This PowerPoint presentation was used in our April 3, 2014 webinar titled, "Student-Based Budgeting: Is it Right for Your District?" Based on ERS' publication of the same name, this webinar featured a detailed conversation on the realities of implementing this funding system. More at http://www.erstrategies.org.

1. © Education Resource Strategies, Inc., 2013© Education Resource Strategies, Inc., 2014
Student-Based Budgeting
Is it Right for Your District?
April 3, 2014

2. Today’s Presenters
David Rosenberg
Manager
Jonathan Travers
Partner
John Scanlan
Chief Financial and
Administrative Officer

3. If you’d like to ask a question…
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hand
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4. Agenda
About ERS
Student-Based Budgeting: a quick recap
Lessons from Cleveland
SBB in a national context
Questions and discussion
3

5. Education Resource Strategies (ERS)
is a non-profit organization
dedicated to transforming how urban
school systems organize resources
(people, time, technology, and money)
so that every school succeeds for
every student.

6. Our vision of school district transformation
5
Standards
Teaching
School Design
Leadership
School Support
Funding
Partners

7. Where we work
Los Angeles
Oakland
Saint
Paul
Chicago
Cincinnati
Atlanta
Philadelphia New York City
Syracuse
Rochester Providence
Baltimore
Prince Georges County MD
Washington DC
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Duval
County
Boston
Georgia Districts
• Fulton County
• Hall County
• Vidalia City
• Treutlen County
• Marietta City
Cleveland
Austin
Albuquerque
Michigan
Tennessee
Waterbury, CT
Aldine
NewarkSacramento
District work
State work

8. Agenda
About ERS
Student-Based Budgeting: a quick recap
Lessons from Cleveland
SBB in a national context
Questions and discussion
7

10. Flexibility
School leaders define
the resources they
need to drive student
achievement
“Principals own
their budgets”
Student-Based Budgeting aims to strengthen the
funding system
Equity
Resources are
distributed equitably
based on student
need
“Dollars follow the
student”
Transparency
Clear and easily
understood rules for
where, how, and why
dollars flow
“The formula tells
you what you get”
Source: ERS

11. “Weighted Student
Funding (WSF)”
“Student-Based
Budgeting (SBB)”
“Fair Student
Funding (FSF)”

12. Traditional vs. SBB Funding Systems
Traditional Student-Based-Budgeting
Schools receive
funds based on…
District-wide staffing and
resourcing ratios
A formula based largely on individual
student needs
School budgets
include…
Specific staff positions
plus a targeted set of
prescribed resources
Dollars spent on resources to
implement the school’s instructional
model, plus categorical/centrally
controlled funds
School leaders
actively control… <5% of school budgets 50-70% of school budgets
Source: ERS

13. Tied to real student need, requiring additional
resources to address effectively
Objective and quantifiable
Schools should not have direct control or agency
over the metric
Present in at least 3-5% of, but not all, students
Exist at more than one school, with variation across
schools
Key decision: what student attributes to weight?
Source: ERS
Relevant
Measurable
Independent
Significant
Diversified
Weighted attributes should be:

14. SBB implies a big shift in how schools and
districts work together
Source: ERS
Increased strategic responsibility for school leaders
District office assumes a “customer service” role

15. Agenda
About ERS
Student-Based Budgeting: a quick recap
Lessons from Cleveland
SBB in a national context
Questions and discussion
14

16. Per-Pupil Funding to
Support School Autonomy
CMSD Portfolio Implementation

17. Setting the Stage for SBB
 Cleveland Plan—Defined the goals, set context
 Portfolio District
 Quality is a measure
 HB 525—Created the work conditions
 CBA —Created some flexibility
 CEO Driver—Faster…clock is ticking
 Designing the solution

18. We believe….
 When school leaders control their resources, they serve
children better
 Control Time (Master Schedule and Collective Bargaining
Agreement)
 Control Treasure Student-Based Budgeting (SBB)
 Control Talent TDES and Hiring
 All leaders have the right to these tools
 Don’t need to earn autonomy
 All schools are accountable for student achievement

19. SBB
 Weights
 Base lower than most districts
 Literacy Lo and Hi, Graduation rate, Grade (K-3) Mobility
 SPED, ELL
 Formula
 Driven by district strategies… Increase literacy, fix HS in
Elementary, manage special needs
 Be aware of all stakeholder expectations
 The Devil is in the Details, and You Need Tools to
manage the Devil

20. Transition Strategies
 Soft Landing—Temporary policy to ease into or soften
the transition to SBB
 Average Salaries
 Baseline Service Measure
 Communicate Clear Flexibilities
 Revised Planning and Budget Cycle
 Redesigned Central Office
 Pilot or No Pilot

21. Learning
 Talent Strategy-Work force composition is key driver
 TDES
 Differentiated Compensation
 Creating a performance driven culture
 Integration and interdependency issues
 TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN—“It’s only real when it’s real.”
 Don’t forget CO
 In or Out
 People don’t like change, and this is change

22. Support
 NST
 GUIDE BOOK
 SEMINARS
 TOOL KIT
 DESIGN TEMPLATES
 MODELS

23. Agenda
About ERS
Student-Based Budgeting: a quick recap
Lessons from Cleveland
SBB in a national context
Questions and discussion
22

24. Top lessons for SBB design and implementation
 It’s about academics, not finance
 Make it worth your while…or don’t make it
 Details matter…a lot
 Central’s cheese should move at least as much as
schools’
 Ground design AND stakeholder engagement in “the
why”
 Roll out + revenue decline = Extra-special challenge
 The work is never “done”
23

25. Agenda
About ERS
Student-Based Budgeting: a quick recap
Lessons from Cleveland
SBB in a national context
Questions and discussion
24

26. If you’d like to ask a question…
If you want to talk:
Raise your
hand
To pose a question:
Type it here
Look to see if
you have been
unmuted

27. How do you account
for student risk
factors in SBB?

28. What impact does
SBB have on
financial reporting?

29. What is the impact on
student
achievement?

31. Thank you for joining us!
For more information:
www.erstrategies.org
Continue the discussion
with us:
Search LinkedIn Groups
for “Fair Student
Funding”