Effective Budget Presentation Strategies MASBO Fall Institute 2014 Kirsteen Leveillee, Cindy Mahr

Topics for Review Understanding your audience(s) Importance of Visual Aides with budget presentation Types of marketing tools for schools Follow-up communication Measuring effectiveness of communication

Understanding the Audience(s) Knowing the group you are presenting to allows greater focus on terminology that is better understood by the intended audience. Example: Presenting to a parent group versus a Finance Committee may require toning down the 'government speak' about modified accrual accounting and encumbrances. Directing the topic toward the audience in terms they can easily understand will achieve greater buy-in and support throughout the process. Overcomplicating items may be construed as hiding information and formulating suspicions in the minds of audience.

Knowing your audience cannot be overstated. It is essential to understand the demographics of your: 1. School Committee/Board of Directors 2. Parent Groups/General Public 3. Town Representatives (Managers, Administrators, etc.) 4. Finance Committees Understanding the Audience(s) Each group may necessitate a different budget format to effectively present the information in the most meaningful manner.

Understanding the Audience(s) School Committee Budget by DESE function Budget by Department Municipal leaders/FINCOM Budget by Account ACCEPTANCE of Preliminary Budget!

Visual Aides within Budget Presentation Engaged Student Learning A Picture is worth a thousand words... Collaboration and use of Technology in the Classroom Fiscal Awareness

Visual Aides within Budget Presentation Incorporate meaningful charts and graphs to provide insight beyond the numbers. Be mindful that too many graphics can be confusing or distracting. Try to incorporate items that are known questions each year; such as historical student enrollment.

Marketing Tools for Schools Marketing our schools should be a year-round process, not just at budget season Continual communication throughout the year fosters trust and transparency Use the Media for good PR stories about students and programs taking place Encourage community participation with flyers/mailers about important functions such as Parent Night, Open House, Graduation, Sporting Events Use websites, all-call messages, printed materials, posters, , yard signs, direct mailers, cable TV bulletins, radio ads, and town-wide banners, etc. to reach stakeholders Get the message out!!

Marketing Tools for Schools One way to provide direct access to your budget on the web is to create a Quick Response (QR) code and post these publically. A Quick Response (QR) Code can be scanned with a free app on a smart phone. The application decodes the information and directs a user to a web site, Facebook page, etc. There are a number of free QR code generators. Weston used qrcode.kaywa.com qrcode.kaywa.com Fiscal Year 2015 Weston Public School Budget

Marketing the Budget Use bright colored covers highlighting students and/or important photo of project taking place in the district (such as a roof project) Putting students at the front of and throughout the budget triggers an association and importance of dollars to support kids Keep the distributed document SIMPLE and condensed for ease of reading from a taxpayers perspective

Follow-Up Communication with Stakeholders A Little communication goes a long way!! ASK QUESTIONS! 1. What information was helpful? 2. What might have been confusing? 3. How can we simply/streamline the process for better understanding? Actually LISTEN to feedback so that you are better equipped the following year.

Measuring Effectiveness of Efforts 1. Was the message received with few questions for clarification? 2. Was the data correct? 3. Was the data easy to read and follow? 4. Did the budget get passed??

Measuring Effectiveness of Efforts If the answers to the previous questions were YES - you had a successful budget process, nice work! If the answers to the previous questions were mixed, don't sweat it - we all can make improvements in the process!