Hey, I’m Burke.
I run school operations for a living — buses, boilers, budgets, and everything in between.
Each week, I share the lessons nobody’s teaching in leadership books — just what works when you’re actually in the building.
If you’re in the trenches too, this is for you.
Let’s jump in.
It’s Time to Have Honest Conversations About Public School Capital Outlay
Every operations leader I talk to says the same thing:
“We’re just trying to make it one more year.”
One more year out of a failing chiller.
One more year from a worn-out bus.
One more year before another roof leaks.
We’re managing on hope — and a wing and a prayer.
But hope isn’t a funding strategy.
“Silence in the face of dysfunction is complicity.”
The Hard Truth
This isn’t happening because of poor planning.
It’s not mismanagement.
It’s math.
There simply isn’t enough money in most public school systems to maintain, replace, and modernize what we already have — let alone build for what’s coming.
Capital outlay hasn’t kept pace with inflation, aging infrastructure, or the cost of deferred maintenance.
We’re squeezing 30-year roofs into 45-year lifespans and praying the boilers survive winter.
And while we make it work, students pay the price.