An Introduction to Education Finance and Budgeting: Implications for Strategy, Equity, and Change

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to public school finance and budgeting systems in the United States. Budgeting and finance impact all aspects of schooling and education and are therefore critical to education leadership at all levels. Focus areas include the budgeting process; the politics of budgeting; district and school cost drivers; revenue generation including federal, state, and local funding sources; norm-based budgeting; weighted-student funding; cost-benefit analysis; benchmarking; and “key performance indicators” (KPIs) and “objectives and key results” (OKRs). Questions include: How can budgeting reflect the values and priorities of schools and systems? What are the equity implications of education budgeting and finance? What are the economic and financial drivers that maintain or disrupt the status quo? The course will use case studies and simulations from both traditional public and charter settings with special emphasis on the New Orleans context.