Burbio School Tracker 12/23: Cutting & Investing

1. Burbio's Signals Tracker reads millions of pages of district discussions and summarizes opportunities for clients. The Signals can be pulled into CRMs via API, are delivered in reports which are reviewed at the account level, and are commonly ingested into clients’ internal analytics and AI models, where they are combined with proprietary sales and account-level data.

We start by summarizing the top five areas where program cuts are being considered for the 2026-27 budget year. The analysis covered over 500 school district discussions during the last 120 days:

• School Closures and Building Consolidations: Districts are aligning facility capacity with declining student enrollment by consolidating schools, closing specialized learning centers, and relocating specialty programs to shared sites.

• Staffing Reductions and Reductions in Force (RIF): Districts are planning to eliminate teaching positions, paraprofessionals, and support staff, often aiming to manage reductions through staff attrition.

• Specialized and Elective Programs: Non-core programs are under heavy scrutiny, including music, arts, world languages, and electives. Other potential cuts involve the elimination of summer school programs, adult education, and specialized student interest programs.

• Administrative and District-Level Operations: Districts often look to reduce administrative spending, restructure district leadership roles, and cut discretionary department budgets. This also can focus on reducing external consultant use and freezing non-mandated professional development and conference attendance.

• Transportation Services: Transportation cuts involve consolidating bus routes, increasing walking distances for students, and auditing services to find efficiencies. Some districts are also exploring the use of public transit.

Burbio is introducing a District Research Agent that summarizes sector-specific summaries of school district objectives. Click here for a short video.

2. For the next part of our district review we went a bit deeper, researching examples of investment in new initiatives heading into 2026-27:

• Uplift Education, TX, is adding a new Aerospace Engineering and Aviation CTE Program of Study for the 26-27 school year.

• Minnetonka Public School District, MN, is adding AP African American Studies, AP Business with Personal Finance, Architecture, Aviation Maintenance, Fashion Merchandising, and Zoology to high school courses.

• Among new math programs in Illinois, Winnetka SD 36 has 1,300 K-8 students engaged in a math pilot, Bloomington SD 87 is piloting Math Connections during 2026-27, and Lockport Township School District 205 is adding Financial Algebra and Data Science.

• Taunton Public Schools, MA, is proposing to eliminate tuition for Pre-K in 2026-27. Tuition is currently charged on a sliding scale basis.

• North Syracuse Central School District, NY, will be implementing Tier 2 Interventions at a middle school as part of an effort to strengthen their MTSS programs.

• Waverly-Shell Rock Community Schools, IA, is piloting literacy materials aligned with the science of reading in at least one classroom of grades K-6 during the current school year, with a recommendation to follow for adoption of a new literacy curriculum.

• Evesham Township School District, NJ, is applying for funding for middle school therapeutic interventions focusing on mental health support for 2026-27.

• Colonial School District, PA, is one of several school districts we see considering adding an AP Cybersecurity course.

• Portland Public Schools, ME, is creating a program to have all non-ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) educators achieve some form of ESOL credentials.

3. Burbio's State-Level Funding Tracker features continuously updated, state-specific grants for PreK-12 schools. We alert clients to new grants, enabling early outreach to eligible districts. This week we highlight grants with deadlines coming up in January:

• The District of Columbia has a Truancy Reduction Services Grant, with a goal of helping youths avoid involvement in the juvenile justice system.

• Wisconsin has a Fabrications Laboratory Grant to support hands-on science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) education by assisting with purchases of equipment used for instructional and educational purposes in Fab Labs.

• The California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) Adoption Account provides grants that will increase publicly available broadband access, such as grants for digital literacy training and public education to communities with limited broadband adoption.

• The Pennsylvania STOP/START project is designed to expand on the existing dissemination efforts that support individuals and families affected by opioid addiction.

• New Hampshire's Adult Education & Literacy Redistribution Grant assists students in earning a high school credential and acquiring the skills and knowledge necessary to become productive workers, parents, and citizens.

4. Burbio now bundles RFPs into our PreK-12 Intelligence Hub, filterable by category. Here are some RFPs due early in the New Year:

• The School District of Philadelphia, PA, has a bid out for Instructional Resources & Services for English Learning and Dual Language Learner Programs.

• Memphis Shelby County Schools, TN, has issued an RFP for transportation services.

• San Marcos CISD, TX, is soliciting bids for special education services.

• Des Moines Public Schools, IA, is looking for Early Literacy Instruction.

• Winslow Township School District, NJ, is re-bidding for security services.