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Illinois School Board Journal - ARCHIVES
May-June, 2007
ASK THE STAFF:
When talking money, simplify the messages
The answer for this question was compiled from materials in the IASB Resource Center.*
Question: Our board and administration always seem to struggle when trying to explain finances to the general public. How do we talk about money without everyone complaining?
Answer: When school boards start to talk dollars and cents, they’re into an area where schools have a big effect on the public … their wallets or their purses. Since 75 to 80 percent of the people in your community do not have children in your schools, the only concern they may have is how big their property tax statements will be based on the budget the district sets.
Knowing that, school boards can and should be proactive when releasing financial information for two good reasons: to make sure the information is understandable and to make sure it’s an accurate picture. To accomplish those two things, you first need to decide how and where you want to talk about money.
When choosing how to release budget information, districts have at least six options that can be done alone or in a combination.
1. Annual report. This can be as simple or elaborate as time, funds and expertise allow, but it’s usually bad psychology to publish a report that looks too expensive. Consider turning an issue of the district newsletter into an annual report. If it’s something you would mail out anyway, you save extra mailing costs.
2. News conference. The news media are always hungry for comprehensible financial information. Take advantage of their interest in the budget by calling a news conference and explaining the budget and/or other important financial information.
3. Board meeting. If you choose to announce the budget at a board meeting, have plenty of printed back-up material for news media and interested citizens. It’s difficult to lead a discussion involving finances without printed reference materials. Also, be sure to have someone knowledgeable about your finances (the superintendent, a district financial director or an accountant) to answer questions.
4. Background briefing. Informal sessions for reporters with the superintendent, finance officers and board members may be scheduled before the budget is announced. A preliminary story before the actual budget release may answer questions and defuse objections.
5. News releases. A series of news releases can be used to give detailed explanations of various aspects of the budget — for example, instructional costs, capital expenditures and operations costs, the federal funding picture, etc. Be sure to include specific examples, like the benefits of new textbooks versus outdated materials, or how new materials are linked to improving achievement.
6. Public presentations. Consider producing a "dog and pony show" suitable for use with civic organizations, school employees, parent groups or any other gathering where you might have 20 to 30 minutes at a meeting or a luncheon. The presentation can be scripted in PowerPoint or with overheads for use by school board members or administrative staff. Make sure these presentations are interesting as well as instructive by building the script around one or two major points you want your audience to remember. Once you have your presentation, let organizations know you are ready, willing and able to talk to them. To make certain your message gets an even wider audience, be sure to have printed handouts of your presentation.
Whatever format the board chooses to use, keeping the information interesting and understandable should be the main objective. The following tips may prove helpful to achieve that goal:
Ruthlessly reduce every explanation to the simplest, non-technical terms. While the results will seem hopelessly over-simplified to your financial directors or accountants, your public will be grateful. Using complex explanations is substantially the same as not explaining things at all. It’s better to give the public the bare essentials and have them equipped to make realistic judgments about the district than it is to have a public that can’t understand what you said.
Begin with the assumption that you want the public to understand a limited number of major points, and then make all other information subordinate. Typical major points might include:
Financial health of the district is improving (or deteriorating).
The board is responding constructively to declining enrollments or to inflation, etc.
Energy costs must be brought under control.
State mandates have hurt the district.
This is a bare-bones budget.
Long range projections show …
Begin with your major point(s) and then move from the general to the specific.
Explain the budget by clarifying and supporting your point. Be sure to cover both sides: revenues and expenditures. Be sure to explain enough about school finance so that the public understands the money sources: property taxes; foundation levels from the state; federal Title I money; grants; etc.
Paint both big and small pictures of your finances. Although you have major points, consider reducing various expenditures (or revenues) to the smallest possible units. Figures representing each school, classroom or student are likely to mean more in some instances than district-wide figures. Knowing that it will cost $15 per student for a new reading series may be more meaningful (and palatable) than saying the district will spend $150,000 for new reading books.
Be specific about how money is to be spent. Some budget items — such as "administrative costs" or "in-service training" — cry for explanation. Who are these administrators and what do they do? What will teachers learn from that in-service training?
Translate figures into "people" terms whenever possible. "Reading lab that serves 85 children with reading disabilities" is more meaningful than "Title 1 reading program."
Salaries account for well over half of the school district budget. Explain exactly who the salaries are being paid to, why and how those salaries are determined. (For help in deciphering salary schedules, see "10-point analysis helps decipher salary schedule" on page 30.)
Take advantage of any attention generated by the budget to explain financial problems or state mandates plaguing the district: for example, the school aid formula that doesn’t take fixed expenses into account; state and federal mandates that are not fully funded; programs the district would like to implement but can’t afford.
Make the budget visual. Use charts, graphs and photos to personalize the columns of figures. For a board meeting or news conference announcement, big colorful charts or graphs are not difficult or expensive to produce and will increase interest as well as give television and newspaper cameras something to focus on besides the board president.
Be prepared to provide more detailed information to anyone interested. At a meeting or news conference, have resource people available to answer questions, especially about programs that are integral to the budget. Make certain there is a name and telephone number, or e-mail address, on printed reports and news releases if someone needs more information.
Use state and national information available from IASB or the State Board of Education to put your district’s finances in perspective.
Constantly look for answers to the question: What do we get for this money?
Consult the IASB booklet, "Understanding School Finance," available online at http://www.iasb.com/files/understandingsf.pdf.
If you would like to search the IASB Resource Center, query librarian Jennifer Nelson at jnelson@iasb.com.