School business officials have a crucial role to play for school districts. Not only are they in charge of balancing the budget for the school year, but they’re also tasked with anticipating future financial plans, sometimes half a decade down the line. Compound that with responsibilities you might not think come with the job – like, say, finding missing kindergarteners – and you have a position that’s integral to a modern district’s functioning.

In this episode, John Brucato, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations at Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District in New York state, gives us an enhanced view into what a school business official thinks about— and the importance of data not just in the short term, but for predicting the future as well.

We’ll discuss how being prepared with a view of the district’s data helped him land his current job, along with:

• Why being a school business official is about more than just numbers

• How data impacts an SBO’s day-to-day

• The importance of refining a long-range financial plan as you go