By Pete Falk, Curriculum Director, Herscher CUSD 2
When you first go to school, you’re faced with one of the hardest tasks you’ll ever encounter in life: learning how to read.
Over the centuries, the approach to teaching others how to read has varied, but teaching it, has been a priority. We know that if you don’t attain literacy, everything else is going to be really, really difficult.
So for me, my priorities are clear: first, I want my students be safe and feel loved and valued; second, I want them to become literate. In fact, my longterm vision for student literacy is for each them to be able to listen well, read widely, think deeply, write thoughtfully, and converse civilly.
That’s why literacy always comes first when I think about budgets. I’m not a finance expert. I don’t spend my nights chasing obscure grant opportunities or cranking out hundred-page proposals. What I am is a practitioner—a curriculum director who manages and optimizes the federal dollars our district already receives.
And right now, with budget uncertainty and the possibility of funding cuts looming, stretching every one of those dollars matters more than ever.
Managing grants is a lot like managing a household budget: you keep track of what’s coming in, pay attention to what’s going out, and make sure your most important priorities are covered first. For us, that priority is literacy—especially the foundational reading skills that set students up for success across every subject.
Over the years, I’ve learned a few lessons about stretching grant funds. Here are five that have kept literacy at the forefront of everything we do:
1. Maximize What You Already Have
My other duties don’t allow me to chase every shiny new funding stream. Instead, I start by taking inventory of the core programs we can count on year after year — Title I, Title II, and, recently, ESSER. The key is asking: Are we using each of these funds as effectively as possible? Sometimes dollars are spread too thin or used for initiatives that don’t directly support student learning. By evaluating our current allocations up front, we can ensure every funding stream is aligned with our top priority — literacy.
2. Treat Grants as Living Documents
A family budget changes month to month — so do grants. Projections never match reality exactly. That’s why I review ours every month. If we budgeted for more bus routes than we actually needed during summer school, I’ll amend the grant and move those funds into areas like phonics or intervention. Small reallocations add up quickly when you’re disciplined about monitoring. The flexibility to make small, frequent adjustments keeps every dollar working for kids. When actual expenses come in lower than projected, I redirect those dollars to literacy.
3. Put Literacy First
Every budget has its “non-negotiables.” For families, it’s the mortgage or groceries. For us, it’s literacy. Especially in K–2, where reading is the foundation for everything else, we don’t compromise. Starting with that priority makes every other funding decision easier — because if it doesn’t move the needle on literacy, it doesn’t make the cut.
4. Be Ready When Extra Dollars Appear
Sometimes, a surprise tax refund shows up at home. In schools, it might be unused funds redistributed from the state or leftover dollars from a project that cost less than expected. The key is readiness. At the start of the year, no matter how little the amount, I set aside what I can for literacy so that if extra money appears, I can put it to work immediately — without having to start from scratch.
5. Funding Is a Team Sport
I may manage the spreadsheets, but I don’t make decisions in isolation. Teachers, administrators, and district staff help determine where money will make the biggest impact. At the end of the day, literacy isn’t something one person can “fund” into existence. It takes all of us, pulling in the same direction.
You Don’t Need to Be a Finance Expert to Get Funding Right
Managing grants isn’t glamorous, but it’s one of the most powerful levers we have to improve student outcomes. The formula is simple: maximize what you have, stay flexible, prioritize literacy, prepare for windfalls, and make it a team effort.
If sharing my experience helps another administrator stretch their dollars a little further, it’s worth it. Because at the end of the day, grant management isn’t about paperwork. It’s about giving students the literacy foundation they need for everything else in life.
