Yearly Archives: 2023

Investment and Operation Expenditures Revisited

 in Theory  tagged Academic Return on Investment / Budgeting Model / Return on Investment by

A few readers wrote to me asking for further clarification on the differences between investment and operation expenditures. For example, should a one-to-one initiative be classified as an operation or investment expenditure. This short post helps answer such questions. After reading Rethink District Budgeting Part I and Part II, it is apparent that all the new “budget dance” moves start with differentiating between operation and investment expenditures. While Table 1 can be readily applied to make the distinction for most expenditures, there are cases where the distinction is not that clear cut. For certain expenditures, people may have genuine differences […]

Rethink District Budgeting – Part II

 in Theory  tagged Budgeting Model by

In previous post, my colleague Dr. Tom Aberli and I discussed three forces that shape and influence district budget decisions: 1) needs-based framework, 2) existing financial management practice, and 3) human nature. In this post, we present how we can build on the existing infrastructure and processes with a new lens and framework to overcome the challenges brought about by those forces. Specifically, we propose to: 1) differentiate between operation and investment expenditures, 2) track expenses on alignment, outcome and improvement, and 3) re-orient how improvement is practiced. Operation vs Investment Expenditures As noted above, needs play a prominent role […]

Rethink District Budgeting – Part I

 in Theory  tagged Budget Decision / Budgeting Model by

In this essay, my colleague Dr. Tom Aberli and I discuss three forces that shape and influence district budget decisions. Next, we present how we can build on the existing infrastructure and processes with a new lens and framework to overcome the challenges brought about by those forces. This is a long essay and will be posted in two installments. In this first post, we discuss the three budgetary forces: 1) needs-based framework, 2) existing financial management practice, and 3) human nature. We welcome and appreciate your critiques and suggestions. Every winter, school and district leaders have the daunting task […]