Based on the district’s 2010-2011 Budget and a brief interview with our business manager, I have learned a great deal about our district’s finances. As a campus principal, I have some experience working with budgets, but mostly from the perspective of expenditures. Working with the business manager, I gained some valuable experience in the area of revenues and how the revenues relate to the expenditures. Mainly, we focused on the revenue that goes into the Maintenance and Operations Fund.
In terms of revenue, the majority of our (M&O) funds come from local revenue (primarily the local property taxes), with the rest coming from state and federal revenues. 72% of these funds come from local revenue, 23% from state revenue, and 5% from federal revenue. State revenue includes funding for Regular and Special Education Programs, Career and Technology, Gifted and Talented, Compensatory Education, and Transportation. Most of the revenue from local, state, and federal sources goes directly into the General Fund to be appropriated for district expenditures.
Some of these funds go directly into the programs which generated the funds. Allotments for special education, CATE, GT, etc. are appropriated for those programs. The vast majority of the funds are not specifically dedicated to particular programs or activities and may be used in any area (M&O). Of these funds roughly 75% are budgeted for payroll. 49% of the budget is appropriated for Instruction. Remaining funds are distributed into the other “function” categories including media services, curriculum, staff development, administration, guidance services, health services, transportation, and co-curricular activities. Based on this information, I would say that most of the funds do show a direct relationship between source and allocation.
Reflection
I found this analysis and interview to be very interesting. There are still many areas of school finance that are new to me. I am learning a great deal and beginning to understand some of the complexities of the budget process. I can already see that having a solid business manager who understands the process is essential to all stages of the budget process.
Rick, I found it very interesting that both our district's spend 75% on payroll. I also found it very interesting that your revenue is 72% locally funded and 23% State funded. My district is73% funded by state and 28 % by Local.
ReplyDeleteRick,
ReplyDeleteI found your analysis to be very through and to the point. I appreciate you helping me understand more about your district. I do some similarities between our districts, especially payroll expenditures.