Maximizing Financial Stability

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Type: Article

Topics: Finance & Budgets, School Administrator Magazine

June 01, 2025

Appears in June 2025: School Administrator

When I began my tenure as superintendent of Forest City Community School District in Iowa 18 years ago, the district faced significant financial constraints, with only $18,000 in unspent balance. A negative balance would have required us to present a fiscal plan to the Iowa Department of Education. However, through strategic planning and community support, we ended that year with $180,000.

Today, our rural K-12 district, which serves approximately 1,100 students in three schools, proudly maintains an unspent balance of $9 million. Remarkably, we have achieved this financial stability without cutting programs. In fact, we have expanded our offerings.

One key factor is we have had a strong school business officer and a board of education that understands that an organization in strong financial standing can be proactive rather than reactive.

Nuts and Bolts

Our innovative strategies for maximizing the district鈥檚 financial stability have included:

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Darwin Lehmann

Superintendent

Forest City Community School District and Central Springs Community School District, Forest City, Iowa

This essay is part of a series called "Winning Ideas from Winning Superintendents." To view the other essays in the series, visit the June publication page.

As a central part of the applications for the National Superintendent of the Year program that 萝卜AV视频manages annually, every state-level nominee is required to complete a series of four essays. The prompts require each superintendent to draw on the totality of their experiences over time to capture in words their leadership for learning philosophy and accomplishments, public communication skills, community involvement and professionalism.

Each of the submitted essays, running 1,000 words or less, captures the sharp thinking and meritorious actions taken by those leaders or the school systems they oversee.

In the pages that follow, we鈥檝e dubbed them 鈥渨inning ideas鈥� from 18 of the 49 state-level honorees in 2025 (Hawaii does not have a state applicant) in the National Superintendent of the Year program.

鈥� Jay P. Goldman

Full Roster of State Honorees:鈥俆he limitations of space prevent us from featuring every educator recognized in the 2025 National Superintendent of the Year program. A complete roster of each state鈥檚 award winner, along with their biographies and photos, can be found on the .

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