Yearly Archives: 2018


Ten Key Concepts of Cycle-based Budgeting — Part I

Cycle-based Budgeting (CBB) is built on ten key concepts, which you will see throughout this web site and in the toolkit. You can use these ten terms to help explain to your colleagues what CBB is about, why it can be helpful, and how to do it.  Due to its length, this post is divided into two parts. In this part, the following five key concepts are presented: Operation Expenditures vs. Investment Expenditures Investment Item Investment Item Owner Investment Cycle Expected Return OPERATION EXPENDITURES VS. INVESTMENT EXPENDITURES Differentiating certain budget items as investments sets the conceptual foundation for approaching those […]


How to Prioritize Programs for Funding Decisions?

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

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 […]


Empower Leaders to Make Strong Budget Decisions by Improving System Deficiencies

This article appears in the January 2018 issue of School Business Affairs, published by the Association of School Business Officials International. Please note that the article was originally written in September of 2017. Click on this link to download the published version.    As stewards of the taxpayer money, district leaders often take most, if not all, of the blame for not using those tax dollars effectively and efficiently to improve student outcomes. What the public does not always recognize and appreciate, however, is how difficult it is for district leaders to make informed budget decisions and how much they […]


Digital Promise Selected CBB Toolkit for Its Edtech Pilot Framework

The Edtech Pilot Framework provides a step-by-step process to help education leaders and technology developers run successful educational technology (edtech) pilots. CBB Toolkit is listed under both the Plan and Negotiate/Purchase steps. Also, I will be attending the upcoming AASA Annual National Conference on Education, February 15-17, 2018 in Nashville, TN. I have a round table session on Friday afternoon. Title: Cycle-based Budgeting & Continuous Improvement: Three Years of Lessons Time: 2/16 from 2:30 to 3:30 Venue: Table #6 in the NCE Marketplace at the Music City Center Convention Center Hope to see you there.


MS Word Version Investment Tracking Form Added to the Toolkit

Considering that SharePoint and InfoPath based Investment Tracking Form is not a viable solution in many districts, I added a new Investment Tracking Form developed in Microsoft Word to the CBB Toolkit. You can also download the form by clicking on this MS Word icon . This version includes three critical elements that are often missing in a typical Investment Tracking form: 1) cost per pupil, 2) measurable target outcomes, and 3) review cycle. Compared to the web-based solution (SharePoint and InfoPath), using the MS Word based form has many limitations. With that said, it does provide the following features: […]