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Louisiana School-Based Budgeting (SBB) Task Force

Louisiana School-Based Budgeting (SBB) Task Force. Jason Willis, Chief Finance/Business Officer Stockton Unified School District. Background. New York State Helped developed formula of ‘weights’ to provide additional State funding to New York City in CFE vs. State adequacy case

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Louisiana School-Based Budgeting (SBB) Task Force

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  1. Louisiana School-Based Budgeting (SBB) Task Force Jason Willis, Chief Finance/Business Officer Stockton Unified School District

  2. Background • New York State • Helped developed formula of ‘weights’ to provide additional State funding to New York City in CFE vs. State adequacy case • Oakland Public Schools (CA) • Budget Director; drove institutionalization of results-based budgeting (RBB); developed structure and culture to create better ties between strategy/planning and budgeting • Hartford Public Schools (CT) • Advising on opportunities to refine weighting system, technology, and support from Finance office

  3. Increasing School Decision-Making:Balanced with Support and Accountability One primary principle of SBB is to empower greater decision-making at the school-level. This has shown: • Different staffing choices that adapt better to the needs of the school’s student populations. • Counselor versus bilingual aide • Staff support dollars and one-time purchases that more tightly wrap around the school’s goals. • Complements between General Purpose and categorical fund expenditures was noticeably different than staffing formula.

  4. Increasing School Decision-Making:Balanced with Support and Accountability (cont.) Flexibility and decision-making at school-level should be accompanied by training and accountability: • Initially a large ‘train-up’ period getting into system; followed by maintenance and refresher sessions. • Principals became providers of effective practice. • Central Office role shifted to define parameters for budgeting including existing state/federal regulations. • Instituted tiered accountability support system (TASS). • Defined achievement targets and ID additional support.

  5. Starting with End in Mind:SBB and Strategic Planning Get to a different place when it starts with goals rather than parameters for how to spend: • All school stakeholders understood finite resources. • Greater staff buy-in when final decisions were made • Budget reduction decisions? Preferred to be handled at school site level. • Principals developed various options, allowed increase maneuverability when facing mid-year cuts • Created more space for meaningful, strategic discussion.

  6. Budget Development and Monitoring:Timelines and Process • SBB process typically fits within requirements outlined by State (e.g., Local Government Budget Act). • California holds dubious distinction of being one of the most over-regulated states in the nation. • District retains primary reporting responsibility to State. But, plenty of opportunities to improve technology. • Monitoring activity at all levels jumped dramatically. • Caught errors in attributing costs to an account, • Peer pressure applied at end of year curbed over-spending.

  7. Responsibilities and Duties:Trends Nationally, Local Context Matters Most

  8. Central Office Shifts Focus:Business and Budget Office Shift from a compliance- to more strategic-orientation. • Organized department to serve a set of schools rather than a function (position control, categorical/grants, etc.) • Cross-functionality helped to avoid vacuum of knowledge • Reinvesting in technology that was more responsive, user-friendly, and functional for end users. • Breakdown of silos among departments that allowed information to move more quickly. • Noticeable increase in positive customer service experience.

  9. Results from Implementing SBB?Oakland Offer Their Progress While the results from OUSD can’t be attributed directly to RBB; it greatly helped to facilitate the process. • Academic Results – OUSD is the most improved urban school district in California for six straight years. • For 2009-10, OUSD gains were twice the state average. • 12 schools quadrupled the state average with 50+ point gains (API). • Support for RBB – Survey of all OUSD principals last spring: • 93% of principals valued having decision-making authority over their budgets, • 78% of principals believed in the equitable allocation of dollars. • 83% affirmed that if faced with budget reductions, they want that authority to make that reduction.

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