Understanding TEA Budgeting Guidelines

Week 2 Assignment 3

After reading TEA’s Resource Guide, I realize the importance and complexity of the budget process. As referred to in the TEA Resource Guide, the budget is the ultimate policy document that reflects the school district administrators’ accountability for fiduciary responsibility to citizens. Even after a district’s budget is approved by the board, the budget preparation cycle of planning and evaluation continues throughout the year. If the district goals are the foundation upon which a district is built, then the budget is certainly the framework. It should not drive instruction but it should provide opportunities for all stakeholders to provide input on how the budget will support the vision of the district.

Budget procedural guidelines provide the superintendent and the chief financial officer an organizational tool for the budget process. The legal requirements from the state, TEA and the district provide a natural opportunity for districts to schedule meetings with all stakeholders as often as needed to maintain input and communication throughout the process. The budget calendar can become an accountability checkpoint for the district.

Understanding the funding formulas and the importance of projected revenue and expenditures for a district can be quiet daunting. However, I feel as though I have grasped a basic understanding and new found appreciate for the preparation involved in developing a budget. I must admit, that as a campus principal, I just wanted to know what my campus budget was going to be. I really did not concern myself with how the chief financial arrived at the final figure.

Knowing that ultimately, the superintendent is the budget officer responsible for adhering to the legal requirements of the state, TEA and local districts, is a bit overwhelming. (S)he must meet the deadlines for preparing the budget, calling a public notice hearing and tax rate in the newspaper, posting a summary of the proposed budget on the district Web site,  holding a public hearing to adopt the proposed budget and tax rate, and posting the final approved budget on the district Web site.

This is my second year in Human Resource Services. One of my responsibilities is to update the staffing guidelines for our district.  During the budget crisis this last spring, our staffing guidelines for teachers changed numerous times. This prompted committees to be formed to evaluate the staffing efficiency for some departments that were considered overstaffed. We will continue to revise some additional staffing guidelines to ensure that we are budgeting wisely without compromising student learning and opportunities. I knew that staffing guidelines were important to the preparation of the budget but now I completely understand how they fit into the process.