The downside of humble frugality for school districts
Business leaders who wrestle with their budgets should walk a mile in the shoes of a school district leader just once.
The complex web of funding sources, each with specific restrictions as to how specific resources can and cannot be used. The uncertainty of those sources from year to year – not due to a market-based reaction to a poor product, as a business would face, but rather the whims of legislators sensing a tax-cutting mandate, or the general anti-tax mood of their constituency. And, of course, the evolving demographics of the modern American classroom that have changed the profession of teaching forever, as students come to school in various stages of readiness to learn.
Those who call education their profession would likely enjoy seeing one of these “just run it like a business” types try to pull that rabbit out of a hat and see just how difficult it is. One can assume that that would be the last time such a simplistic “solution” would be offered.
While the battle for more funding has no finish line, school districts somehow find ways to open the doors, turn on the lights and educate the children who present themselves each day. The financial situation is far from ideal, but smart people have found ways to make the most of the funding they have available, while they continue to make the case for why they need more.
In the strategic work that we do with school districts, we see their commitment to fiscal responsibility every day. And we also see their pride in that commitment, and in keeping promises to taxpayers to make the most of the funds to which they are entrusted.
Unfortunately, oftentimes, a school district’s dedication to frugality only surfaces in the public eye, when it comes time to ask for more funding, such as through a ballot box measure. When humbleness about the district’s frugality has been the norm, it becomes more difficult than ever to all of a sudden get the message across that, “We’ve done our best for many years. Now, we need your help.”
In our research, it is quite clear that school districts get no credit when they speak up and say, for example, “How would it impact your vote on a bond issue, if you knew that we haven’t raised taxes in 16 years?” The general reaction? “Meh.” In short, “You took good care of the money you got from me. That is what you are supposed to do, isn’t it?”
So, all that good stewardship buys a school district little to nothing in the area of goodwill, if the district doesn’t make a point of finding strategic ways to work the frugality message – and the impact of funding challenges on education – into its everyday communication. How to do so?
- Do what you do best: Educate. There will always be a segment of patrons who, for example, will not know what bond issues can pay for versus operating levy funds, and so on. But that doesn’t mean you stop trying to shrink the size of that segment. A few well-placed, “As a reminder, bond funds cannot be used for teacher salaries”-type phrases will keep the “here’s how school finances work” drumbeat going.
- Show how you are making do with less than you need. There’s nothing wrong with focusing in on great programs and saying, for example, “Due to funding shortages, only 30 students have been able to take advantage of X or Y or Z this year.” Always focus on how shortfalls impact students, not the district.
- Have an “abstract” and “detailed” budget. Make the high points – the “abstract,” if you will – available in a variety of forms, 365 days a year. Give patrons an easy way to look at the budget headlines, while also providing greater detail on your website for those who want to do a deep dive.
We have long since passed the time when a school district could simply “rally the troops” to get something passed at the ballot box. Needs, and the budgets that fund them, have to be at least a parenthetical comment in every school district communication.
