District Finance

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Must budget cuts erode district quality?

This budget season leaders face a long list of rising costs alongside tightening revenues and increasing student needs In some, financial challenges are compounded by falling enrollments. There are options for how districts can spend smarter toward building long-term financial health and growing outcomes for students.

New & Notable

An elementary school teacher holds a protest sign alongside two elementary-aged kids

Commentary

Closing schools: How much money does it save, and is it worth it?

Person unlocking door to a school classroom

Commentary

Don’t want to close underenrolled schools? Here’s how to make the math work.

Analysis

Improving the budget dance

Featured Research, Data, & Analysis

Looking for tools to help set next year's school budget?

Looking for tools to help set next year’s school budget? Check out our open-source tools to help leaders decide what budge options options to pursue, and which to sustain, modify, or cut to meet evolving student needs and academic goals.

Explore our Budget and Planning Tools

Are students benefiting from the rising costs of special ed?

With new data emerging, we took a fresh look at special ed spending to better understand the extent to which rising identification rates and staffing increases deliver value for students. State-by-state comparisons make it clear that systems are making different choices when it comes to serving students with disabilities and those choices are delivering wildly different results for students.

Learn more about our findings

Most districts now have more staff than ever before

Federal relief funds triggered a hiring frenzy (which then triggered a staffing shortage). In the states where we’ve combed through the data, we see a big jump in non-teaching specialists and aides. Teachers are up too (albeit at a smaller proportionate increase), as are administrators. Per usual, Edunomics Lab asks: Is it working? Are students benefiting?

See Trends in Your State

Can financially strapped districts afford tutoring? YES

How budget-strapped districts can afford tutoring by redeploying existing staff from non-teaching specialist, administrator and support staff roles.

Read the Analysis