As resources shrink, the need to do more with less becomes critical. As a business CEO turned superintendent, this author has seen firsthand that many options exist, but none are fun, easy, or politically rewarding. He contends that the challenge of managing declining resources is not the choice between doing less for children or discovering new revenue. It is finding the political skill, cover, and buy-in to do what matters most for students, even at the expense of the adults. In this article, the author describes how he made the best of a shrinking budget by connecting spending to the district's vision and by prioritizing limited resources to address what matters most to the children.