School Business Insider — “Wrapped! 2025” Host: John Brucato | Date: December 30, 2025
ASBO International’s official podcast

Episode Overview

In the final episode of 2025, host John Brucato reflects on a landmark year for School Business Insider. He celebrates the show’s growth, recaps favorite and most impactful episodes, shares listener stats and global reach, and previews topics and themes that will shape the podcast in 2026. With heartfelt appreciation for guests, listeners, and the school business community, John invites continued engagement and participation for an exciting year ahead.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

2025 in Review: Milestones and Growth

• 100th Episode Milestone

  • School Business Insider released its 100th episode this year: “The State of Healthcare”.
  • John notes its timeliness as districts face challenging budgetary times, particularly with uncertainty in state and federal funding.
  • Special thanks were given to Eric Gilbert and Adam Henson of Daybright Financial for their insights.
  • “I want to just kind of reflect on what we've been able to accomplish, maybe review some stats and just look back at 12 months and maybe look ahead for the next 12...” (01:08)

• Listener Statistics

  • Over 16,000 downloads in 2025.
  • Listener base primarily in the United States, with strong showings in the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Germany, and Somalia.
  • “But what was surprising to me, the next biggest country of listenership is Bangladesh, followed by Germany and Somalia. So very interesting to me, ones that weren't really on my bingo card...” (04:10)

• Top U.S. Regions

  • Virginia, Washington, D.C., Illinois, and New York lead in listenership.
  • John nods to ASBO International and active state chapters.

• Listening Platforms

  • Apple Podcasts is the dominant platform, followed by Castbox and Pocket Casts.
  • Shout-out to listener Brian Cheknicki for boosting Pocket Casts stats.
  • “After that is Castbox, which admittedly I’ve never heard of, and then Pocket Casts...great to see that we have a pretty good cross section of listenership both in terms of geolocation and platform.” (07:25)

2025’s Most Popular Episodes & Themes

• Top Episode: Navigating GASB 101 — Compensated Absences Simplified

  • A technical, timely dive into new standards for school district audits.
  • Audiences have strong interest in technical guidance aligned with budget/audit cycles.
  • John pledges to anticipate regulatory needs in future episodes.
  • “We had some really great episodes. When I look at the stats, the most popular episode for 2025 was Navigating GASB 101...I think that really speaks to the technical episodes are well received.” (08:58)

• #2 Episode: Making Data Strategies for Financial and Academic Integration

  • Featuring Tim Hilker and Joe Greco on measuring academic ROI.
  • Importance is underscored by pressures to “do more with less.”
  • “Our communities, our boards are expecting us to do more with less and being able to take a very pragmatic and systemized approach in terms of what you're doing in your district...” (11:40)

• #3 Episode: Hard Choices, Smarter Schools — Surviving the Big Shrink

  • With Dr. Marguerite Rosa (Georgetown’s Edunomics Lab), examining long-term nationwide enrollment decline.
  • Discussion covers financial, operational, and community impacts and proactive steps to manage demographic shifts.
  • “What she classifies as ‘the big shrink’ or a long-term nationwide enrollment decline...Dr. Rosa did a wonderful job explaining what is happening in real time and what districts can do to get ahead of the big shrink.” (13:13)

• Wider Trends: Artificial Intelligence

  • AI emerged as an overarching theme, explored in multiple episodes.
  • Noted guest Aziz Agaev demystified practical AI applications and highlighted both opportunities and blind spots.
  • Emphasis on the growing need to leverage AI for routine and complex tasks in school business offices.
  • “AI is going to be an ever increasing theme. I think 2026 will be no different...” (16:14)
  • John’s personal use of AI for time-saving and efficiency.

Favorite Episode Highlights (Storytelling & Personal Growth)

• Breaking the Silence: Addressing Mental Health

  • Guest: Peter Bard
  • Focused on mental health challenges facing school business officials; praised for raw honesty and vulnerability.
  • “He went through some pretty challenging times, but was open and honest about what his experience was...we can oftentimes feel like we're on an island alone.” (20:46)

• Speak Like a Human, Prompt Like a Pro

  • Guest: Aziz Agaev
  • Explores hands-on techniques for communicating with and optimizing AI tools.
  • “He knows so, so much about AI, but not just AI, more so how to leverage it and use it effectively like I was just talking about in the business office.” (23:03)

• Episodes with Brian Cheknicki

  • Features on data tools, AI integration, and simplifying complex state-level data for school business communities.
  • “He's leveraging AI...but building tools to make the lives of school business officials a lot easier in terms of communicating complex data and complex concepts that come out of the state of New York...” (24:10)

• Solo Reflections

  • John’s solo episodes, focusing on personal experiences or topics he is passionate about, received positive listener feedback.
  • Plans to continue solo episodes quarterly in 2026.
  • “I’ve gotten some good feedback on those. So I'll probably look to do a few more maybe once a quarter in 2026.” (26:08)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Global Listenership:
  “Shout out to you in Bangladesh, Germany, and Somalia if you're listening to this. Thank you for tuning in so often and so frequently to School Business Insider.” (05:08)

• On Anticipatory Content:
  “We’re going to do our best to kind of anticipate those needs and get some episodes out there early enough so you have some time to listen to it, digest, and then reflect on what can we get done...” (10:55)

• On AI’s Impact:
  “I know certainly, personally, I use AI on a regular basis, whether it's with the podcast, whether it's with my day job. As a school business official, I'm using AI on a regular basis and I feel like I'm getting more proficient at using it...” (16:40)

• On Storytelling and Vulnerability:
  “For Peter to be so open, honest, and vulnerable to our listenership, I can't thank him enough...that was a really in-depth, challenging conversation, but I'm glad we did that.” (20:59)

• On Audience Engagement:
  “I think the more stories we tell, I think it’s just validating to a lot of school business officials to hear that we’re not in this alone.” (28:42)

Looking Ahead to 2026

• Continued focus on timely, anticipatory episodes (regulatory, technical, and operational excellence).
• Dive deeper into AI, practical case studies, and implications for school business officials.
• More solo and storytelling episodes reflecting diverse experiences in the field.
• Encouragement to listeners for guest/topic suggestions via asbointl.org/SBI or podcastbotintl.org.

Closing Remarks

John expresses deep gratitude for the community’s participation and passion for school business topics. He promises new content, deeper dives, and engaging voices in 2026.

“Thank you all again for an amazing 2025. I hope you have some time with your friends and your family over the holiday and New Year's, and we'll see you next week in 2026.” (31:01)

[End of Summary]

(Timestamps are approximate based on the provided transcript.)