Facing the departure of its chief financial officer, an upcoming budget planning season, and a deficit, one of Connecticut’s largest public school districts reached out to the School and State Finance Project to serve as the district’s interim CFO to help guide them through a difficult transition period.
For nearly five months, senior members of our staff oversaw the day-to-day operations of the district’s finance and budget department; analyzed the budget, resources, and staffing levels of the district; and assisted in the hiring process for a new permanent CFO.
During the course of its work, our team created a preliminary budget model for allocating funds to schools based on the district’s goals, priorities, and equity-centered budget development process and formula. We also used our data expertise to manage the development and revision of school enrollment projections for use in the district’s proposed budget.
Additionally, our team developed budget PowerPoints and talking points for district leadership, as well as infographics and other public-facing materials aimed at increasing the public’s knowledge about the district’s budget process and method for allocating resources.
At the conclusion of our team’s work, not only did district leadership have a better understanding of the district’s resources and spending, but the district was well-positioned to finalize a proposed district budget on-time that built off the preliminary budget, project plan, and timeline our staff developed.
*The interim CFO engagement highlighted above is not a routine consulting service of the School and State Finance Project. Interim CFO services are not a regular offering of our organization and are not typically considered unless there are extraordinary circumstances.*
