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The Bottom Line

    SUGGESTED READING

    Teacher Compensation
    The Next 10 Years of Ed Finance: Teacher Compensation
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    The Next 10 Years of Ed Finance: Declining Enrollment
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    Let's Talk About Vacancies
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    When Talking About Numbers is Speaking a Foreign Language

    When my copy of Making Numbers Count by Chip Heath and Karla Starr arrived, the numbers geek inside of me was skipping around the house with excitement to dive into the book. However, when you spend time inside this excellent book, you quickly find out it is not about the numbers themselves. It is about the story they tell—or, actually, don’t...

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    Transparency & Crisis Management with Superintendent Mark Schwarz

    Mark Schwarz, Superintendent of Madison Public Schools in New Jersey, was amongst the first district leaders to post video messages to his community, and was clear and transparent about the planning process for closures even before the decision was made. As districts start to look ahead to the 20-21 school year, maintaining open lines of...

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    Go the Extra Mile: 3 Ways to Use ESSA Report Cards to Improve Schools

    With ESSA implementation afoot, districts are preparing to expend considerable effort creating ESSA mandated report cards highlighting the performance, progress, and goals of their individual schools. However, the heavy lifting required to fulfill this state requirement comes with a silver lining. These report cards help districts unearth a wealth...

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    Improve District Financial Transparency in Five Key Areas

    In light of ESSA’s impending implementation, superintendents need to have a finger on the pulse of the goings-on of their school district more than ever. This wave of increased transparency can bring unprecedented levels of scrutiny to even the most basic processes within a school district, so it’s crucial that superintendents and district...

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    Using District Peer Comparisons to Drive Strategic Action

    Peer comparisons have long been used as a tactic to help districts drive strategic action. The general idea is that every district can identify a set of peers that operate under relatively similar circumstances that they can look to for best practices and strategies that can help drive excellence. Peer comparisons are also helpful for districts...

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    How are Public Schools Funded?

    The way public education dollars flow from funding sources to classrooms is complicated and often mysterious. This blog explains the main sources of education funding and the variety of formulas used to determine how dollars are allocated to school budgets. An infographic illustrates how different allocation models may impact resource equity.

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    Who Has Control of Money in Schools?

    I often compare budgeting to the process of remodeling a home. There are structural issues to consider, availability of funds and a multitude of decisions to be made along the way to design and implement a plan. Imagine if you set out on that remodel with a set amount of funds, but you only got to pick out the paint colors. Would the end result be...

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    Preparing K-12 District Leadership for Financial Reporting Under ESSA

    As you prep for the financial reporting requirements under ESSA, there are two key considerations to keep in mind: 1) Your current financial system may not be what you need tomorrow and 2) the public is now your district’s financial partner!

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    3 Steps to Make Your Financial Data ESSA-Compliant

    The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) will change the way your school district manages and reports its finances. How do you know if your district’s data is prepared for ESSA’s new rules? Here are three things to do today to make sure your school district is ready for ESSA.

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