Slide 1 – Title Page; The Budget and Budget Process

Slide 2 – The Budget
Language: 
A budget is never just a series of numbers!
It should be an evolving, comprehensive fiscal document which gives life to the school board’s policies, priorities and commitment to the district’s children, employees, and parents.
Notes: As the finance officer our goal should be to align and optimize fiscal resources with student achievement.
The budget is a living, ever changing document that communicates to others where the dollars are kept and how they are used.  
The school district process of budgeting is a year round continuous cycle of planning, preparing, reporting and evaluation.

Slide 3 – The Budget Cont.
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Should be aligned with the district’s vision and mission to move the district toward achieving their goals 
AND 
Should reflect the involvement of the community 
Notes: Dr. Ed Flathouse, retired educator, said “The first order of business is to put your business in order.”
When talking about the school district budget it should clearly identify the districts:  vision, mission, planning and goals.  Goals for student achievement should drive the budget process.   Specific and measureable goals for student achievement should guide how resources are allocated.  Tracking progress or making tough budget decisions to prioritize programs and strategies is impossible without specific goals.

Slide 4 – The Budget As An Operational Guide
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The budget should reflect:
•	Program goals and objectives (should be student centered decisions),
•	Proposed revenues and expenditures to meet those, and
•	Performance measures upon which the programs will be evaluated
Notes:  The Budget encompasses a full cycle for long-term planning.  From a basic idea, thought, suggestion, or strategy these goals and objectives must be shared with all stakeholders.
Please remember:  programs and services should be budgeted based on student outcomes and strategies, and these programs should be prioritized with proven cost-effectiveness.  If you find the student outcomes are producing larger student gains for certain programs, that should be our focus.

Slide 5 – The Budget Plan
Chart: 
The chart portrays creating a budget plan.
Notes: Many community members, taxpayers, and students mistakenly believe that school district budget work is done only in the summer months, when in reality it’s a year round focus.  The actual budget work starts in the Fall of the previous school year with students projections.  Holding school board workshops will help you understand the priorities and goals of the school board.  In July/August the first public hearing on the budget is held with the final public hearing in September to adopt the official budget and mileage rates.  
During the initial planning of the budget we need to have continuous partnerships with the instructional team.  Working together to build the communications strategy and develop student/program goals that are measureable, specific and reasonable.
When implementing the budget – the instructional priorities should be clear, transparent, and continuously monitored.  Effective budgeting requires valid information about the true costs of serving students and the outcomes. 
As we evaluate and examine our spending a few questions to ask your team, committee, etc.
Are we meeting our financial goals of sustainability, fiscal stewardship and taxpayer trust?  Are we continuing to meet the needs of the community and student body?  Do you have a process to identify and discontinue programs that are not achieving student objectives or that are simply not as cost effective as available alternatives?

Slide 6 – The Budget as a Financial Plan
Language:
The budget indicates:
•	Where the district has been
	(prior year actuals)
•	Where the district is 
(current year estimates)
•	Where the district is going
(forecasted budget direction)
Notes: The budget as the financial plan continues to tell our story and how your district is competing instructionally and financially.
The prior year gives you actuals to use as benchmarks. Historical facts are important.
The current year provides a work in progress – reporting, monitoring, evaluating.
The new year must be the focus of projecting, forecasting and listening to new ideas.

Slide 7 – Chart
Language:
All stakeholders should be able to skim a budget document and have a sense of where the money originates and where it will be expended
Chart: 
The chart depicts where expenditures are spent.
Notes:  As you look at your numbers keep in mind school districts should never allow expenditures to exceed revenues unless there is a well-designed budget reduction plan.  
When expenditures exceed revenue, districts will usually either experience a decrease in their fund balance or make significant cuts in important programs.  It is important to remember that sudden financial shifts can occur over the course of a school year.  Financial mismanagement, missed budget projections, unexpected disasters including tornados, hurricanes, fires happen.  How well are you prepared?
Finally, the districts fund balance is an indicator of financial health.  It is a significant element in school bond ratings and serves as protection for unplanned costs.  School boards should never approve a salary increase or any recurring cost in the school district budget to  be paid out of the fund balance unless there are specific plans to either increase revenue or decrease expenses.
One final thought, school districts should establish a formal policy on the level of unrestricted fund balance that must be maintained in the general fund as a reserve to hedge against risk.

