best practices in school budgeting practices in school... · the discussion align to ... improved...

Government Finance Officers Association

Best Practices in School Budgeting

May 22, 2017

Before we start today

Quick self-assessment of how the current budget process works for you: What brought you to this lunch/session? What are you hoping to learn?

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1-2-4-All Steps

Silent self-reflection 1 minute Expand on your ideas in pairs 2 minutes Share & develop ideas in foursome 4 minutes Each group shares at least one important idea

with all

Need for Better Budgeting Traditional budget model

Incremental changes in resource allocation Limited resources drive spending plan More reactionary than pro-active More focused on current year challenges than multi-

year strategies Need for better alignment of budget process

and student achievement goals Attempts likely made Potential questions on sustainability

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Budgetings Future

Best Practices in School Budgeting and Smarter School Spending Pro-active approach Strategic plan drives budget with focus on

student achievement rather than limited resources

CredibilityoContinuous improvement principlesoStrategic financial plan

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Focus on 5 major areas:1. Plan and Prepare2. Set Instructional Priorities3. Pay for Priorities4. Implement Plan5. Ensure Sustainability


Development Best Practices in School Budgeting developed by

GFOA with input of several districts and other experts -http://gfoa.org/pk-12-budget

Smarter School Spending initially developed in partnership with four districts - resource library of examples, tools, etc. - http://smarterschoolspending.org/

Award for Best Practices in School Budgeting is a new GFOA budget award based on the Best Practices in School Budgeting - http://gfoa.org/school-budgeting

Alliance for Excellence in School Budgeting is an early adopter group of over 70 districts formed by GFOA to aid in implementing the new Best Practices -http://gfoa.org/alliance-excellence-school-budgeting

http://gfoa.org/pk-12-budgethttp://smarterschoolspending.org/http://gfoa.org/school-budgetinghttp://gfoa.org/alliance-excellence-school-budgeting

How are they related?

Best Practices

Guidelines

Peer Review

Award

Resources

Smar

ter

Scho

ol

Spen

ding

Core Concepts Plan and Prepare Set Instructional

Priorities Pay for Priorities Implement Plan Ensure Sustainability

More Information Smarter School Spending

Free resources including case studies, district examples, templates, etc.

www.smarterschoolspending.org GFOA School Budgeting Resource Center

Additional free resources more district examples, outside links, GFOA best practices, etc.

www.gfoa.org/pk-12-budget Additional Information about joining Alliance,

national trainings, etc. can also be found at www.gfoa.org

http://www.smarterschoolspending.org/http://www.gfoa.org/pk-12-budgethttp://www.gfoa.org/

Implementing the Best Practices

Not meant as an outright replacement of existing budget process

Framework to integrate current efforts to help move the bar forward

Way to help identify areas that may need improvement

Not a linear path - focus on areas of most immediate benefit to gain quick wins

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First How to Begin

Emphasis on planning and setting the stage Collaboration Framing the process Baseline performance Engagement

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1. Plan and PrepareA. Establish a Partnership between the

Finance and Instructional LeadersB. Develop Principles and Policies to

Guide the Budget ProcessC. Analyze Current Levels of Student

LearningD. Identify Communications Strategy

Second What is the Focus

Establishing direction Goal-setting Deep dive on issues Develop strategies Prioritization

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2. Set Instructional PrioritiesA. Develop GoalsB. Identify Root Cause of Gap between Goal and Current StateC. Research and Develop Potential Instructional PrioritiesD. Evaluate Choices amongst Instructional Priorities

Third How to Fund

Allocating/finding resources Analyzing current programs Evaluating new proposals

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3. Pay for PrioritiesA. Applying Cost Analysis to the Budget ProcessB. Evaluate & Prioritize Use of Resources to Enact the

Instructional Priorities

Fourth Put Plans to Action

Implementing with fidelity Financially Clear steps/responsibilities for implementation Impacts to school sites Communicating through the budget

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4. Implement PlanA. Develop a Strategic Financial PlanB. Develop a Plan of ActionC. Allocate Resources to Individual School SitesD. Develop Budget Presentation

