PBB discourages budget underachievement

Years ago, in extremely informal and undoubtedly unscientific observations, I attempted to understand why some students performed as such profound underachievers.

My conclusion over a two-year period was surprising. It wasn’t economics, gender, divorce, IQ, or even style of parenting or lack thereof that supports underachievers. Fractured parenting creates underachievement.

Fractured parenting, one parenting philosophy pitted against the other, presents a non-united front for children. The degree of disunion does not seem to matter. From the subtle to the egregious, the effect is the same.

I observed this same pattern across the social canvas — married parents, divorced parents and single parents with live-in partners to grandparents faced with the challenge of raising grandchildren. United forces separated those who could and did from those who could but did not.

It stands to reason that teachers in opposition to principals, or school board against district, or borough assembly against board, produces the same underachieving effect as does the micro version of parent against parent.

With that said, I think the Mat-Su Borough School District’s priority-based budgeting process (PBB) deserves a round of applause because nothing like money makes a mama mad. And, if my simplistic theory of underachievement is correct, then the PBB process acts as the anti-drug for district-wide levels of underachievement.

PBB has changed the way the district works with its board and the board works with the Borough assembly in the creation of a sustainable, fair school budget. Using the PBB process, committees that represent departments or district-wide areas work to prioritize expenses for three scenarios — status quo funding, funding at 10 percent less of the current budget and funding at 5 percent more than the current budget. These committees include all perspectives within that area’s budget: teachers, principals, district office, classified staff and parents.

Prior to the PBB process the district’s budget method put everything on the table for everyone to see. It resembled a dinner table of starving siblings with the biggest and boldest grabbing the most. At the end of each winter, long, angry, emotional testimonies for money filled the Borough chambers. These meetings gave new meaning to the term “spring breakup.” It was ugly watching educated people collectively beg.

“Cut theirs, not mine!” we would cry.

I liken the new PBB process to an all-encompassing marriage counselor. PBB creates clarity of purpose. It allows a wide range of perspectives to be recognized in a systematic and timely fashion. It fosters a transparent and united front. It means uncomfortable compromise. It points toward student achievement. For example, last year’s PBB process helped secure16 elementary literacy coaches, who in just their first year show very optimistic results.

In short, thank you to the PBB committees, the school board and the Borough assembly. With the board and assembly respecting the decisions of the PBB committees and working so well together our students just might stand a chance to reach their potential.

That, as an eighth-grader might say, is “way sweet.”

Emily Forstner is the professional development coordinator for Mat-Su Borough School District. The views expressed in Chalk Talk are those of the contributor and not necessarily those of the Mat-Su Borough School District.