Slide 8 – Purpose of the Budget
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•	Reflects the district’s educational philosophy
•	Reflects district priorities
•	Describes the education plan and resources to support the plan
•	Outlines proposed district actions
•	Serves as an accountability tool
•	Provides information to the public
Notes: The purpose of the budget is a communications tool.  This tool tells the story of who, what, where, when and why.   The educational philosophy, priorities and strategic plan provide information to the public that builds trust and responsibility.

Slide 9 – Responsibility of School Board
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The board is legally responsible for the school district’s fiscal condition and for the district’s expenditures.
There is much elected school boards must know and do concerning the budget and fiscal accountability.
Notes: Each school board has a unique set of financial management policies.  There are legal requirements that must be met:
These include:
•	The budget must balance
•	All various funds must remain segregated 
•	If expenditures exceed the budget, an amendment is required
•	Salaries must be paid from an adopted salary schedule
•	Florida Education Finance Program funds must be expended in programs where the dollars are generated
We must adhere to categorical restrictions along with state, federal and local grants.
The law requires us to present monthly the budget amendments and monthly financials to the school board and community.  At the school board meetings you or the superintendent should have time to highlight the financial picture of actual expenses, revenues, and any concerns.  Our school board members have the responsibility to effectively monitor the budget, review essential reports, study the financial trends and be aware of any financial emergencies.

Slide 10 – Listen	Adopt		Plan	      Guide
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When developing the coming year’s budget, the school board: PLANS during the fall, GUIDES during the winter, LISTENS to stakeholders in the spring, and ADOPTS during the summer.
Notes: All successful budgets require a year-round focus.  The continued attention to details and focus on student enrollments, unit allocations, survey counts, negotiations all need attention.  
As we review the budget we must ask ourselves are we meeting timelines, expense projections and listening to concerns of our taxpayers?

Slide 11 – Budgeting Techniques
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There are several budgeting techniques and most likely districts will use a combination of techniques in preparing a budget.
Notes: When building your budget there are various models available.  Let’s take a look at a few budgeting techniques.

Slide 12 – Line-Item Budgeting
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A technique in which line item expenditures (personnel, supplies, contractual services, capital outlay, etc.) are the focus of budgeting and monitoring.
Notes: A line-item budget is one in which the account codes are grouped by cost center,  site or department. It shows the comparison between the financial information for the past accounting period or budgeting period and the estimated amounts for the current period.  
One advantage of line-item budgeting is that it offers simplicity. You can easily budget for each area or department of your district based on historical expenditures required in previous years. If the amount of these expenditures has been consistent over a period of years, line-item budgeting can offer a simple and reliable means of anticipating expenses for the coming year. The simplicity can also save time and effort in budget preparation, as much of the necessary data is readily available.
Another advantage of a line-item budget is that it can be easy to justify the expenditures. Because proposed expenditures are based on historical needs, there is often little dispute among departments within the district, as the trends have been well established over time. If one department requests an abnormal increase over previous years, the department head is forced to support her request. As the financial officer, this can help you maintain tight budgetary control, as you are reducing the possibility of frivolous spending.
A potential disadvantage of line-item budgeting is that it may create only a superficial analysis of expenditures. Budget preparers may simply accept the status quo, using the thought process that since this budgeting method worked well in previous fiscal years, it should continue to be effective for the coming year. This may eliminate the opportunity to take an in-depth look at each line item to determine if the proposed expenditure is truly necessary or if funds could be allocated more efficiently.

Slide 13 – Program Budgeting
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A technique in which spending plans are developed and allocations are made on the basis of the expected results from services.
Notes: Program budgeting offers considerably more latitude within which to combine a financial plan with the basic functions of management control. Therefore, program budgeting provides a foundation for a dual budgetary system more fully attuned to the basic objectives of accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness.
The concept of a program crosswalk was developed to provide a basis for translating object / expenditure data into program terms. Primary cost data are regrouped from the more traditional budget format into program and subprograms. Personnel costs--salaries and wages and staff benefits--are the most significant elements of expense for most public activities.

