Budget Development and WSS
As our school district begins the annual process of developing a budget for the year we will hear all of the same messages that we hear every year at this time. People will go on about how the legislature has cut funding, they will claim that they want to protect the classrooms from budget cuts, and they will describe programs and initiatives that are too critical to cut.
I don't want to make folks' eyes glaze over with the tiny details of the budget, so I hope those who follow it much more closely than I do will forgive my describing it in very broad strokes. A lot of the budget isn't really available for re-allocation. There are all kinds of laws, agreements, grant restrictions and such that obligate the District to spend its money in certain ways. There is, however, some discretion. In the past, the board has sat passively and waited for the superintendent and the staff to bring them a budget proposal. That didn't work out so well, so now the Board takes a more active role in budget development and regards the budget as a governance tool. The Board has started their discussions, so now is the time for people to pay attention and speak up. Soon it will be
I don't want to make folks' eyes glaze over with the tiny details of the budget, so I hope those who follow it much more closely than I do will forgive my describing it in very broad strokes. A lot of the budget isn't really available for re-allocation. There are all kinds of laws, agreements, grant restrictions and such that obligate the District to spend its money in certain ways. There is, however, some discretion. In the past, the board has sat passively and waited for the superintendent and the staff to bring them a budget proposal. That didn't work out so well, so now the Board takes a more active role in budget development and regards the budget as a governance tool. The Board has started their discussions, so now is the time for people to pay attention and speak up. Soon it will be
