Webinar Series: Strategic Budget Practices in a Post-ESSER Landscape
The Region 14 Comprehensive Center provides this recorded, four-part webinar series to support school districts in using best practices in fiscal health.
Districts regularly face many potential fiscal challenges, including changes in federal funds, persistent declines in student enrollment, and strained state budgets. Districts have the opportunity to transform these challenges into opportunities for growth and improvement through strategic financial planning and resource allocation. This webinar series offers practical tools and strategies to implement six fiscal health principles that support sustainable budgeting. This information is designed to benefit school district staff and those who support them, including state education agency staff, technical assistance providers, and local board members. By implementing these principles, districts can strengthen their financial position and enhance their capacity to provide high-quality education.
Session Descriptions and Recordings
Session 1 - Strategic Resource Allocation: Aligning Resources with Student Need
In the first of a four-part series on key fiscal health principles for strategic budget practices, the Region 14 Comprehensive Center is hosting a webinar on fiscal planning and processes for identifying and aligning resources with student needs. Participants will also hear from Mr. Kevin Knapp from Metro Nashville Public Schools, who will share how one district’s finance office aligns financial planning practices with other district program staff to ensure a sustainable and student-centered budget.
Session 2 - Responsive Resource Management: Navigating Enrollment Challenges for Sustainability
In the second of a four-part series on key fiscal health principles for strategic budget practices, the Region 14 Comprehensive Center hosted a webinar on fiscal planning and addressing enrollment shifts for a sustainable budget. Participants heard from Mr. Earl Burke, Chief Financial Officer of Jackson Public Schools, who shared his perspectives on how one district is responding to enrollment and revenue changes post-ESSER.
Session 3 - Navigating Inflation: Leveraging Funding Sources for Financial Resilience
In the third of a four-part series on key fiscal health principles for strategic budget practices, Region 14 Comprehensive Center hosted a webinar on addressing fiscal challenges such as inflation by leveraging funding sources through blending and braiding funds. Dr. Eric Saunders from the Arkansas Department of Education will shared why the three principles of fiscal accounting, cash management, and internal controls are vital before any district can engage in strategic fiscal practices.
Session 4 - The Value of Fiscal Transparency: Communicating Financial Investments Post-ESSER
In the fourth and final session on key fiscal health principles for strategic budget practices, the Region 14 Comprehensive Center hosted a webinar discussing how and why transparent and clear communication about financial reporting to the superintendent and local school board members is critical for healthy budget practices. Charles Longfellow, former district CFO, and state education official, will also discussed the importance of communicating investment choices and successes as districts wind down their last year of ESSER-funded initiatives.