Slide 14 – Zero-Based Budgeting
Language:
A technique in which “decision packages” are prepared annually to describe the funding of existing and new programs at alternative service levels, both lower and higher than the current level, and funds are allocated to programs based on rankings of these alternatives.
Chart:
The chart depicts the “decision packages” technique.
Notes: Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a method of budgeting in which all expenses must be justified for each new period. Zero-based budgeting starts from a "zero base" and every function within an organization is analyzed for its needs and costs. Budgets are then built around what is needed for the upcoming period, regardless of whether the budget is higher or lower than the previous one.
ZBB allows top-level strategic goals to be implemented into the budgeting process by tying them to specific functional areas of the school district, where costs can be first grouped, then measured against previous results and current expectations.

Slide 15 – Performance-Based Budgeting
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A technique enacted by the Florida Legislature in 1994 where funds would be appropriated to Florida’s public school systems in return for performance from the district system, schools and students.
Several indicators have been identified including test scores, advanced course enrollment, rates of attendance, dropout and graduation – some tied to funding
Notes: Performance based budgeting is a model that reflects the school districts input of resources and the output of services or results for each department. This type of budget is commonly used by government entities to show the link between the funds provided to the public and the outcome of these results.
Decisions made on these types of budgets focus more on outputs or outcomes or results than on decisions made based on inputs. In other words, allocation of funds and resources are based on their potential results. Performance budgets place priority on producing positive results.

Slide 16 – The Big Three Decisions
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What do you consider to be the three biggest decisions your district will make when compiling the budget? 
1.
2.
3.
Notes: As you build your budget there are THREE major decisions to be reviewed:  These are:
•	Student Projections (Enrollment, Attendance, etc.)
•	Staffing Plans – number of teachers, bus drivers, custodians, and other
•	Salaries & Benefits (compensation plans)
The three highest decisions for any school district should be the projection of students and staffing of employees, an effective pay system designed to attract, hire, and retain high quality faculty and staff. 
Other fixed costs to consider:  Retirement, Utilities, Fuel, Inflation, Equipment/Technology replacement costs

Slide 17 – Past, Present and Future Considerations

Slide 18 – Projecting Needs and Revenue
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Considerations
•	Past Experiences
•	Present Situations
•	Future Plans
Notes: When meeting with the public, school board members, and parents its important to look back and give an overview of our history.
In previous years  what did our student enrollments look like, what types of instructional programs did we use and what were the legislative mandates?  How have salaries, utilities, transportation, maintenance, health and property insurance and legal expenses increased.  
Current or present situations:  Where are we in relation to legislative mandates (both funded and not funded), Audit findings, labor relations, property values, tax collections and cash flow projections.
Future Plans:  Student Growth or Decline, Planned Construction of communities or single family homes.

Slide 19 – Information to Review/Consider 
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•	Public Input, Concerns
•	Growth of population
•	Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (AFR)
•	Program Cost Report
•	Teacher/Student Ratios
•	Maintenance of existing schools
•	Building of new schools
•	Increasing labor costs and health benefits
Notes: In other needs to consider include:
What are the public concerns.  Are we meeting the needs of our students.  
Is our district growing, are we projecting and meeting with county commissioners, and others?
How did our financials look at the end of the last fiscal year?  What changes need to be made?
How will we fund the new school building, maintenance of our existing school and district building (roof issues, air conditioning, safety, and more.)

Slide 20 – Information to Review/Consider Cont.
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•	Staffing of school system
•	Class Size Amendments
•	Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) 
•	Retirement
•	Employee Raise Packages
•	Fringe Benefits (Health Insurance, Retirement)
•	Other collective bargaining issues
•	Changes in instructional programs (student achievement)
•	Contracting for services (outsourcing)
Notes: In addition to teachers, do we have enough bus drivers, custodians, support staff?
Are we meeting class size numbers?
How much of our labor force will be retiring?