Finally - Sustaining

Measuring results and evaluating process

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5. Ensure SustainabilityA. Put the Strategies into Practice and Evaluate Results

Alliance 1.0 Members

AZ Amphitheater Public Schools NJ Elizabeth Public SchoolsHayward Unified School District NY Rochester City School DistrictPomona Unified School District OH Bexley City School DistrictSanta Ana Unified School District Columbus City SchoolsTracy Unified School District Dayton City School District

CO Boulder Valley School District OR Beaverton School DistrictMoffat County School District North Bend School District

FL Lake County Schools Portland Public Schools (OR)Miami-Dade County Public Schools Tigard-Tualatin School District

GA Fulton County School System Willamette Education Service DistrictIL St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 PA Upper Moreland School District IA Des Moines Public Schools TX DeSoto Independent School DistrictKY Fayette County Public Schools Wylie Independent School DistrictLA DeSoto Parish School System VA Goochland County Public SchoolsMD Howard County Public School System Hanover County Public SchoolsMI St. Johns Public Schools WA Bellevue School District

Traverse City Area Public Schools WI School District of Fort AtkinsonNE Beatrice Public Schools

CA

Alliance 2.0 Members

CA Education for Change NV Carson City School District San Francisco Unified School District OH Lakota Local School District

CO Eagle County School District RE50J Springfield City School District Jeffco Public Schools Toledo Public Schools

FL School District of Palm Beach County Trotwood-Madison School DistrictVolusia County Schools OR Hillsboro School District 1J

GA Atlanta Public Schools RI Bristol Warren Regional School DistrictID Nampa School District SC Greenville County Schools IL River Trails School District 26 TX Fort Worth Independent School District

Rockford Public School District 205 Lamar Consolidated Independent School DistrictThornton Township High School District 205 WA Auburn School District

MA Cambridge Public Schools Central Kitsap School District Organization Pittsfield Public Schools North Mason School District

MI Glen Lake Community Schools Olympic Educational Service District 114 Troy School District Pasco School District Wayne-Westland Community Schools Shoreline School District No. 412

MT Billings School District WI Milwaukee Public SchoolsNE Omaha Public Schools School District of Menomonee Falls

How this being implemented?

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More from the Alliance

Miami-Dade County Public Schools, FL Upper Moreland School District, PA Jeffco Public Schools, CO School District of Palm Beach County, FL Boulder Valley School District, CO Volusia County Schools, FL

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Miami Perspective

Commitment from Superintendent to allocate resources and time Re-align thought process of Senior Staff Acknowledge it will take time and significant effort Be very willing to restart and learn from missteps It is evolutionary and will always change (for the

better) CFO and Budget Finance Staff will need to lead the

change with tremendous commitment from Chief Academic Officer

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Where we started CAO/CFO along with select staff, attended the Alliance

Training in Chicago in July 2015 Initially team was very hesitant to proceed

Can we be successful? Is this an undertaking we can win? Is it worth the effort?

Began budget development planning in September and looked at where we were Agreed budget development never stops under this model

Realized some of the foundation was built Budget Policy Communication Plan Strategic Vision 20/20 Clear budget development process existed

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Unlikely Marriage The Chief Academic Officer (CAO) and

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) as partners Step outside what we have traditionally

seen as our roles Lots of listening Some natural tension

CAO seat at the table with GFOA Alliance Team

Cabinet tension

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Acceptance Communication

First changes to Budget Executive Summary Resources from the Alliance

Make sure non-instructional needs are addressed Long term equipment plans Long term vehicle replacement plans Capital outlay/restricted funds need to be part of

the discussion Align to Strategic Plan

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About Upper Moreland School District

Suburb of Philadelphia (Montgomery Co.)

Population 24,993 Student Enrollment 3,115 Median Family Income $61,143 Special Education Population

15.09% Free & Reduced Lunch 32.76% Annual General Fund Budget $65

million Currently under $25 million capital

improvement program

Upper Moreland School District

Strengths School District is desired

and has increased property values

Commercial base increasing

Strong programs aligned with student population

Forward thinking

Challenges State funding uncertainty Limit on local revenue

sources and increases to taxes

At times reactive environment

Significant Takeaways for Upper Moreland from Smarter School Spending

Budget Process was organized Timeline, review budget policies Stakeholders at building levels who were not previously engaged were within a central model.

