The Budgeting Process - Essay Example

A common practice in developing any kind of budget is to collate and factor in the views of all groups and institutions that have a stake in the budget (hdsb.ca/business/Budget). To this end, in developing the budget for the forthcoming 2008/2009 financial year, the district education board consulted a wide range of stakeholders such as the district staff, the parents association, and the community representative before arriving at the final document. All projected activities in the budget are assigned to the relevant stakeholders identified in the budget paper.

Summary of the process budget development begins with the adoption of a specific timetable that will guide the implementation of the budget development at all the various stages, which is presented to the Education Board. It happens almost concurrently with the release of the governor's budgetary proposal. By this arrangement, a platform is created for the study of the governor's budget with all its allocations to the individual schools, in order to provide the needed framework for the final budget.

Principals and managers are then served with copies and expected to work in partnership with broad-based community involvement to produce feedback to be incorporated into the final budget. The feedback is treated as Certificated Staffing to be filed with the Director, Fiscal Services. The next important step in the process is the discussion of the budget along with all its highlighted assumptions. To enhance precision, an appraisal of the overall numerical strength of personnel is presented to the Director, Fiscal Services.

There is a wide range of Funds under the category of the education budget, therefore at this stage of the development, all the known Fund categories are submitted to the office of Director, Fiscal Services. An integral part of the development process takes place at the due diligence level. The board is duty-bound to conduct a background check of all details contained in the paper to avoid any inconsistency, through a series of study reviews. A public hearing and adoption of the proposed budget are conducted to precede the submission of the final budget to county superintendents.

ExpenditureAll expenditures must be in consonance with both state and federal regulations. Find below the expenditure patterns contained in a typical school district budget of California. I) Personnel salaries sum up to 61%II) Employee benefits 20%III) Books and Supplies 5%IV) Services and other operating systems 9%(http://www.californiaschoolfinance.org/FinanceSystem/Expenditures/tabid/119/Default.aspx)ConclusionThe district school budget is certainly an important aspect of education management in the country; it explains the reason behind the level of broad-based consultation and procedural diligence that goes into its development process.

Owing to its importance, it attracts a collective involvement from all concerned stakeholders before it is churned out as a final binding document. Reference: Auditor General Condemns Lancaster School. Retrieved fromhttp://5thestate.com/041214.htm on May 26, on May 26, 2008.California Area School District Washington County, Pennsylvania Performance Audit Report.