Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union, Vermont
A School Union Consolidated Four Entities for Unified, Efficient Budgeting

Primary Objective

Using ClearGov to Streamline Budgeting and Strengthen Public Trust

Simplify multi-entity budgeting, improve collaboration, and enhance public communication and transparency for Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union’s complex financial operations.

Background

Four Entities on the Same Chart of Accounts

Located in southeastern Vermont, Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union (WSESU) manages the administrative and financial operations for three member school districts, covering 725,000 square feet of building space across 30 acres of property. With approximately 300 employees, the Supervisory Union oversees services ranging from curriculum to food service and special education.

Larry Dougher, WSESU’s Chief Financial Officer, joined WSESU 20 years ago, originally serving as Chief Information Officer. Dougher’s unique background in both technology and finance positioned him well to lead the Supervisory Union through significant shifts in financial management practices.

Challenge

Fragmented, Manual Budgeting and Budget Book Processes

Before adopting ClearGov, WSESU’s budgeting processes were fragmented across multiple spreadsheets and emails, creating serious issues with version control, collaboration, and public communication. The Supervisory Union also had the challenge of budgeting for four distinct entities: its three member school districts and the Supervisory Union itself.

Solution

Operational and Budget Book Efficiencies

Attrition and financial efficiencies within the Supervisory Union led to Dougher assuming significantly greater responsibility. He began looking for a way to simplify and centralize operations. 

Dougher found that ClearGov Operational Budgeting provided a transparent, centralized platform for conveniently managing the budgets for its three member school districts and the Supervisory Union itself. Dougher calls Operational Budgeting, “one pane of glass across four entities.” He also appreciates Operational Budgeting’s ability to quickly compare versions. I was able to use the collaboration feature with our Director of Student Support Services and that saved a lot of time. I plan to do it with more department heads next year.

ClearGov Digital Budget Book also helped consolidate budget data, narratives, and visuals into a single, ADA-compliant, and interactive web-based platform. The mobile-friendly format gave administrators and residents the ability to explore the budget on their own time, even from their phones. Using ClearGov’s pre-built templates and clear-cut, WYSIWYG-style editor, Dougher quickly built out pages tailored to each district, with layouts that could be easily replicated in future cycles.

The response to our Digital Budget Book has been great. One board member told me, ‘This budget book is super incredible! It looks amazing! Super informative!

Implementation

An Easy-to-Replicate Process

Throughout the implementation process, Dougher found ClearGov’s support team to be approachable, proficient, and helpful. Dougher appreciated how ClearGov’s staff was knowledgeable about WSESU’s specific use case of having four separate entities alongside the same chart of accounts.

ClearGov’s support team also provided budget book examples from other school districts around the country as inspiration for WSESU’s Digital Budget Book. Dougher adopted the elements he liked and customized layouts that fit the Supervisory Union’s needs.

Working in weekly meetings with the superintendent, Dougher built out the Digital Budget Book incrementally. Once the format was set, it was easy to replicate. For each district, he reused structures and adjusted narrative content as needed. The result was a budget book that was both technically sound and easy for the public to understand. 

ClearGov’s automatic syncing made it easy to keep the budget current. Dougher noted that updates to one chart would cascade throughout the entire book—ensuring consistency without manual rework.

To foster transparency, the budget book went live in October, months ahead of the public vote in March. This gave voters ample time to review the financials and accompanying context. Because the book was hosted online year-round, it became a reliable source of truth for board members, administrators, and the general public alike.

Results

Streamlined Budgeting, an Accessible Budget Book, and More 

Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union saw immediate benefits from adopting ClearGov’s Digital Budget Book:

• About 50% time saved in budget book creation: Dougher says he was able to create all of the local district parts of his budget book with ClearGov Digital Budget Book in less than half the time as the original WSESU version. Next year, he expects the total budget book creation time to be cut in half.
• Streamlined Workflows and Collaboration: The Supervisory Union eliminated its reliance on spreadsheets and email chains by moving to a centralized, cloud-based platform that keeps everyone working from the same version of the truth. Dougher appreciates Operational Budgeting’s collaboration features and plans to use it with more department heads.
• Mobile-Responsive Budget Book Access: Staff, board members, and residents could access the budget from any device, making it easier to answer questions and engage with the content anytime, anywhere.
• District-to-District Comparisons: Stakeholders can compare programs and spending across WSESU’s member districts, which is especially helpful in communities with school choice and differing tuition costs.
• Sustainable for the Long Term: With templates, structure, and processes now in place, WSESU can easily update its budget book each year with less effort and more consistency.

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