Strategic Budget Practices in a Post-ESSER Landscape

Registration is Closed. Thank you to everyone that joined us. Recordings will be posted soon.

The Region 14 Comprehensive Center invites you to a join a four-part webinar series in September 2023 focused on supporting school districts in navigating the complexities of a post-ESSER landscape using best practices in fiscal health.

As districts go into the 2023–24 school year, they are faced with a multitude of potential fiscal challenges, including the wind-down of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, persistent declines in student enrollment, and strained state budgets. The webinar series will introduce six fiscal health principles that support sustainable and strategic budgeting practices, and support participants in applying these principles to several common fiscal challenges currently facing districts.

The objectives of the webinar series are to:  

• Identify the key financial principles used to guide and assess the fiscal health of a school district and how to incorporate the principles into district processes and policies. 

• Discover strategies for addressing financial challenges and ensuring long-term sustainability in a school district. 

• Engage with voices from the field as school district finance personnel share their experiences. 

• Share innovative approaches to support leaders with the wind-down of ESSER-funded programs. 

Session Learning Format: Each session will introduce one or more fiscal health principles and provide opportunities for participants to actively engage with the content through polls, chat questions, and discussions with practitioners in the field.

Who Should Attend: School district leaders, including both program and finance officials. State education officials who support school districts with fiscal policy implementation will also benefit from the content delivered in these sessions.

Participation Expectations: While not required, participants will ideally attend all four learning sessions, as the content will be cumulative and build foundational knowledge over time. Participants will ideally join the webinars from a computer or a tablet using both audio and video to maximize participant engagement. 

Register for Sessions

Session 1 - Strategic Resource Allocation: Aligning Resources with Student Need 

In the first of a four-part series on key fiscal health principles for strategic budget practices, the Region 14 Comprehensive Center is hosting a webinar on fiscal planning and processes for identifying and aligning resources with student needs. Participants will also hear from Mr. Kevin Knapp from Metro Nashville Public Schools, who will share how one district’s finance office aligns financial planning practices with other district program staff to ensure a sustainable and student-centered budget.

Guest speaker: Kevin Knapp, Accountant Lead, Budget and Finance Office, Metro Nashville Public Schools 

Date: Tuesday, September 5

Time: 10:30–11:30 a.m. CT 

REGISTRATION CLOSED

Session 2 - Responsive Resource Management: Navigating Enrollment Challenges for Sustainability

In the second of a four-part series on key fiscal health principles for strategic budget practices, the Region 14 Comprehensive Center is hosting a webinar on fiscal planning and addressing enrollment shifts for a sustainable budget. Participants will also hear from Mr. Earl Burke, Chief Financial Officer of Jackson Public Schools, who will share his perspectives on how one district is responding to enrollment and revenue changes post-ESSER.

Guest Speaker: Earl Burke, CFO, Jackson Public Schools 

Date: Tuesday, September 12

Time: 10:30–11:30 a.m. CT

REGISTRATION CLOSED

Session 3 - Navigating Inflation: Leveraging Funding Sources for Financial Resilience

In the third of a four-part series on key fiscal health principles for strategic budget practices, Region 14 Comprehensive Center is hosting a webinar on addressing fiscal challenges such as inflation by leveraging funding sources through blending and braiding funds. Dr. Eric Saunders from the Arkansas Department of Education will also share why the three principles of fiscal accounting, cash management, and internal controls are vital before any district can engage in strategic fiscal practices.

Guest speaker: Dr. Eric Saunders, Assistant State Superintendent, Arkansas Department of Education 

Date: Tuesday, September 19

Time: 10:30–11:30 a.m. CT 

REGISTRATION CLOSED

Session 4 - The Value of Fiscal Transparency: Communicating Financial Investments Post-ESSER

In the fourth and final session on key fiscal health principles for strategic budget practices, the Region 14 Comprehensive Center is hosting a webinar that will discuss how and why transparent and clear communication about financial reporting to the superintendent and local school board members is critical for healthy budget practices. Charles Longfellow, former district CFO, and state education official, will also discuss the importance of communicating investment choices and successes as districts wind down their last year of ESSER-funded initiatives.

Guest Speaker: Charles Longfellow, former CFO of Christina Public Schools, Delaware 

Date: Tuesday, September 26

Time: 10:30–11:30 a.m. CT

REGISTRATION CLOSED