Plan and Prepare

Established funding for curriculum framework

Set Instructional Priorities

Identified and analyzed savings

Pay for Priorities

Adopted strategic financial plan

Implement Plan

Continue to build capacity

Ensure Sustainability

Plans to address staff turnover Over educate and communicate to all

staff in departments Training/procedures Internal succession planning when

practical

Ensure Sustainability

Cost Reductions/Revenue Enhancements

Fully fund initiatives and fund those that provide

measureable results based on needs assessment

Assess and monitor curricular programs and

other goals

Develop new goals based on data analytics

Fully fund initiatives, begin cost reductions/revenue

enhancements

Pay for Priorities

Annually examine staffing levels &

make adjustments

Look to ensure

program efficiency with

staffing and other costs

Results Multi-year financial plan Reviewed financial and operational policies and placed on a

review cycle moving forward Improved operational efficiency in financial and human resource

areas Identified specific building needs to meet instructional goals Implemented alternative fuels for aging fleet Implemented reduction in electric and natural gas through projects

with 2.2 year ROI for 341,118 Deployed technology to students and staff Improved technology infrastructure Established replacement cycles Strategic & Informed Benchmarking Defined Special Education budget and spending Collaboration between finance and educational administrators

Manageable with existing

staff and resources

BOARDENDS

LONG TERM

FINANCIALPLAN

STRATEGICPLANNING

GOALS

with

Budgeting for Outcomes

STUDENT BASED BUDGETING

aligns with

OUR PROCESSES

aligns

Top-performing urban school district in Florida

Best Practices in School BudgetingSchool District of Palm Beach County Perspective

May 22, 2017


Support from the Superintendent, primarily through two key initiatives: Development of a dynamic five year Strategic Plan

Partnered with Greenway Strategy Group Nine month process, plan released in March 2016 Strategic Initiative Management (SIM) Council Quarterly Board Updates

Partnership with Education Resource Strategies Preformed a comprehensive ten-month review of how we allocate our resources people, time, and

money concurrently with development of the strategic plan. Helped to change in mindset of the board members and district staff. Helped us to redirect over $15.0 million across all funds to schools.

Assessed what we doing before we joined the Alliance 2.0Tone at the Top

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L O N G T E R M O U T C O M E SIncrease Reading on Grade Level

by 3rd GradeEnsure High School Readiness

Including:Academic achievement, behavior and

engagement

Increase the High School Graduation Rate

Foster Post-Graduation Success

Including:High school scholars, dual enrollment degrees, industry certification, college enrollment and persistence, military

enlistment

S T R AT E G I C T H E M E S

Goal 75% Goal 75% Goal 75%

Effective and Relevant Instruction to Meet the Needs of All Students

Positive and Supportive School Climate

Talent Development High Performance Culture

O B J E C T I V E S

I N I T I A T I V E S1. Define pillars of effective instruction to

increase the academic achievement of all students

2. Embed cultural competence, equity and access within instructional practices

3. Provide instructional programming customized to the individual strengths, needs, interest, and aspirations of each learner

4. Provide digital and blended learning opportunities utilizing current technology

5. Expand and enhance prekindergarten programs and services in collaboration with our community and agency partners.

6. Develop the capacity to deliver effective instruction in prekindergarten to grade 2

7. Ensure a comprehensive Single School Culture in every school

8. Align behavioral and social/emotional services while increasing accessibility

9. Addressing bullying prevention through Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

10. Align new and existing community and parent partnerships

11. Develop leadership advancement pathways for all employees

12. Develop and implement a recruitment system that attracts high quality and diversity in candidates by job group/category

13. Develop and implement rigor in selection and hiring processes that effectively identify and screen for high quality, skilled applicants

