Coming Soon: A Toolkit from ASBO International and NSPRA

In May 2025, ASBO International and the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) held focus groups with school business officials (SBOs) and communication professionals to understand how districts communicate about school finance—and where those efforts often break down. Insights from these discussions directly informed the development of a four-part toolkit designed to help finance and communication teams work together more effectively.

Participants represented districts of various sizes and structures. While local contexts varied, several consistent patterns emerged.

Internal discussions around finances are strong, but public understanding is limited.

Focus group participants reported frequent, detailed internal conversations about school finance, but noted that public understanding is often limited. Budget information is typically posted online to meet state requirements, but these materials can be dense and difficult for non-technical audiences to navigate. 

Stakeholders care more about impact than line items.
Community members are rarely looking for detailed ledger-level explanations. Instead, they want to understand the “why” and “so what” behind financial decisions—how choices affect students, staff and services. Without clear context connecting dollars to outcomes, even well-prepared financial information may not be understood.

Early communication involvement makes a difference.
In many districts, SBOs lead financial communication, particularly when no communications professional is available. Participants noted this can make messages overly technical, hard to follow, or disconnected from community concerns. When communications staff are involved early, messages are clearer, more accessible and better aligned with community needs.

Simplicity builds trust.
SBOs and communicators agreed that trust is built through clarity, not volume.

Participants consistently pointed to:

• The value of simplified summaries over detailed line-item explanations

• The effectiveness of visuals, brief overviews and repetition

• The importance of clearly explaining the “why” behind financial decisions

Highly technical language, acronyms and dense presentations were widely viewed as barriers to understanding, even if the information is accurate.

Relationships between finance and communications teams drive success.
Effectiveness often depends more on collaboration between SBOs and communications staff than on formal processes. Close working relationships, informal check-ins and shared context lead to stronger coordination and more strategic messaging. When communications staff are empowered to ask questions, attend finance briefings and help shape materials, financial communication is more timely, aligned and effective.

Knowing the audience shapes strategy.
Community culture, political context and language needs all influence how financial information is received. Strategies such as advisory councils, translated materials and culturally responsive framing were identified as ways to improve understanding and engagement across diverse audiences.

Visuals and repetition reinforce understanding.
Data alone is rarely enough. Focus group participants agreed that presenting financial information in multiple formats and reinforcing it over time helps connect decisions to tangible outcomes, including student opportunities, staff retention and health and safety. Visual tools such as charts, timelines, photos and short videos were cited as particularly effective.

Looking ahead

These insights form the backbone of an upcoming four-part toolkit from ASBO International and NSPRA. It will provide practical tools, examples, and guidance to strengthen collaboration, clarity, and community understanding of school finance topics.