Top Five Events and Important Dates in the Development of a District Budget

Although I have been assigned to Group 1, my input has not been considered; therefore, I will list my top five events and important dates in the development of a district budget. They are listed according to district’s fiscal calendar.


1. October thru November - These dates are important because the Board of Trustees adopts the campus staffing formula and the non-campus staffing guidelines. During this time, a collection and an analysis of student projections is also made.

2. Late October thru December – Student projections are refined the district applies for student/teacher ratio formulas.This is one of the major funding sources.The districts receive a large amount of funding that is based on the district’s WADA (Weighted Average Daily Attendance).

3. February thru March – Campus and central office budgets are received.Other than employee costs and benefits, the second most important costs are the campus costs.Campuses make projections based on goals developed by the Campus Improvement Committee.Student learning and performance is directly related to the campus budget.

4. May thru June – The districts receive a preliminary estimate of taxable values from the Appraisal District.This gives the district an estimate of the revenue they will receive from the Certified Taxable Values that will be received in July.This timeframe is important because it allows districts to develop a preliminary budget that will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees near the beginning of June.At this time, the district will also publish the proposed budget summary on the web.They also publish the adoption of the district’s budget in the newspaper.

5. August – It is legally required that the district adopts a tax rate, approves and adopts the final budget.