Participatory budgeting (PB) fosters community engagement in the allocation of public funds. Although its popularity has diminished in general-purpose governments, it is gaining traction in school districts. Yet research on PB’s managerial implications remains scarce. This study analyzes a PB process in a New York school district, examining key stages, participants, and engagement dynamics using quantitative and qualitative data. Our findings underscore important implementation challenges that necessitate careful consideration before advocating the widespread adoption of school PB.
AbrantesP.LopesA.BaptistaJ. M. (2018). The schools participatory budgeting (SPB) in Portugal. In DiasN. (Ed.), Hope for democracy: 30 years of participatory budgeting worldwide (pp. 469–476). Epopeia Records Oficina.
AugsbergerA.CollinsM. E.GeckerW.LuskK.ZhaoQ. J. (2017). “She treated us like we bring valid ideas to the table:” Youth experiences of a youth-led participatory budgeting process. Children and Youth Services Review, 76(C), 243–249.
4.
BrunnerE.BalsdonE. (2004). Intergenerational conflict and the political economy of school spending. Journal of Urban Economics, 56(2), 369–388.
5.
BrunnerE.RobbinsM.SimonsenB. (2018). Information, tax salience, and support for school bond referenda. Public Budgeting & Finance, 38(4), 52–73.
6.
CabannesY. (2021). Contributions of participatory budgeting to climate change adaptation and mitigation: Current local practices across the world and lessons from the field. Environment & Urbanization, 33(2), 356–375.
ChanT. W.ClaytonM. (2006). Should the voting age be lowered to sixteen? Normative and empirical considerations. Political Studies, 54(3), 533–558.
9.
CohenM.SchugurenskyD.WiekA. (2015). Citizenship education through PB: The case of Bioscience High School in Phoenix, Arizona. Curriculum and Teaching, 30(2), 5–26.
10.
CollinsJ. E. (2021). Does the meeting style matter? The effects of exposure to participatory and deliberative school board meetings. American Political Science Review, 115(3), 790–804.
11.
CollinsM. E.AugsbergerA.GeckerW.LuskK. (2018). What does youth-led PB reveal about youth priorities? Ideas, votes, and decisions. Journal of Youth Studies, 21(4), 476–494.
12.
CourantP. N.GramlichE. M.RubinfeldD. L. (1980). Why voters support tax limitation amendments: The Michigan case. National Tax Journal, 33(1), 1–20.
13.
DuncikaiteI. (2019, September12). Participatory budgeting initiatives lead to greater transparency: Example of two Lithuanian schools. ETICO.
14.
FalangaR. (2018). The National Participatory Budgeting in Portugal: Opportunities and challenges for scaling up citizen participation in policymaking. In DiasN. (ed.), Hope for democracy: 30 years of participatory budgeting worldwide (pp. 447–466). Epopeia Records Oficina.
15.
GanuzaE.BaiocchiG. (2012). The power of ambiguity: How participatory budgeting travels the globe. Journal of Public Deliberation, 8(2), 8.
16.
GlaserJ. M. (2002). White voters, black schools: Structuring racial choices with a checklist ballot. American Journal of Political Science, 46(1), 35–46.
17.
GopalanM.BradyS. T. (2020). College students’ sense of belonging: A national perspective. Educational Researcher, 49(2), 134–137.
18.
Government Accountability Office. (2022). Back to School for K-12 students: Issues Ahead.
19.
GramlichE. M.RubinfeldD. L. (1982). Micro estimates of public spending demand functions and tests of the Tiebout and median-voter hypotheses. Journal of Political Economy, 90(32), 536–560.
20.
GrillosT. (2014). Youth lead the change: The City of Boston’s youth-focused participatory budgeting process. Pilot year evaluation. Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University.
21.
HillM.HupeP. (2002). Implementing public policy: Governance in theory and in practice. Sage.
22.
HowlettM. (2019). Designing public policies: Principles and instruments (2nd ed.). Routledge.
23.
JoS.NabatchiT. (2021). Different processes, different outcomes? Assessing the individual-level impacts of public participation. Public Administration Review, 81(1), 137–151.
24.
LascoumesP.Le GalèsP. (2007). Introduction: Understanding public policy through its instruments—From the nature of instruments to the sociology of public policy instrumentation. Governance, 20(1), 1–21.
25.
LehtonenP.Radzik-MaruszakK. (2023). Inclusion as ownership in participatory budgeting: Facilitators’ interpretations of public engagement of children and youth. Critical Policy Studies. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/19460171.2023.2192412
26.
LernerJ. (2011). Participatory budgeting: Building community agreement around tough budget decisions. National Civic Review, 100(2), 30–35.
27.
LernerJ. (2017). Conclusion: Time for participatory budgeting to grow up. New Political Science, 39(1), 156–160.
LevinH. M.BelfieldC.MuennigP. A.RouseC. (2007). The costs and benefits of an excellent education for all of America’s children. Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
30.
MoynihanD. P. (2003). Normative and instrumental perspectives on public participation: Citizen summits in Washington, DC. The American Review of Public Administration, 33(2), 164–188.
31.
NabatchiT. (2012). Putting the “public” back in public values research: Designing participation to identify and respond to values. Public Administration Review, 72(5), 699–708.
32.
NabatchiT.AmslerL. B. (2014). Direct public engagement in local government. The American Review of Public Administration, 44(4_suppl), 63S–88S.
33.
NabatchiT.LeighningerM. (2015). Public participation for 21st century democracy. John Wiley & Sons.
34.
NabatchiT.GerardC. (2020). The PB playbook: Guide to participatory budgeting in Syracuse City School District. PARCC Maxwell School Syracuse University.
35.
NY State School Boards Association. (2018). ESSA in New York: A Guide for the implementation of the school accountability provisions of the ESSA and related New York ESSA regulations.
Pardo-BeneytoG.Abellán-LópezM. A. (2023). Participatory budgeting for young people as democratic socialisation: An approach to the case of Spain. Children & Society, 37(5), 1555–1575.
RubinfeldD. L. (1977). Voting in a local school election: A micro analysis. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 59(1), 30–42.
45.
SalamonL. M. (Ed.). (2002). The tools of government: A guide to the new governance. Oxford University Press.
46.
SheningerE.RubinT. (2017). BrandED: Tell your story, build relationships, and empower learning. John Wiley & Sons.
47.
SintomerY.HerzbergC.RöckeA.AllegrettiG. (2012). Transnational models of citizen participation: The case of participatory budgeting. Journal of Public Deliberation, 8(2), 9.
48.
WamplerB. (2012). Participatory budgeting: Core principles and key impacts. Journal of Public Deliberation, 8(2), 12.
49.
ZimmerR.BuddinR.JonesJ.LiuN. (2011). What types of school capital projects are voters willing to support?Public Budgeting & Finance, 31(1), 37–55.
