base the district’s allocations.

According to the GFOA’s framework, it’s important to include internal and external stakeholders in the budgeting process, both for input and to ensure these stakeholders understand the “whys” of subsequent budget decisions.

Bubness said GFOA’s best practices for school budgeting may result in more involvement in the budget process by school boards, but “at the level that is beneficial. … I think there’s a difference between hands-on and micromanaging, making sure that you need to let the people that they’ve hired as the governing body also do their functions and their jobs.”

Another initiative
The Government Finance Officers Association’s budgeting program dovetails with the strategic budgeting work the Prichard Committee on Academic Excellence is doing with several school districts. The need to focus district priorities and resources in a way that generates an academic return on investment is especially important as state dollars for public education continue to shrink, said Perry Papka, director of policy and research for the Prichard Committee.

“We feel school boards are uniquely positioned as both a community stakeholder and a leader of the district to set clear expectations for the district and support their leadership teams in this challenging environment,” Papka told attendees.

Afterward, he said the budget process is “a significant way” to build community consensus around a district’s goals. The group is working on strategic budgeting with Lincoln and Campbell county districts, and Frankfort Independent, using Bubness’ organization as a resource.

“We’ve learned that it’s critical to get the board on at least at the early phase with that goal setting, setting expectations and providing underlying support for the leadership team to do that kind of analysis and bring that back to the board so you can use that as a tool to engage the community,” Papka said.