Slide 21 – Information to Review/Consider Cont.
Language:
•	Continuation Budget
•	Fixed costs (Utilities, Fuel, vehicles, school bus fleet)
•	Recurring vs. Nonrecurring Revenue
•	School-level & District-level Allocations
•	Magnet Schools/Choice programs
•	Program Evaluation
•	Charter Schools
•	Outside Instructional Programs – Home Education, McKay Scholarship and Virtual School

Slide 22 – Information to Review/Consider Cont.
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•	State Categoricals
o	To Supplement or not
o	Flexibility Issue
•	Federal Projects
•	Proceeds of Capital Millage (1.5 mills)
•	Proceeds of Voter Referendum dollars

Slide 23 – Information to Review/Consider Cont.
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•	Cash flow issues
•	Fund balance (restricted and unrestricted)
•	Carry forward balances
•	Consider creation of Reserves: 
•	staffing units or $ for changes in FTE
•	contingency funds for revenue shortfall
•	funds for unexpected costs
•	funds for a “rainy day fund”
Notes: A cash flow projection report is a powerful tool to monitor the budget and avoid surprises at the end of the year.  It gives a picture of your cash needs through out the year.
Fund Balance:  are you meeting your board approved fund balance percentage.  Are there plans in place if you need to utilized those dollars?
Are the carry forward balances being saving for specific items and should not be negotiated?
Reserves or Buckets:  very important for a variety of reasons.	

Slide 24 – Information to Review/Consider Cont.
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•	Be vigilant for issues that may cost
•	Consider the impact of legislative changes
•	Plan for costs that will arise during the year
•	Plan for future changes in student enrollment and programs
Notes: Finance Officers have a lot to think about: 
What new ideas or plans will cost the district?  Are these expenses recurring or one time costs?
Are there upcoming legislative changes that will impact our instructional programs today, tomorrow or next year?
What do you expect for student growth, not only in our county but state-wide?  What are the national trends?

Slide 25 – Plan for Future Changes in Revenue (+ or -)
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•	Recalculations of FEFP and categoricals
•	Prorations (even after the year is over)
•	Prior year adjustments
•	Forms of scholarships (McKay/corporate tax)
RESERVE, RESERVE and RESERVE MORE!
Notes: When focusing on the budget and meeting the needs of current expenses we need to consider:
Any loss of dollars due to the Florida Education Finance Program recalculations.
Prorations due to an influx of students or legislative changes.
Prior year adjustments as a result of previous funding audits and outside influences such as students going into charter schools, private schools or Home Education.
Slide 26 – Budget Health
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Revenues are seldom sufficient to cover all the basic expenditures plus additional requests
Financial best practices require being able to say NO to some things in order to say YES to others.  
Notes: Is your budget healthy?  Are the financial resources allowing your district to obtain the goals set by the board?  Fiscal health requires a high level of planning, monitoring, and evaluation.  Healthy teams have implemented management systems to keep educational leaders informed and to prevent waste, and fraud.  Successful school district leaders use the information available to question, consider and decide what direction to take.

Slide 27 – Presentation of the Budget
The following slide falls under this slide title

Slide 28 
Language:
Presentations to the Board
•	Superintendent, Finance Officer, and others
•	Workshops and Public Hearings
•	Executive Session
Format
•	Print (agenda, booklet, and handouts)
•	Visual (charts, graphs, and PowerPoint)
•	Electronic (website, links, etc.)
Availability to the public
Notes: When presenting the new year budget or monthly updates remember who is your audience?  Is the meeting a budget workshop, a public hearing, and executive session or a traditional school board meeting.
What format are you using?  Have you prepared enough information for the meeting, agenda item information, handouts? 
Are you using a power point presentation or other charts and graphs?
The budget and other financial information must be available on-line and paper.

Slide 29 – SAMPLE BUDGET CALENDAR
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October	 		Membership Projections Proposed 
November/December		FTE Projections Prepared

•	December 		Submit FTE Projections to DOE 
			Prepare Preliminary Revenue Projections

•	December/January	School Board Approves Dates for Budget Workshop and 						Public Hearings
January 	Staffing Plan Adopted by the School Board 
School Board Sets Goals (Strategic Plan - ongoing)
February			Implement Staff Plan
				Allocate School Based Dollars
				Set Parameters for Department Dollars
				Update Preliminary Revenue Estimates (ongoing)
				Public Input Meetings on Budget

Slide 30 – SAMPLE BUDGET CALENDAR (continued)
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February/May			Monitor Legislative Actions
•	March/April		Schools/Departments Draft Budgets and Submit
 April/May			Reappointment of Personnel
May	Readdress Projected at End of the Legislative Session
(First FEFP Calculation)
Superintendent’s Preliminary Budget Drafted (ongoing)
May/June			Attend Legislative Briefings
•	May/August		Determination of Employee Salaries (both bargaining and non-					bargaining)
June				Modification of the Preliminary Budget (ongoing) 							School Board Workshop on Budget
				Request School Board Continue Expenditures as Usual Until 						the Budget is Adopted

