Chief financial officers (or CFOs) in Texas school districts play a pivotal role in the success of the students they serve by strategically investing district resources on their behalf. Last week, chief financial officers from Texas school districts serving more than one million students came together in Dallas to collaborate and learn from experts on how they can be the most effective stewards of their district funds in service of student outcomes.
The Dallas convening was the 2022-2023 kickoff of the Texas CFO Strategy Network, a statewide initiative that brings together school finance leaders from across Texas who are committed to maximizing the impact of their district’s resources in service of students and who are committed to the role of the strategic CFO as a critical leader in advancing system strategy. Sixty school districts participate in the network, co-sponsored by The Texas Impact Network, a joint venture of Educate Texas and the Commit Partnership, and the Texas Education Agency.
The Dallas convening specifically focused on assessing school district finance practices and building an understanding of how to evaluate the impact of a district’s financial investments on student success, with a particular focus on federal COVID relief funding.
Using this lens will help CFOs maximize resources by investing in the strategies that yield the greatest returns on student success, said Ben Mackey, Executive Director of the Texas Impact Network.
“School finance officials play a critical role in the deployment of school district resources but they are often left out when evaluating student performance,” Mackey said. “We are grateful to be able to support this group of school finance leaders in their commitment to unite the historically disjointed discussions of budget development and student outcome measurement.”
The Texas CFO Strategy Network will next convene in Austin in the spring, with multiple virtual meetings in the interim.
