Social Media
School Finance 101 in Four Short Videos
BY KEVIN D. PHILIPPS/School Administrator, September 2021
SCHOOL FINANCE is complicated during the best of times. When COVID-19 hit, it became even more convoluted.
On March 13, 2020, Michigan’s governor issued an executive order suspending in-person instruction and closing most businesses. No one knew how long that closure would last. As time went on, concerns began to rise regarding the impact of closures on the economy.
The Kent Intermediate Superintendents Association, a group of 20 school system leaders in Kent County, Mich., were among the first to ring the alarm. The group, including Kent ISD’s superintendent at the time, Ron Caniff, saw a need for a concise and clear message regarding the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and school funding. In particular, parents needed to understand the direct link between the economy and funding of their schools — so that they may be better advocates for their schools. This message would be shared through superintendent and local district networks, websites and social media, primarily Twitter and Facebook. It also became an element of the Our Kids, Our Future public education advocacy campaign waged by school districts in Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties.
The messaging campaign kicked off in June 2020. Kent ISD data scientist Sunil Joy wrote an article for the advocacy campaign describing the looming crisis in public school funding due to COVID-19. With the needed influx of COVID-19 communications delivered by e-mail, text and public signage ramping up, video production was chosen to convey finance messages in concise, understandable segments using animation to engage viewers and capture attention. Kent ISD contracted a professional video and animation producer to create these videos in a timely manner.
Simplified Messaging
The first step in creating the video series titled School Finance 101 was breaking down the message into four important components:
»School Funding for You — A basic overview of school finance policy in Michigan;
»How Schools Spend Resources — Where state and local tax dollars go in schools;
»How Taxes Support Education — How taxes fit in the school finance puzzle; and
»COVID-19’s Impact on School Finances — Projections based on early 2020 economic forecasts.
A graphic treatment simplified the messages and conveyed each one visually. This approach had served the Kent intermediate district successfully when public communication was needed for the Regional Enhancement Millage of 2017, which is providing $19.9 million in funding for 20 school districts during each of the following 10 years.
Keeping the 2020 finance videos limited to 3–5 minutes in length allowed each facet to be explained thoroughly without adding to viewers’ screen fatigue. In other words, simple and to the point. Total production cost for this project was $3,650 for eight videos, four tagged with Kent ISD branding and four generic versions for Michigan school districts asking for messages they could share while describing their own specific financial circumstances. The Michigan School Business Officials featured the videos on the association’s website. Individual districts in West Michigan and beyond shared videos on a variety of social media platforms.
Creating a common message across the board ensured that educators, parents and the public were speaking with one voice. A voice that demanded that adequately funding our schools must remain a priority during the pandemic.
Updated Communication
The video series was featured on the Our Kids, Our Future campaign website and was included with petitions to state and federal lawmakers to address the projected budget shortfalls for Michigan’s schools. More than 30,000 people signed the petition demanding lawmakers protect public education.
As the impact of the COVID-19 crisis continues, current Kent ISD superintendent Ron Koehler and his team are considering updated messages about how schools are responsibly spending federal relief dollars and handling current budget challenges. This model — whether around school finance or otherwise — will serve as an important strategy in public education advocacy efforts moving forward.
KEVIN PHILIPPS is assistant superintendent of administrative services and chief financial officer with the Kent Intermediate School District in Grand Rapids, Mich. Twitter:
@KentISD