Alliance for Smarter School Spending Fall Meeting

October 17–18, at GFOA's offices in Chicago, Illinois.

Join us as we explore “Leading Change” through multiple speakers, discussions, and working sessions. Featured topics include rethinking budgeting, employee costs, special education, capital planning, charter schools, strategic scheduling, GFOA tools, and multiple conversations with superintendents about managing, living, and working through these challenging times of change.

Please consider bringing not just your financial team, but also your academic leaders to take full advantage of this professional development opportunity to grow, plan, and evolve your thinking together while networking with innovative school leaders from both small and large districts across the United States.

Featured Speakers

Paul Vallas

Former CEO, School District of Philadelphia and Chicago Public Schools

Dr. Susan Moxley

Retired Superintendent, Lake County Schools, Florida

Carol MacLeod

Senior Project Manager, GFOA

Sarah Graber

Chief Business & Finance Officer, School District of Osceola County, Florida

Lauren Haddox

Director of Risk & Benefits Management, School District of Osceola County, Florida

Agenda

October 17, 2024

Time	Topic	Speaker
9:00 - 9:15	Welcome	Chris Morrill, CEO, GFOA
9:00 - 9:45	Rethinking School Budgeting - Applying Lessons from GFOA's Initiative to School Districts	Harpreet Hora, Budget Director, Atlanta Public Schools and Lunda Asmani, CFO, Norwalk Public Schools
9:45 - 10:45	Leading Change	Dr. Susan Moxley and Paul Vallas
11:00 - Noon	Option to Attend: Journeys to Improved Budgeting (Case Study for Large District) Journeys to Improved Budgeting (Case Study for Small District)	Metro Nashville Public Schools TBD
12:00 - 1:00	Lunch (Provided by GFOA)
1:00 - 2:00	Option to Attend: Supporting Employees with Wellness Centers Rethinking Scheduling	Osceola County Schools Matt Bubness, Director, Baker Tilly
2:15 - 3:15	Option to Attend: Focus on Special Education Navigating Charter Schools – Implications, Trends and Partnerships	Nate Levenson, Founder and CEO, New Solutions K12 and Dr. Robert Pennington, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Norwalk Public Schools Matt Lentz, CFO Esperanza Charter School and Seku Robertston, Manager Director of Schools, LEARN Charter Management
3:30 - 4:30	Leading Change and the Role of Philanthropy	Dr. Susan Moxley and Paul Vallas

October 17, 2024 - Evening Networking Social Event

Time	Topic	Location
6:00 - 9:30	Join your peers for a relaxing evening to network, build relationships, or simply unwind with good food at a nearby Chicago restaurant. Event provided at no cost to attendees by GFOA.	Location TBD.

October 18, 2024

Time	Topic	Speaker
9:00 - 9:45	Day 2 Welcome and Review of Smarter School Spending Tools	Group Exercise Facilitated by Kyle Wedberg, Senior Manager, GFOA
9:45 - 10:45	Option to Attend: Long-Term Capital Planning (Security and Enrollment) Building Internal Coordination with Academic ROI	Michele Trongaard, Associate Superintendent of Business and Finance, Mansfield Independent Schools and Jeffrey Brogeden, Associate Superintendent Facilities and Bond Programs Mansfield Independent Schools Joe Costello, Director, District Management Group
11:00 - 12:00	Leading Change - GFOA Budget Readiness Self Assessment Tool	Kyle Wedberg, Senior Manager, GFOA
12:00 - 1:00	Working Lunch Provided by GFOA
1:00 - 2:30	Recap Exercise - The Group will work to recap main points from the conference and prepare a joint document for publication	Group Exercise Facilitated by Kyle Wedberg, Senior Manager, GFOA