Toolkit: What is Student-Based Budgeting? How can it drive student learning?

A STUDENT's PERSPECTIVE

Sam entered 6th grade at Everytown Middle School reading at a 3rd grade level. His English Language Arts (ELA) teacher wants to help, but she can't give him the special attention he needs. Sam can’t keep up, and begins to hate reading. 

But Everytown Middle School is in a district that is shifting to student-based budgeting. Soon the principal gets more flexibility over her school budget, as well as support to identify trends in student needs. Reading proficiency is a big problem at Everytown MS. Next year, she reorganizes the schedule, increasing ELA class sizes for some students and decreasing class sizes for other students like Sam. She is able to make staffing tradeoffs to hire extra reading interventionists. By 8th grade Sam's reading skills greatly improve - along with his confidence in school. 

Defining Student-based budgeting

Student-Based Budgeting (SBB) goes by many names, including Student-Based Allocations (SBA), Weighted Student Funding (WSF), Fair Student Funding (FSF), or Student-Centered Funding (SCF). Regardless of its name, SBB is a funding system whereby dollars follow students based on student need. Or, more specifically, it describes any district funding model that: allocates dollars instead of staff or materials, is based on the number of students, and uses objective and measurable student characteristics as weights.

Student-Based Budgeting (SBB) allocates dollars to schools based on the number of enrolled students, where each student receives a funding "weight" based on need. This model can allow districts to increase equity, transparency, and flexibility.

SBB Summit 2018

• Student-Based Budegeting Summit 2018: Getting to the heart of student improvement [BLOG]
  Over 50 leaders from 15 school systems (and one state department of education, plus special guests) gathered to discuss how to design and implement a successful SBB model in the context of their system's larger goals

Atlanta

• A District in Transformation [PRESENTATION]
  At the 2018 ASBO conference, ERS' Betty Chang and Atlanta Public Schools CFO Lisa Bracken shared APS' experience creating their own SBB-like funding model, getting into the nitty-gritty details as well as high-level learnings
• 6 Questions for the CFO [BLOG]
  Atlanta Public Schools CFO Lisa Bracken answers questions about the district's process designing and implementing their Student Success Funding Model

Baltimore

• Fair Student Funding in Baltimore City [REPORT]
  This ERS publication details the full story of Baltimore's transition to a fair student funding system, starting in 2007
• Fair Student Funding and Other Reforms [REPORT]
  This ERS publication details the extent to which Baltimore met its goals and summarizes key lessons learned
• Fair Student Funding Summit: Summit Proceedings and District Summaries
  In 2010, ERS convened this conference with Baltimore City Public Schools, to bring together districts using this funding model

Boston

• Student-Based Budgeting at Edwards Middle School [VIDEO]
  Hear about SBB from a principal in Boston Public Schools 

Cleveland

• Following the Dollars to the Classroom Door [PUBLICATION]
  Why and how SBB must be linked with school design, told through the experience of Cleveland Metropolitan Public Schools
• Making Dollars Work for Students [WEBINAR]
  District leaders from Cleveland share their experience with SBB; this presentation is based off our publication Following the Dollars to the Classroom Door
• Student-Based Budgeting Webinar [VIDEO]
  This ERS-hosted webinar features the experience of Cleveland Metropolitan Public Schools

Cincinnati

• Leveling the Playing Field [REPORT]
  ERS documents Cincinnati Public Schools' process of moving to an SBB system

Indianapolis

• Journey to Autonomy for Arlington Woods [ARTICLE] 
  An elementary school in Indinapolis Public Schools supported social-emotional learning and expanded collaborative planning time
• To Drive Change, Realign Your Resources [ARTICLE]
  Another article on Arlington Woods Elementary that takes a closer look at the school design process

Milwaukee

• Spare Some Change: Smarter District Resource Use for Transformational Schools [ARTICLE]
  This ERS publication explains how Milwaukee Public Schools' SBB system (they call it weighted student funding) can support high performance for across all schools

Memphis

• Shelby County Schools Approves Plan for SBB [NEWS] 
  Details on the approval of, and plan for, SBB in Shelby County Schools, which includes Memphis

THE STRATEGIC School SYSTEM

Strategic school systems place student-based budgeting within a holistic strategy for system-wide change. This means connecting it to other elements like:

• Funding & Portfolio: One of the primary goals of student-based budgeting is equity. But resource equity involves more than just funding.
  Read more:
  >> What is Resource Equity?
  
  

• Strategic School Design: Student-based budgeting on its own doesn't lead to improved student outcomes. Principals need flexibility and support to use resources well.
  Read more: 
  >> Designing Schools that Work
  >> Following the Dollars to the Classroom Door