How to Talk About Money

(and the soon-to-be-released ESSA mandated school financials)

Marguerite Roza
mr1170@Georgetown.Edu

©2018 Edunomics Lab, Georgetown University

ESSA requires:

parsing finance
BY SCHOOL!
 Green states already publish school by
school spending data
ME
WA
VT
NH MA
MT ND
MN NY
OR
RI
ID WI
SD MI CT
WY PA MD NJ
DE
IA
OH
NE
IL IN
NV WV VA Washington D.C.
UT
CA CO KY
KS MO
NC

TN
SC
OK AR
AZ NM
GA
AL
MS

AK TX LA
FL

HI
 School leaders will see what’s spent centrally
on behalf of their schools

©2018 Edunomics Lab, Georgetown University

 Interviews with principals/district leaders about school spending…

District Leader: We are Principal: All in, my

transparent – we put all school receives
our financial files online. about $40,000 a
year.

Principal: I don’t get as

much $ as other schools in Principal: Is the district
the district because my shortchanging my school?
school is in a neighborhood I assume not, but I have no
with lower property values. idea.

Sources: Research from The Winston Group on behalf of the Smarter School Spending for Student Success project, Dec 2016.
“Financial Transparency Research – Phase 1b, on behalf of the Collaborative for Student Success.” Edge Research and HCM Strategies, 2018.

©2018 Edunomics Lab, Georgetown University

Interviews, cont.
Parent: I can accept
Teacher: My salary
a cut in something if
shouldn’t be counted
I understand what’s
as part of what’s spent
at stake.
on students.

Parent: Of course the Principal: I’m in favor of

district has to spend equity but not if it means
more on a student with taking money away from
another school or district.
greater needs.

©2018 Edunomics Lab, Georgetown University

Interviews cont…

Parents and Teachers: I trust

District Leader: We my principal, but worry about
have great principals! my district (and don’t trust the
state).

Principals: I want to be Principal: In my district,

more engaged in school principals don’t question
finance decisions. budget choices.

©2018 Edunomics Lab, Georgetown University

Successful Communication on Finance
• Avoid business lingo.
• Reference students (and what finances will do for students).
• If citing evidence/research, acknowledge local context
• Citing dollar figures improves credibility. Explain tradeoffs with
dollars.
• Leverage the fact that principals generate the most trust
• Acknowledge good faith
• When communicating, offer a means to weigh in

©2018 Edunomics Lab, Georgetown University

 Don’t say: Do say:

x Reallocation ✓ Leveraging dollars to do more for

students.
x Efficiency
✓ Link discussion to STUDENTS
x Do more with less
✓ Admit the tradeoff: “we could have done
x Acknowledge a cut as XX or YY and we chose YY because it helps
just that: a cut. us do ZZ for students.”
x “We were told we had ✓ Communicate with $ amounts
to…” ✓ We have the flexibility to make tradeoffs
that meet the needs of our students.

©2018 Edunomics Lab, Georgetown University

 Let’s try it. Announce/revise this:
A. The legislature just approved a 7% increased in school funding to help
districts address teacher pay.
B. “The state’s school funding system is inefficient, ineffective, and outdated.”
C. “Districts that were receiving far more than their share would have needed to
make adjustments and spend money more responsibly and frugally”
D. “This information makes conversations around equity possible. For too long,
we’ve accepted an unjust funding structure that does not take into account
the significant gaps between low income and high-income districts.”
E. If Montana stops funding high property value districts, that will free up state
money for districts that need it.
©2018 Edunomics Lab, Georgetown University
 Let’s try it, cont.
F. A call for tackling pension debt: “The state is feeling the same pain you are. We
are watching our obligations in that line item increase every single year, and it’s
crowding out the opportunity to focus on some other areas.”

G. “It is time that Texas pay attention to the research: Investing in preschool works.
That’s all there is to it.”

H. Calls for more funding are challenged with accusations that new money is
wasted, or inefficient, or unlikely to yield improvements for students.

I. The state will no longer invest in NBCT bonuses, since the evidence suggested
that this money creates inequities across districts by race

J. The proposed formula adds news funding and eliminates numerous categoricals
to create a weighted formula that is more equitable for districts.
©2018 Edunomics Lab, Georgetown University
 TWO-DAY RESIDENCY
June 19-20, 2019
Now approved to
award CPE credits to Georgetown University
CPAs upon
completion! Virtual classes every
other Thursday
following the residency
through Fall.

https://
Thank you!
Marguerite Roza
MR1170@georgetown.edu