This explainer offers a detailed analysis of the MPS Public-Facing Budget Documents, identifying shortcomings in the documents and making recommendations for how the District can deliver useful information to the community. Superintendent Ruth Turner has indicated that the District and BOE have identified transportation as a key driver of cost for potential cuts or changes as part of the process of balancing the Montclair Public Schools (MPS) budget.

This Explainer begins with an overview of the two foundational budget documents that the District is required by law to post to its website: the “User Friendly Budget”, designed for general consumption, and a more complete budget (“Detailed Budget”). These are the only budget materials available to the public. The Explainer evaluates them against principles of transparency and accountability. While these two budget documents are mandatory, the District can and should produce additional resources that explain budget materials and highlight critical and important information in a user-friendly manner.

MPACT finds that the MPS budget materials are: 

• Inaccessible. Neither document is well-signposted  on the MPS website, and they are published in a format that is inconsistent with open data principles: the data underlying them cannot be extracted for use and analysis in any meaningful way.

• Hard to understand. The Budget format and codes are required under State law, but are not understandable to individuals without state education finance know-how. The two documents don’t correspond, and there are several areas where the relationship between lines of the budget cannot be understood using conventional accounting principles.

• Lacking Detail. Neither budget contains links to or explanations of detailed budget information. They lack explanation of the State’s technical codes and do not include  operational information that aid in understanding the expense.

We consider the positive reforms Superintendent Turner has proposed and build upon them with our own recommendations for resources that will enhance governance and oversight of our schools, enrich citizen participation, bolster trust, and support the innovation needed for this moment:

1. Making budget data prominent and well-publicized. 

2. Presenting budget information as open data that is accessible for use, reuse, and redistribution and which aids analysis and decision-making.

3. Publishing a version of the budget that is well-explained and provides meaningful budget detail.

4. Making key information available in an accessible format that will assist stakeholders in understanding trends, comparisons, and concerns.

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