A Goal Driven Budget

It is imperative that every school district and every school develop a goal driven budget. A goal driven budget is a budget that that is completely aligned and funded are to the goals that are developed by the organization for which it is prepared. In other words, a goal driven budget is crucial to a district and a school because it is designed and funds are allocated to attain the goals set forth by the district and/or campus.


The initial goals are developed by the district’s Board of Trustees. These goals basically determine how the district will spend its funds for the school year. These goals are based on the defined goals and priorities that are defined by the District Improvement Committee. This is a collaborative effort that involves representatives from the district’s stakeholders. Communication between the groups is extremely important.


After the district’s goals are developed, they are then distributed to each campus. Each campus has the responsibility for developing a Campus Improvement Committee. These committee members are comprised of members of the school’s stakeholders. The Campus improvement Committee then develops a Campus Improvement Plan. The goals of the campus plan mirror the goals established for the district. Since I have previously served as an elementary school principal, I know that each goal has objectives, persons responsible, resources required (funding and personnel), timelines (formative and summative), and evaluations. I agree with Dr. Arterbury that the district plan should be “version of the vision.” I interpret this as “although each campus plan will be somewhat different because of the student demographics, there should be some alignment to the district’s plan.”


Ultimately, district and campus spending should be tailored to insure the attainment of goals that have been established. When the budget shows commitment to achieving the developed goals, we have a goal driven budget.