This study examines financial management in California school districts, including how districts vary in the qualifications and stability of the responsible personnel, the nature of their governance and leadership, and their management practices. It also looks at the relationship between those aspects of district operations and a measure of district fiscal health. In addition, it examines the extent to which conditions outside a district’s control relate to fiscal health.

EdSource developed and authored this study in partnership with School Services of California and with Susanna Loeb of Stanford University serving as senior technical consultant to the project. It is part of a larger series of research studies entitled “Getting Down to Facts.” That project, overseen by Stanford University, was conducted during 2005 and 2006. 

Full report with executive summary and appendices (Nov. 2006)

You can download this 176-page report for free. 

• Executive summary 
• Report and executive summary 
• Appendices 
  • Appendix I: Survey Instrument
  • Appendix II: FCMAT Predictors
  • Appendix III: California State Loans to School Districts
  • Appendix IV: FCMAT Risk Analysis Worksheet
  • Appendix V: FCMAT Studies by Fiscal Year
  • Appendix VI: List of Qualified and Negative Districts Between 2002-03 and 2004-05
  • Appendix VII: Proposition 98
  • Appendix VIII: Purchasing Services Available to California School Districts
  • Appendix IX: Enrollment and Fiscal Health for Sample
  • Appendix X: Technical Output from Statistical Tests

Summary report: Keeping School Districts Fiscally Healthy (April 2007)

This 16-page EdSource lay report summarizes the findings from the School District Financial Management: Personnel, Policies, and Practices study. Written with K-12 administrators, community leaders, and state and local policymakers in mind, it will help inform California’s discussions around the relationship between districts’ fiscal health, state funding systems, and business office practices.

To download this report for free or purchase a copy to be shipped to you by mail, click here.