Application

Academic Return-on-Investment (AROI) and School Improvement

 in Application / Theory  tagged Academic Return on Investment / AROI / Investment Tracking by

Three years ago, we started working on an IES funded research project in collaboration with Dr. Fiona Hollands at Teachers College of Columbia University and Dr. Robert Shand at American University. The goal was to explore: 1) whether A-ROI metrics, developed as a compromise between rigor and practicality, can be used to improve decision-making regarding education programs, and 2) how to embed A-ROI results into district operations through a Cycle-based Budgeting model. This report shares our lessons learned from that project. https://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/sites/default/files/IES_AROI_Brief_3_Final_Dec_2021.pdf In this report, we talked about how we applied some of the lessons learned when developing a new version of our […]

End-of-cycle (EOC) Review

 in Application / Theory  tagged Budget Decision / Budgeting Model / End-of-cycle by

In this article, I explain what end-of-cycle review is about and how leaders can use the process to better manage program implementation and resource allocations. You might find this discussion on some key concepts of Cycle-based Budgeting helpful as a reference. You can also find an end-of-cycle review summary template with two examples on the CBB Toolkit page. End-of-cycle (EOC) is an opportunity created in cycle-based budgeting (CBB) to routinely scrutinize existing investment items for continuation and/or adjustments. When an item reaches its end of investment cycle, two things must take place. One is that the investment must be reviewed […]

An Idea for Shared Commitment & Ownership

 in Application  tagged Budget Decision / Budgeting Model by

THE CURRENT STATE During the annual budget process, one of the most important questions district leaders wrestle with is what new investments should be made to accomplish the district’s improvement priorities. With a few exceptions, the options generally originate from each individual department. First, department heads propose investments to address issues that are thought to be under their respective responsibilities. Then, the proposals are reviewed and decision are made by the superintendent and chief financial officer, with or without the involvement of the other senior leaders on the superintendent’s cabinet depending on the local context and nature of the proposals. […]

Re-engineer Choice Architecture to Improve Budget Decisions

 in Application / Theory  tagged Behavioral Economics / Budget Decision / Budgeting Model / Choice Architecture by

Each year, district leaders make many decisions about school and district finances. Hidden behind those myriad decisions is a choice architecture, which, explicitly or implicitly, defines and shapes leaders’ decision-making. Learning from behavioral economics, this article offers a new perspective to look at the functions and tasks school business officials (SBOs) perform in relation to the choice architecture and calls for rethinking the role SBOs can and should play in facilitating those decisions. Specifically, three essential components of choice architecture are highlighted: default, anchor, and framing. For each component, prevalent design features and their impact on budgetary decisions are discussed. […]

How to Discontinue Programs That Are No Longer Viable?

 in Application  tagged Budget Decision / Resource Reallocation by

I was kindly asked by Allovue to write a blog piece for the Budget and Resources framework of Future Ready Schools. In this piece, I first discuss the root causes of some common challenges leaders face when they try to discontinue or downsize programs that are no longer viable, and then explain how cycle-based budgeting can help address those challenges. My colleague Mr. Stephen Leach contributed to this piece. A special thank you goes to Ms. Autumn Dorsey at Allovue for the editorial improvements. A vital function of the annual school district budgeting process is to identify programs and expenditures […]

How to Prioritize Programs for Funding Decisions?

 in Application  tagged Budget Decision by

This article was written in collaboration with Dr. Fiona Hollands, Associate Director and a Senior Researcher for the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. It appears in the September 2018 issue of School Business Affairs, published by the Association of School Business Officials International. PDF version download Each year during the budget season, district and school leaders have the opportunity to make budgetary adjustments to make sure limited resources are used both effectively and efficiently to help achieve the organizational mission. Of the myriad types of budget adjustments, one leaders frequently face has to do with selecting a limited […]

Track Investment Using MS Word and R

 in Application  tagged CBB Tool by

One key component of implementing Cycle-based Budgeting (CBB) is a technology system that allows the investments to be documented, tracked, and analyzed. Ideally, an online system that connects an institution’s financial data, outcome data, and its strategic plan should be used. Undoubtedly, it is a big and complex task to build, deploy and use such a system, which is probably why no vendor products are currently available in the market that serve the purpose. In JCPS, we developed an online system using the Microsoft SharePoint platform to implement CBB. This system has many nice features that render a good user […]

A Decision Tool and Two Decision Rules

 in Application / Theory  tagged Budget Decision / CBB Implementation / CBB Tool by

Acknowledgement: the author thanks Dr. Buchanan for his critiques that helped improve this post.   The CBB Decision Tool has been uploaded to the Toolkit. This tool is intended for two purposes: ⚑ Provide two simple but powerful data points for making program funding decisions ▸ Cost per pupil ▸ Total number of programs a cost center will be implementing concurrently ⚑ Play what-if scenarios to see the resulting implications for budget and program implementation CONTEXT Ideal School District adopted CBB in 15-16 school year. After two years of implementation, 9 CBB-accounted programs totaling $21.98 million will reach the end […]