Slide 31 – SAMPLE BUDGET CALENDAR (continued)
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July 1			Certification of the Tax Roll by the County (starts TRIM calendar)
July			School Board Approval of Information for the Newspaper 						Advertisements
			Required Local Effort (RLE) Millage Certified by DOE (Second 						FEFP calculation)
			Proposed Tentative Budget Drafted (ongoing)
			Run Newspaper Advertisements
			Hold Public Hearing and Adopt Tentative Budget and Millage Rates
			Notify Tax Collector and Property Appraiser of Tentative Millage Rates		
August 			Proposed Tax Notices Mailed by the County (serves as advertisements 					for final hearing)
			Adopted Tentative Budget Drafted	
September		Hold Final Public Hearing and Adopt Final Budget and Millage Rates 					Submit Adopted Budget to DOE
			Notify all Parties of Adopted Millage Rate			
October		Possibility of Change in Millage Rate

Slide 32 – SCHOOL DISTRICT TIMETABLE
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This is an EXAMPLE, using July 1 as the date of certification and showing the range of dates (minimum to maximum) that would be utilized for scheduling.  These dates DO NOT make any provision for the shortening of the time frames.
Chart:
The chart depicts an example of a school district timetable for scheduling.

Slide 33 – SCHOOL DISTRICT TIMETABLE Cont.
Language:
This is an EXAMPLE, using July 1 as the date of certification and showing the range of dates (minimum to maximum) that would be utilized for scheduling.  These dates DO NOT make any provision for the shortening of the time frames.
Chart: 
The chart depicts an example of a school district timetable for scheduling.
Slide 34 – Monitoring the Plan An Ongoing Process
The following slides falls under this slide
Notes: As the finance officer you wear many hats.  An additional job function is to monitor the budget, financials and all expenses.

Slide 35 – 
Language:
•	Full budget cycle covers over two years
•	Management reports can keep everyone informed
•	Monitor enrollment (FTE) and programs
•	Reallocation of funds during the year
•	The Finance Officer must provide information that the Superintendent or School Board need for decision making
Notes: As you review the district financials and budget remember the full budget cycle covers two years.  You start with student projections and then receive the Florida Education Finance Program – First Calculation and ends with the FEFP fifth and final calculation.  It’s a continuous process.
The reports we prepare and present to the Superintendent, Staff and Board members must keep everyone informed and updated.
The student enrolment needs to be tracked, program achievement and benchmarks must be monitored, and finally have these reports available for others.

Slide 36 – 
Language: 
•	Budget controls
•	Expenditure controls
•	Staffing adjustments and/or realignment
•	Cost of salaries and fringe benefits (Labor is 82-86% of budget)
•	Meeting legal requirements (State and Federal)
Notes: During the fiscal year, you may need to adjust your budget and financial controls, based on new events or changing priorities. 
As you review teacher units, other instructional units, custodial units and other non-instructional units, the salaries and benefits are a serious consideration.  
Is your workforce changing?  Do you have a large number of teachers retiring and when (April, May, June or July), have you planned to recruit to fill those vacancies?
Additionally, keep track of state and federal grants.  Will grant funding end during the school year?  What positions are attached to the funding?

Slide 37 – Monitoring the Budget
Language:
Audits
•	Financial, Auditor General or Audit Firm
•	FTE Students
•	Program (operational)
•	Internal accounts
•	Teacher Certification/Transportation
Financial Reports
•	Monthly
•	Budget
•	Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
•	Program Cost Report
Internal or External Reviews
Notes: During the year you’ll have many visitors to your office.  These new faces include auditors, this could be local auditors to review your impact fee spend, tax collections.  State or private auditors reviewing the districts financial accounts, student reporting or full-time equivalent audits, teacher certification or transportation reporting.
Everything we do involves money, along with accepting the dollars to being audited for these funds.
Additionally, you may have an in-house review or may hire an external firm to review how cost effective and efficient your district is performing.

Slide 38 – End Slide
Language:
When dealing with the budget/financials/money
monitor, monitor and monitor
Again and again!
Notes: It’s up to you….the finance officer.
You must:  project, forecast, plan, present, review, share, monitor, evaluate…over, over, and over.