Objection #2:“Yes, This Is A Nice Idea. But, How Do We Pay for This”?
The second biggest innovation killer in the world is found in the question,“How do we pay for this”? Unlike traditional reform efforts, whole-district change cannot besustained solely through small increases in operating budgets, nor can it be sustained with“extra”money from outside the district. Because whole-system transformation touches all aspects of a schooldistrict’s core operations, it imposes significant resource requirements on a district and demands a rethinking of the waycurrent resources are allocated, as well as some creative thinking about how to use“extra”money that will be needed to jump start systemic reform.
Because there seems to be a scarce amount of literature on financing whole-district change, innovative,ground-level tactics, methods, and sources are needed to help educators find the financial resources they need to transform theirschool systems into high-performing organizations of learners. What follows are some insights about how to do this (these insights areexplored more deeply in Duffy, 2003).
Below, you will find a brief discussion of some fundamental principles that are important for financingwhole-district change.
- Think creatively about securing resources. Instead of saying“We can’t do this, because…”say,“We can do this. Let’s be creative in figuring out how?”;
- Develop a new mental model for financing school system improvement that helps change leaders think outside the box forcreating innovative solutions to their resource allocation challenges;
- Embed the resources to support a whole-district improvement protocol in a school district’s organization design and its normal operational budget;
- Develop a new mental model for financing school system improvement that helps change leaders create innovative solutionsto resource allocation challenges (Odden, 1998);
- Fund whole-system improvement in the same way that a core program or activity is funded; i.e., with real dollars that are apermanent part of a school district’s budget;
- Reallocate current operating money to support whole-district improvement (Keltner, 1998);
- Over time, reduce“extra”resources for whole-district improvement to near zero while increasing internal resources tosupport systemic improvement;
- As needed, combine federal funds in innovative ways to directly support district-wide improvements in teaching andlearning (see Cascarino, 2000, p. 1);
- Focus thinking on financing for adequacy rather than on financing for equity (see Clune, 1994a, 1994b);
- When seeking outside money, make sure that the requirements and goals of the funding agency do not conflict or constrain thevision and strategic direction of the district’s transformation journey; and,
- Employ superior communication skills so all stakeholders recognize the true purpose of a district’s budget reallocation strategy, how it will work, and what the benefits will be.