The budget development process is fluid

Question: The last budget information was very confusing with the four rectangles of comments. I thought the point was clarity. Then I hear that positions that were not even discussed are being eliminated.

Answer: The budget development process is fluid. The budget development calendar, which you can find by clicking here, outlines the entire process. The formal development of the following year’s budget begins in late fall when the district administrators submit their budget requests to the business office.

The business administrator then presents several draft budgets to the Board of Education. As different budget drafts are presented, the business administrator must work within the confines of the anticipated revenues and expenditures for the upcoming school year, including state and federal aid numbers, which may not be final until April.

Throughout the process, the Board of Education and district administration listen to what the community is saying through the pre-budget survey, the series of community roundtables and questions on the Patriot Plain Talk blog.

Once revenues and expenditures are defined, the district can finalize the budget. The Board of Education then formally adopts the budget, and only at this time are decisions about cuts final.
-answered by Stephen Tomlinson, District Superintendent