14. Implement a comprehensive performance management system

15. Implement rigorous project management structures, protocols and processes

16. Build a district-wide culture of pride, trust, and respect

17. Establish and implement recognition and differentiated compensation systems

18. Develop resource allocation processes aligned with student needs

19. Enact systemic customer service

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

Stra

tegi

c Pl

an 2

016-

2021

1. Ensure shared commitment and collective responsibility for the academic success of every student

2. Establish personalized learning opportunities for all students

3. Ensure academic proficiency of all students in prekindergarten through grade 2

1. Ensure a safe and supportive school climate that promotes the social/emotional and academic development of all students

2. Secure parent and community partnerships to support the academic and social/emotional development of all students

1. Promote a culture of learning and development for all employees by providing opportunities and pathways for growth and advancement

2. Recruit, select and hire high quality employees

1. Ensure continuous improvement throughout the district

2. Improve employee engagement, retention and performance

3. Instill resource optimization to yield maximum return on investment

4. Increase customer service and support

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FY16 54%FY16 88%FY16 54%

FY16 TBD

Goal 90%


Budget Advisory Committee Comprised of one representative appointed by each board member, principal

representation from each grade level, president of the Palm Beach Classroom Teachers Association

Public meetings approximately six per year

Superintendents Budget Review Committee Comprised of principals and executive level leadership Internal meetings three to six per year depending on the amount of changes

Annual Department Budget Review Meetings Superintendent and executive leadership meet with each department head and

perform a line item budget review.

Focus was on redirecting existing resources and utilizing non-recurring allocations.

Assessed what we were doing before we joined the Alliance 2.0Stakeholder Involvement

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Where are we at in the GFOA Best Practices in School Budgeting Program?

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Plan and Prepare


Pay for Priorities

Implement a Plan

Activity Needs Work Confident

We have a good Finance-Academic Partnership. Area of improvement Improve our formal adopted

budget policies. We are a data rich district analyzing all aspects student

performance data. We have stakeholder involvement.

We have developed clear district-wide goals (strategic plan).

We have identified root cause of gap between goal and current state (development of strategic plan and work with ERS).

We have identified instructional priorities (strategic plan) We had stakeholder involvement in development of the

strategic plan.

We have staff allocation formulas for basic teacher, ESE and ELL, and support staff. We recently revised our basic teacher allocation formula and are plan to revise ESE and ELL student allocations in FY19.

We prioritize redirecting existing resources and aligning new needs to the strategic plan.

Area of improvement- identifying performance metrics that measure success, sunset more programs, and calculating an academic return on investment.

Area of improvement - The Strategic Financial Plan needs the most work, we need to compile all the pieces into a formal Strategic Financial Plan Document.

We have a dynamic five year strategic plan that is a plan of action. It is updated continuously throughout the year.

We allocate resources (staff) to individual school sites using average salary and benefits.

We take a more centralized approach, with earned autonomy.

Majority of our resources are allocated to schools, 7.0% compared to an average of 7.5% based on our work with ERS.

Sheet1

ActivityNeeds WorkConfident

Plan and Prepare


Pay for Priorities

Implement a Plan

NovDecJanFebMarAprMayJuneJulyAugSept


FY18 Budget Development Timeline

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Friday, November 18, 2016 Budget Advisory Committee Friday, December 14, 2016 Board Budget Workshop Kick-off of FY18 Budget Development Process

Friday, February 3, 2017 Budget Advisory Committee February 2017 Board Workshop

Budget Update, ESE and ELL Staff Allocation Changes

Thursday, April 20, 2017 Budget Advisory Committee May 3, 2017 Board Workshop

Budget Update and Strategic Plan Initiatives (Regular Session convened March 7, 2017)

Friday, May 12, 2017 Budget Advisory CommitteeBudget Update, Departments, Strategic Plan Initiatives, and Capital Work Plan (Last day of

Regular Session extended to May 8, 2017)

Thursday, June 15, 2017 Budget Advisory Committee June 2017 Board WorkshopBudget Update

Thursday, July 13, 2017 Budget Advisory Committee, if needed July 2017 Board Workshop Budget Update

July 26, 2017 Tentative Budget Adoption September 6, 2017 Final Budget AdoptionFY18 Budget Adoption

