There are three main aspects of the budgeting process, which are planning, preparing, and evaluating. These three things are critical to the development of a sound budget. First, planning is vital to setting goals and objectives that the district needs in order to improve their academic areas. Next, preparing the budget involves setting aside money for each goal and objective to improve the district. The last part of the budget process is the evaluation piece. Once the district sets the goals and objectives, they must evaluate the plan and determine if these goals and objectives are achievable. In creating a budget, we must be able to plan for what we envision, prepare the allocation, and evaluate the entire thing to determine if it can be accomplished.
There are five types of budgets that school districts may use. These include line item or traditional budgeting, performance budgeting, program and planning budgeting, zero-based budgeting, and site-based budgeting. Districts may use one of these types or a combination of two or three types of budgeting.
Line Item or traditional budgeting is very easy to use and is one of the most commonly used budgets. The traditional budget consists of three stages. First, budget requests are sent to the CEO from either the school or the administrative department. Next, the CEO gathers all requests and pools them together to submit a total request from the School Board. Last, the School Board reviews the requests and determines funding for them. One disadvantage of this type of budget is that the school board does not receive much information on the request.
Performance budgeting has been used since the mid 1900’s and is a very efficient process. This type of budget is strict because it accounts for the cost multiplied by the number of units it may encounter. Performance budgets provide detailed information regarding each activity and an expected estimate of the cost incurred. One disadvantage of performance budgeting is that each activity is not evaluated to determine the effectiveness and accountability of reaching these goals.
Program and planning-program budgeting has been used since the 1960’s, and is known as a modified program. This type of budget focuses on long-term goals and objectives and determines the effectiveness of reaching these long-term goals. The disadvantage with this budget is that due to it focusing on long-term goals, with change happening, it is difficult to continue focus on those goals as well as reaching an agreement with all members involved.
During the 1970’s, zero-based budgeting became one of the newest approaches. This type of budget involves ranking each activity so the Board is able to see each activity and how it is ranked before they determine if they accept the budget. The disadvantage to this type of budget is that it is very time-consuming and staff must be part of the planning process.
Site-based budgeting is designed for the Principal to manage the budget for his/her campus. With this type of budget, the campus is given a certain amount of money and they must determine what the funds are used for. This type of budget gives control to the campus for how money is spent and what it is spent on. One advantage to this type of budget is that campuses normally have a committee that involves parents and community members who determine where money is spent. One disadvantage is that if the district has limited funding, this could pose an issue with the school due to not having the funds to effectively run the school. This budget could be difficult for principals to handle and keep under control.
Texas Law established rules for school districts. These laws state that the Superintendent is the budget officer for the school district. It gives a deadline for the budget to be prepared by, which is August 31. The president of the School Board must call a public board meeting in order to adopt or accept the budget each year. The school budget must be posted on the school district’s website. The district budget must be filed with TEA through PEIMS by a certain date.
There are factors that determine the amount of funding received by each district. Student attendance, Career and Technical funding, and special education student numbers are all factors that determine funding amounts in each district. There are also adjustments for other special programs and adjustments for Tier I funding, Tier II enrichment and revenue, as well as state assistance for existing debt, instructional facilities, and total state aid. Local property tax can also be estimated to help districts understand and estimate how much revenue can be included in the budget.
Next, we must look at district and campus expense estimates. Then, campuses begin to create their budget. These campus budgets become combined to create a district budget. The superintendent must review the district budget to ensure all information is included in the district budget. Once the superintendent signs off the district budget, the district must have a public hearing and adoption of the district budget. At this time, the School Board can adopt the budget as the District Budget. Once it is adopted, the funds become available.
I can use what I have learned about budgets to help my district create a budget for the upcoming school year. I understand how we project the amount of money to expect as well as seeing all types of budgets available. I now see how the campus improvement committee works with the district improvement committee to determine the needs for the campus as well as the district. These committees must ensure that the goals are aligned to the district vision and that they are essential to the improvement of the campus. In understanding this process, I can help ensure my campus and my district understand how this process works and what the benefits to each type of budget are as well as the disadvantages to each. I feel I will be able to use my knowledge to help my district plan, prepare, and evaluate their yearly budget.
