A Model for School Funding Reforms

The Denver Public School’s recently released budget document, the Budget Transparency Guidebook, provides detailed information about how the district spends its money, breaking down how much goes directly to schools, how much is spent centrally and for what services, and how much each service costs per student. 

In a Chalkbeat story, Denver Superintendent Tom Boasberg said that by being more transparent they hope to build voter trust and support for the work they are doing.  In addition, the more detailed information helps them gauge whether the money is being well spent.  Boasberg told Chalkbeat, “having more detail led officials to propose moving more money out of the central office and directly into the schools.”

As a member of the Foundation Budget Review Commission, MBAE supports an update to Massachusetts’ school funding formula that includes reforms that ensure investments in education are being used effectively to close achievement and skills gaps.  The detailed budget document from the Denver Public Schools could serve as a model

Read more about the Denver Public Schools model here.