Budget Season: How to Achieve Financial Agility and Sustainability

| District Administration | Lin Johnson III and Toni Williams

It’s budget season. It’s when district financial leaders outline budget outlooks, prioritize strategic goals, scrutinize expenses and evaluate trade-offs for a balanced, student-focused budget that supports academic success.

This budget season is critical due to the end of ESSER funds, declining enrollments, uncertain federal K12 funding, rising costs and looming local and state tax base declines. With many unknowns, many districts are grappling with significant budget challenges and contemplating tough decisions, including staff layoffs and school closures.

As former district CFOs, we know that an annual budget may not be adequate at this current moment. Instead, leaders must embrace a new normal, prioritizing strategic resource flexibility and long-term sustainability for different possible futures.

Read more at District Administration.

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