Budget Processing
*The Budget Process Assignment is the same for and to be completed by all students (Florida and Non-Florida)*
The Budget Process
To complete the items requested in this component, the student should:
· Review Chapter 11 – Financing School Facilities, from Financing Education in a Climate of Change
· Review Chapter 12 – Administering the School Budget, from Financing Education in a Climate of Change
· Review Chapter 15 – Human Resources & School Finance, from Financing Education in a Climate of Change
· Review Chapters 1 & 4, Appendix A & B from the Financial and Program Cost Accounting and Reporting or Florida Schools (Redbook). This can be downloaded from http://www.fldoe.org/fefp/redtoc.asp (Links to an external site.) .
· Review “Executive Summary of the 2019 - 2020 Budget” from the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida. This can be downloaded from https://www.palmbeachschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_270532/File/Budget-Resources%20&%20Tools/Executive_Summary%20-%20Revised11222019.pdf (Links to an external site.)
· Financial Accounting for Local & State School Systems (National Center for Educational Statistics)
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015347.pdf (Links to an external site.)
The budget process for districts is a comprehensive program that encompasses the entire year. As the School Board adopts the current budget, the next fiscal year budget is in the initial stages of development. From the “Executive Summary” select Budget Process, section 3,
Please review the budget calendar from the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida. This provides a timeline for developing a comprehensive budget. Each school district in Florida must have their budget adopted by their respective School Board. This is a requirement of the Florida Education Finance Program. A review of the “Budget Process” section outlines the requirements for advertising the budget and how the process is completed.
Locate types of budgets adopted by each School Board. Each of these budgets has specific sources of revenue and expenditures. Further on in the document, each FUND is discussed. Each district will have a budget for the following funds:
· General
· Special Revenue
· Debt Service
· Capital Projects
· Internal Services
· Trust
The Financial Accounting for Local & State School Systems (see link above) provides a comprehensive overview of coding systems used in public education finance/budgeting. Florida has a uniform set of funds for which each district must record revenues and expenditures (outlined in the Redbook). Other states have different fund requirements. They are similar to the types required in Florida.
The student should review the information outlined in each “Fund” section. These correspond with the information outlined in Chapter 4 – Revenue Accounts, from the Financial and Program Cost Accounting and Reporting or Florida Schools (2017) (Redbook).
The student should be able to identify a revenue source for each type of fund along with the type of expenditures expected .
Functions and Objects:
Florida has a uniform coding system of expenditures. These are outlined in Chapter 4 – Expenditure Accounts from the Financial and Program Cost Accounting and Reporting or Florida Schools. Districts may use more detailed codes from those outlined in this section. However, all district expenditures must be reported to the Department of Education under the codes listed in this document.
Functions fall into three major categories:
· Instruction
· Instructional Support
· General Support Services
Any commodity or services can be classified under one of the above categories. For example, if a computer was to be purchased for use by special education students, the item would be recorded under the Function “ 5200” - Special Education.
All expenses can also be classified under one of the following Object codes.
· Salaries (Employee Compensation)
· Employee Benefits
· Purchased/Contracted Services
· Energy Costs (electric, fuel, etc.)
· Supplies (Consumables)
· Capital (Equipment)
· Other Expenses
For example, extra duty days for a teacher would be coded under “ Salaries” in the uniform system. Local districts may have Object codes identifying specific positions (see Chart of Accounts). This allows the district to identify the number of staff and costs associated with different positions/activities.
Allocation of Resources
School districts use a variety of ways to allocate resources. In Florida, the Legislature requires that districts identify how much is budgeted under Instruction, Instructional Support, and Administration at EACH school. Although budgets may vary from school to school and from district to district, the expenditure requirements, as enacted by the Florida Legislature, now require districts to allocate a specified percentage of each school’s FEFP revenue and the proportion of the district’s discretionary revenue (lottery and property tax) in each school.
An example of a district’s resource allocation system can be seen under the Allocation Formula section 12 of the Executive Summary of the 2019 - 2020 Budget from the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida.
