Step 1 – Summarize Your Work

Understanding your school’s financial needs and the resources available to you is a crucial step in school design. This is true whether you’re working to redesign an existing school or create a new one, and whether your school is a district school or a charter school. What have you learned about the resources, financial and non-financial, available to schools like yours? What elements of your school design will you need to prioritize as you create a sound and effective budget? And what additional resources might you bring to bear from your community?

As you look ahead to preparing a formal budget to submit to your local district, charter network, or charter authorizer, what template and budget guidelines will you use? Who can you count on for advice and expertise?

Step 2 – Share Your Vision

Now get ready to share your ideas with others in your school and community:

• What did you learn from reviewing the budgets of other high schools and from talking to people with school finance experience? What advice did you hear about how to meet relevant financial requirements and also make room for creativity?
• What areas of your school model might require budget flexibility or additional resources?
• What community assets might be available to support your school and your students? Who will take responsibility for researching those and coordinating your efforts?
• Who can you count on for advice and guidance as you develop a formal budget?