Community Solutions for the School Budget Crisis

A Resource-Optimized Model for District Stability Bridging the Budget Gap through Community-Led Infrastructure & Shared Service Grants

Document Index

Document	Type	Print?
Executive Summary	Whitepaper	Yes

Document	Impact	Print?
Instructional Bridge Grant – PTA fund to save Art & Library	High	Yes
Open Image Project – Replace Lifetouch, reclaim revenue & data	Medium-High	Yes
Community Maintenance Layer – Volunteer groundskeeping SLA	Low-Med $ / High proof	Yes
Paraprofessional Retention Audit – Hidden costs of outsourcing special ed	Very High	Yes
Health Insurance Transparency – Broker conflicts, Perth Amboy precedent, SHBP	Very High	Yes
Open Governance Pilot – Async governance, meetings as Sprint Reviews	Very High (long-term)	Yes

Document	Print?
RFI Templates – Ready-to-file vendor & broker disclosure requests	Yes
The Speech + Print Guide – 3-minute address, what to print, assembly tips	Reference

Document	Impact	Print?
Energy & Facilities – Solar PPAs ($18M Piscataway), LED, audits	High	Optional
Cooperative Purchasing & Shared Services – Pooled buying, DCA SHARE grants	Medium	Optional
Community Grant Writing Corps – Volunteer grant team as revenue pipeline	High	Yes
Student-Led Projects – Dual educational and cost-saving value	Medium	Optional
Regulatory Leverage Points – Best Practices, banked cap, NJQSAC, surplus	Very High	Yes

Document	Impact	Print?
Open Budget & Participatory Finance – OpenCollective, PB, budget viz	Very High	Yes
PTA Coordination Infrastructure – Skill inventories, proposals, commitment tracking	Very High (long-term)	Optional
The PTA as Community Operating System – OpenCollective, directed giving, Palo Alto model	Very High	Site only
Community Sports & Athletics Partnerships – League partnerships, junior coaches, multi-org model	High	Medium-High

For platform builders – developers, data volunteers, and technical contributors.

Document	Implements
Demicracy PTA Coordination Layer – Backstage plugins, Forgejo workflows, OC API	Modules 13-16
District Budget Visualization – Interactive CAFR explorer, D3.js, GitHub Pages	Module 14

Document	Purpose
References & Source Links – Verified URLs, statutes, precedents, news coverage	All modules

Organization	Contributes
PTA	Fundraising, enrichment, photography, grant writing
Sports leagues	Athletics, coaching, equipment, insurance
Student volunteers	Peer tutoring, junior coaching, tech support, media
Local businesses	Enrichment instruction, sponsorship, equipment
Community groups	Grounds maintenance, neighborhood coordination

For the board meeting (printed): See the Print Guide for assembly order, copy counts, and tips.

For PTA leadership: Start with Executive Summary then Modules 14-16.

For sports league leadership: Start with Community Sports then Coordination.

For developers: Start with Technical Design docs and References.