The Top Five Financial Mistakes Charter Schools Make: And How to Avoid Them
Did you miss our live session at the National Charter Schools Conference; The Top Five Financial Mistakes Charter Schools Make: And How to Avoid Them? Not to worry! We wanted to make sure to share the highlights from this session right here on the Charter School Capital blog. We were honored to have an outstanding panel of charter school experts whose depth of experience brought so much value to this presentation.
Tricia Blum Head of Business Consulting, Charter School Capital
Sharon Thompson, Chairman of the Board, Wayne Academy
Michael LaRoche Founder/Executive Director, SALTech
The Five Mistakes
The panelists began by outlining the top five mistakes: 1. Not Recognizing Your Schools is a Businesses 2. Being Unprepared for the Unexpected 3. Underestimating the Importance of Finances 4. Losing Sight of Your Mission 5. Not Maintaining Strong Relationships
How to Avoid the Top Five Financial Mistakes Charter Schools Make
Here’s a bit more detail on each mistake and the action items you can take to avoid them:
MISTAKE #1: Not recognizing that your school is a business
ACTION STEPS 1. Be the superintendent (not a principal)
Not just curriculum and teachers
Its endless hard work
You will be challenged in ways you never thought possible
2. Know your customer
All your stakeholders are customers:
Parents
Students
Community
Authorizer
Staff
3. Be the boss—the buck stops with you (literally)
Everything impacts your financials (especially mistakes)
You are responsible for it all
Find a mentor
SOLUTION: REMEMBER, YOUR SCHOOL IS A BUSINESS
MISTAKE #2: Being Unprepared for the Unexpected
ACTION STEPS 1. Beware the lawsuit and bad actors 2. Keep a strong, updated wait list
Sometimes your enrollment stream dries up or decreases substantially
Military bases/large employers, new schools, bad PR
3. Facilities have tripped up more than one great charter schools
Landlords aren’t always your friend: Know and understand your lease and the numbers behind them
Start looking for larger or better facilities now
4. Beware the tenacity of angry employees and parents
Create and maintain good public perception
Marketing/PR
SOLUTION: PREPARE FOR THE UNEXPECTED
MISTAKE #3: Underestimating the Importance of Finances
ACTION STEPS 1. Make a plan, work the plan:
Budget forecast
Don’t underbudget
Don’t overspend
*When in doubt do without
Cash flow
Budget to actuals
Have a contingency plan
2. Beware the claw-back
Forecast enrollment realistically
Nobody will correct you but they will take your money
3. Hire a charter school financial expert
Internally & externally
SOLUTION: REMEMBER, SUCCESS REQUIRES MONEY
MISTAKE #4: Losing Sight of Your Mission
ACTION STEPS 1. Know your end game—its’ your mission and vision
Tie all financials and operations back to your goal or consciously make new goals (redo mission/vision)
2. FAB (be Ferocious About your Boundaries)
Said differently, Trust but verify
Experts
3. Enrollment, enrollment, enrollment
SOLUTION: KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE: YOUR MISSION
MISTAKE #5: Not Maintaining Strong Relationships
ACTION STEPS 1. Authorizers: Aren’t always your friend
A “fine” relationship with your Authorizer suggests no relationship with your Authorizer
Calendar regular contact with staff, ED/superintendent, Charter Board
Toot your own horn
Show up to Authorizer events
2. Your Board of Directors: know your governance
You report to them–cultivate them
Lean on them for good and bad—they should be involved not just aware
Organized and agenda-d monthly public meetings
3. Experts: find them, pay them-keep the good ones
Consultants, thought leaders, business partners
SOLUTION: HAVE FRIENDS IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES
To watch the video of the live presentation, you can find it on our Facebook page. To download a printable PDF datasheet, click here. We hope that this has been helpful and valuable information! We’d love to read your comments and suggestions, so please add them in below.
Charter School Capital is committed to the success of charter schools and has solely focused on funding charter schools since the company’s inception in 2006. Our depth of experience working with charter school leaders and our knowledge of how to address charter school financial and operational needs have allowed us to provide over $1.6 billion in support of 600 charter schools that educate 800,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us!
Since the company’s inception in 2006, Charter School Capital has been committed to the success of charter schools. We help schools access, leverage, and sustain the resources charter schools need to thrive, allowing them to focus on what matters most – educating students. Our depth of experience working with charter school leaders and our knowledge of how to address charter school financial and operational needs have allowed us to provide over $1.8 billion in support of 600 charter schools that have educated over 1,027,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us. We’d love to work with you!