What are the best ways to communicate budget decisions to staff, students, and parents?

In communicating budgetary decisions, it is imperative to approach with a keen awareness of the varied stakeholders engaged. Educators necessitate granular detail, parents seek clarity, while students engage with illustrative content. Transparency emerges as the cornerstone of trust; it is not simply beneficial but fundamental. Through a multifaceted communication strategy—spanning digital missives to public assemblies—each message must be tailored and delivered with precision. On matters of substantial consequence, democratic processes, such as referenda, underscore the ethos of inclusion. The tenor of communication must invariably reflect the gravity of its content, upholding the values of dignity that bind the educational community.

I agree with a great portion of the details provided. I would also like to add that to parents, they must know how it affects them and their child's education. "What is the learning and real-world outcome from these decisions?" For the children, they like to act mature in the area I work, but they still need captivation and motivation. "What does this decision do for me and why should I care?" Gaining their trust, the impression you leave, and strong relationships are grounds for building up something from nothing or relating to the outcomes affecting the audience.

Budgeting is a complicated process in education. In other industries, it's pretty straightforward. In education, not so much! I have experience in private and public schools. If your school is a public school, budgeting decisions are often political. You attempt to communicate that you are fiscally responsible with taxpayer money while at the same time promote the priorities of the district. Private schools don't have access to unlimited funds or private capital, as do public schools. In private schools, your income is from your parents. Many private schools' parents feel they are being taxed twice - one time for the public school system and the other to pay private school tuition. Both want the best education for the dollar.

Budget decisions affect the school community groups in different ways, so communication methods should cons consider these differences. Staff members may be addressed at a face-to-face meeting where delivery of the budget is illustrated with excel spreadsheet and PowerPoint presentation. Year group, and the school assembly are effective platforms for conveying the budget decisions to students. Emails, newsletters, social media, and in person meetings are some of the ways to communicate with parents. The purpose of the budget decisions must be explicit so that there is transparency. One budget may be to increase online resources for the whole school, while another may be, for example, for an environmental science trip. All require clarity.

Missions should drive budget decisions. Sometimes that's not the case. Budgets drive missions. Smart budgets begin with an assessment of the effectiveness of a program. Budgets are a function of basic economics - allocating scarce resources to the highest benefit. If in the planning process, assessing the viability and success of a program or department leads to reducing, increasing, or reallocating resources, then the assessment should be communicated as the source for the change. There's no reason to go into a line-by-line detail of why a change is necessary. Budget decisions should be communicated multiple times in a year. Don't wait until the annual meeting to spring a change on your constituents.

I think transparency is the most critical component in gaining support for any decision. That said, it’s also imperative to provide your audience with a detailed explanation outlining the criteria, obstacles, and rationale that ultimately lead to the outcome you now need to defend and get support for.

A CFO told me, "Numbers don't lie; people do." In my experience, numbers are neither positive nor negative. They are numbers. How you communicate or spin the numbers is when numbers have negative or positive connotations. A budget is a projection of where you think you will be in time. It's a tool, nothing more and nothing less. Treating numbers as nonpartisan makes people more likely to comprehend the resulting decisions. They may not like what they hear, but they will accept them as the best course given the financial circumstances you are working with.

Communication should be at least quarterly and, in some cases, monthly. Be proactive! Don't wait until the last day of the fiscal year to share bad news. If your program assessments indicate a necessary change, communicate it immediately. Budgets are not magical. A poor way to run an organization is to postpone a decision when the data indicates it won't improve. Don’t be like the doctor and this patient. The doctor says, “Look, I’ve got some bad and very bad news. The lab called with your test results. They said you have 24 hours to live.” “Twenty-four hours! What could be worse news?” asked the man. “Well,” says the doctor. “Your phone has been off, and I’ve been trying since yesterday to reach you.”

Background and longitudinal data is important when presenting a wide range of stakeholders. Budgeting in the public education sector requires the ability to take the audience from the 30,000 ft view all the way down to the granular levels. Clearing the jargon out of the way is also critical to transform a novice audience member to a knowledgeable, active participant. If you are in a state where the town or city council can approve or vote down a budget, then clearing any confusion or misconceptions is essential to a successful and inclusive process.