Smarter School Spending

GFOA's Smarter School Spending Framework

A new way to align resources with student achievement goals.

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GFOA's Smarter School Spending invites you  to join school districts from across the country on a journey to increase student achievement during these times of greater expectations and budget constraints. On this website you can find a process and free tools to help you on your journey.

Developing strategies to better align resources to meet student outcome goals.

The framework steps provide a guide to develop a collaborative budget process by: setting expectations of what the process will achieve; thoroughly examining underlying causes of achievement gaps and developing goals and strategies to overcome the gaps; analyzing current spending to allocate resources accordingly; crafting a well developed implementation plan; and finally, measuring performance and adjusting as necessary.

Using the Framework

Superintendents

Clearly articulate your district's goals and initiatives to foster collaboration in implementing strategies to promote student outcomes.

Academic Leaders

Focus on strategies most vital to addressing greatest areas of need within your district.

Financial Leaders

Manage limited resources effectively to fund most pressing priorities of your district and maintain fiscal health.

Alliance for Smarter School Spending

The Alliance for Smarter School Spending is an early adopter group of 100-plus school districts working on implementing GFOA's Best Practices in School Budgeting. A part of the Smarter School Spending initiative, the Alliance first met in 2015 and includes a diverse group of districts from across the United States. Member districts range in size from several hundred students to several hundred thousand students, representing a broad range of student performance and other key demographics as well.

Participants in the Alliance for Smarter School Spending will enjoy benefits such as access to resource materials as well as hands-on training to help them throughout the implementation process. More importantly, Alliance members will be able to network with their peer organizations to share their experiences and knowledge.

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Smarter School Spending Framework

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