Some districts allocate a percentage of the revenue generated by the students in the school; others use some type of allocation formula. In either case, the amount of resources allocated should correspond with the revenues generated, which are a measure of the services provided.
In the Allocation Formula , the student will note that teacher units are allocated based upon expected student/teacher ratios. Instructional Support, School Administration, and Maintenance costs are allocated using a formula. Some districts allocate these resources based upon a specified number of students, or a range of students. Other formulas may allocate some staff based upon a dollar amount allotted to each school center based upon some calculation of the funding generated from the school’s students.
Some districts allocate special program services (i.e. ELL, ESE, Vocational) based upon unique formulas. Others incorporate these allocations with the regular student allocation.
Some school districts provide a dollar amount of resources and each school center must determine what is best for the school and budget their school funds without a uniform allocation from school to school.
In either case, the School Board approves the formulas used to allocate resources. When all school center and department budgets are summed, by fund, the expected expenditures can only exceed revenues if a fund balance is available. Funds cannot be negative. Additionally, transferring revenues or expenditures from one fund to another is often restricted by law and can only be executed by approval of the School Board.
Costs of Personnel
Public education is a people dependent institution. District’s budget the vast majority of their funds to cover the costs of employee compensation (salaries) and employer paid benefits. The following link provides an example of a “Trade off” table for school based personnel positions in a large school district.
In this table, the average cost of various positions is noted. Districts usually budget using average salaries to avoid discrimination issues based on age/experience. By using an average position cost, the principal is encouraged to hire the most qualified employee, without concern for the cost for the position.
On this document, are columns addressing variable and fixed costs of EMPLOYER paid fringe benefits. The breakdown of these benefit costs is provided at the bottom of the document. Public school districts contribute into the state’s retirement system, along with paying ½ of the employee’s FICA (7.65%). The amount paid for these costs are a percentage of the employee’s compensation (Variable).
Other benefits (and some of the most costly) are tied to the employee position (Fixed). The largest of these is Health Insurance. Health insurance premiums have been rising steadily.
The student might want to review the following site addressing Trends in the Teacher Profession across the United States:
http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28 (Links to an external site.)
Answer the following questions: (1 point each) (Answers will differ based upon your school district)
1. List the types of funds used within your school district . Which fund is largest? List an example of a revenue and an expense associated with each fund.
2. Identify the Fund, Function, andObject for the following (use Redbook codes): You should provide the narrative descriptions (i.e. special revenue, instruction, and salary), not the number.
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Fund |
Function |
Object |
Description |
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A $2,000 computer to be used by the school principal to monitor school attendance |
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An overhead projector to be used in a wood shop class. |
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A $75 word processing program for the school psychologist’s laptop computer to help with generating reports. |
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A contract with a provider of Occupational/Physical Therapy services for special education students. |
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The cost of electricity used by the school’s cafeteria. |
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A $3,000 laptop computer for a construction foreman |
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The cost of a “study console (furniture)” for special education students purchased from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) entitlement grant ($500). |
0. Every district has some method for determining where resources are assigned (teachers, aides, counselors, school office personnel, etc). This may be referred to Resource Allocation . Explain how your local school district allocates instructional, instructional support, and school administration resources to the school centers in your district. This response will take several paragraphs. How does the principal know how many teachers, aides, counselors, APs, etc. will be allocated/assigned to their school center. Is the formula based upon students, FTE?? Does the district require a certain %age of costs be assigned to instruction (teachers), as opposed to instructional support or school administration? The student MUST outline their district’s allocation FORMULA to receive credit for this item.
0. For your district, discuss the EMPLOYER incurred costs of Variable and Fixed Benefits. What specific benefits are included in each type?
0. For your district, what is the average salary and benefits for each of the following positions:
· Classroom Teacher
· Elementary Principal
· Guidance Counselor
· School Secretary
· Six hour classroom aide (paraprofessional)
North Bolivar Consolidated School District