Fiscal Bureaucrats as Policy Implementation Actors: How School Business Officials Navigate Educational Equity Through Resource Allocation

• In Event: Implementing Justice: Race-Conscious Policy Futures and the Practice of Educational Equity

Abstract

This study examines school business officials (SBOs) as critical policy implementation actors who operate at the intersection of educational mission fulfillment and financial stewardship. Through interviews with 19 SBOs across school districts within a Northeastern state, observations, and board meeting analysis, this research reveals how these fiscal bureaucrats interpret, adapt, and enact complex educational funding policies while navigating equity implications of resource allocation decisions. The findings demonstrate that SBOs function as policy interpreters, relationship architects, and strategic planners whose implementation practices directly impact educational equity. This research contributes to policy implementation theory by revealing how fiscal administrators mediate between policy intentions and educational outcomes, highlighting both enabling conditions and barriers to equitable policy implementation in diverse educational contexts.

Author

• Sandra Emmanuella Okonofua, Yale University