Examples of Resources

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Best Practices in School BudgetingPrinciples and Policies

Potential Principles Student achievement goals drive the process Data driven decisions Total value created for children Critically re-examine patterns of spending Equality of opportunity Long-term perspective Transparency

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Traverse City Area Public Schools, Michigan

Articulate Best Practices/SSS as district principles

Makes decisions better, not easier Culture trumps strategy

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http://smarterschoolspending.org/resources/district-examples/traverse-city-area-public-schools-principles-policies-case-study

http://smarterschoolspending.org/resources/district-examples/traverse-city-area-public-schools-principles-policies-case-study

Portland Public Schools, Oregon

Key Principles: Providing students an exceptional educational

experience and ensuring academic success should drive the budget process

Decisions should be driven by data Base resourcing decisions on cost-effectiveness Prioritize the core program in all schools Critically re-examine patterns of spending Provide every student with equitable access Take a long-term perspective

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http://smarterschoolspending.org/resources/district-examples/portland-public-schools-budget-principles

http://smarterschoolspending.org/resources/district-examples/portland-public-schools-budget-principles

Recommended Policies General fund reserve Definition of a balanced budget Financial emergency policy Long-term forecasting Asset maintenance & replacement Budgeting and management of categorical funds Budgeting for staff compensation Program review and sunset/alternative service

delivery Year-end savings Funding new programs

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Templates for Two Policies

Templates available for the following policies which will help frame the budget process:General fund reserve policyBalanced budget policy

Available at: http://www.gfoa.org/step-1-

plan-and-prepare

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Budget Process

http://www.gfoa.org/step-1-plan-and-prepare

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Best Practices in School BudgetingStrategic Financial Plan

Essential Elements

Reference to districts strategic plan Goals for the district Description of the instructional priorities Evaluation criteria for student outcomes Funding of instructional priorities Long-term forecasts Analysis of scalability to impact Review trigger Strategic Financial Plan template

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http://smarterschoolspending.org/resources/strategic-financial-plan-template

Lake Countys Strategic PlanS52

http://smarterschoolspending.org/resources/district-examples/lake-county-school-district-strategic-financial-plan-case-study

http://smarterschoolspending.org/resources/district-examples/lake-county-school-district-strategic-financial-plan-case-study

Beavertons Multiyear Finance PlanS53

http://smarterschoolspending.org/resources/district-examples/beaverton-school-district-multiyear-finance-plan

http://smarterschoolspending.org/resources/district-examples/beaverton-school-district-multiyear-finance-plan

Questions?

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Thank You!Matt BubnessSenior [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]

Best Practices in School BudgetingBefore we start today1-2-4-AllNeed for Better BudgetingBudgetings FutureBest Practices in School BudgetingDevelopmentHow are they related?More InformationImplementing the Best PracticesSlide Number 11First How to BeginSlide Number 13Second What is the FocusSlide Number 15Third How to FundSlide Number 17Fourth Put Plans to ActionSlide Number 19Finally - SustainingSlide Number 21Alliance 1.0 MembersAlliance 2.0 MembersHow this being implemented?More from the AllianceMiami PerspectiveWhere we startedUnlikely MarriageAcceptanceAbout Upper Moreland School District Upper Moreland School District Significant Takeaways for Upper Moreland from Smarter School Spending Slide Number 33Slide Number 34ResultsSlide Number 36Best Practices in School BudgetingSchool District of Palm Beach County PerspectiveMay 22, 2017Assessed what we doing before we joined the Alliance 2.0Tone at the TopSlide Number 39Assessed what we were doing before we joined the Alliance 2.0Stakeholder InvolvementWhere are we at in the GFOA Best Practices in School Budgeting Program?FY18 Budget Development TimelineExamples of ResourcesSlide Number 44Potential PrinciplesTraverse City Area Public Schools, MichiganPortland Public Schools, OregonRecommended PoliciesTemplates for Two PoliciesSlide Number 50Essential ElementsLake Countys Strategic PlanBeavertons Multiyear Finance PlanQuestions?Thank You!

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