Top 5 Events in Developing a School District Budget

1. Approximately March 1 - campuses and departments should begin to develop their budget proposals based on needs assessments.
2. Approximately April 1 - campuses and departments should forward their proposed budgets to central office for the PRC to review.
3. Approximately June 1 - superintendent completes the review process and prepares the 1st draft of the proposed budget.
4. August 20 (for traditional year schools) - this is the date by which the budget must be prepared. At that point, the district must call a public board meeting with a ten day notice of the meeting.
5. August 31 - this is the date by which the budget must be adopted.

I am pretty lucky that my campus is right across the street from the district administration office. Our Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance is very accessible and helpful. I agree as well with the top 5 events in developing a school district budget. I feel that as a group we have selected these top 5 since it seems like there is consistency with the knowledge we have gained via the resources provided. August 20th - August 31st are very important days for the budget. In number 3, the Superintendent must ensure that the budget is aligned with the district mission and goals. One of the top five events also is the process of looking at the expected income from all funding sources (tax rolls, state, grant, and federal monies, etc) coming in and an evaluation of upcoming expenditures. This also is a part of our number 3.