This Rockville-based edtech startup supports K-12 school districts in strategic budgeting

Equiday, a Rockville, Md.—based edtech startup that created a SaaS solution to help district finance leaders model student-driven funding formulas, landed a partnership with a prominent school district in the DMV.

The company is working with Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS). Using its SaaS solution called AllocatePro, Equiday’s goal is to provide K-12 school district business offices with software and support that makes resource allocation less burdensome and more equitable, a press release states.

“PGCPS is one of the nation’s 25 largest districts, so issues around equity in school finance are amplified within the district. They’re integrating early-warning indicators and predictive modeling into the school funding structure to tackle resource equity head-on, ” Equiday CEO and Founder Justin Dayhoff said in a statement. “As a former public school teacher and Maryland resident, it’s especially rewarding to be involved in this initiative.”

Equiday’s financial modeling tool will be used to manage a progressive, data-centered school funding model for PGCPS’s 130,000- student, 208-school district, the press release states.

“The funding model is transformative in how it has helped us define, measure, and subsequently advance equity beyond anything our previous formulae could provide,” Kristy Miller, Fiscal Compliance Officer at PGCPS said in a statement.

The company has three full-time employees including Dayhoff and is in its first year of business. This is actually the second school district Equiday has landed a partnership with, first securing a deal with Indianapolis Public Schools in September to implement a student-driven funding formula for the 27,000-student, 74-school district.

In both partnerships, district finance leaders can use Equiday’s financial modeling tool to evaluate their education finance program, asses potential funding models and make a transition to a more strategic and suitable budgeting plan.

“Next year, student-level spending data by school will be made public for the first time ever. The federal government is shining a spotlight on education finance because widespread inequities fail to support our nation’s most vulnerable students,” Dayhoff said. “There are so many barriers to high quality education for many kids. One avenue to address the disparity is through resource equity.”