More and more districts—and several states—are adopting funding models like student-based budgeting (also called weighted student funding or fair student funding) to increase equity and promote principal autonomy. Giving school leaders new resources and new flexibility is a good first step, but it doesn't automatically lead to improved student outcomes. It’s what happens to those resources at the school-level that will make the difference for students.
This paper uses our work with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) to show how a student-based budgeting (SBB) funding system must go hand-in-hand with what we call Strategic School Design, a practice in which school leaders start with a strong vision for student success, and are empowered to reorganize resources around that vision. Through our work with CMSD, we identified seven critical success factors to creating a powerful SBB-Strategic School Design reform strategy, covering such topics as leadership, process, preparation, and accountability.
Stay in the know with the latest news and happenings.
Stay in the know with the latest news and happenings.