EDLD 5342 Week 2; Part 3

Summary:

The TEA Budgeting Guidelines published in January of 2010 contain valuable information about the budgetary process.  In the preface of the document, it should be noted that special attention is given to the importance of developing a budget based on needs determined after reviewing district data and information.  In Section 2.3, TEA identifies the three major phases of the budgetary process as planning, preparation and evaluation.  Currently, there are five types of budgetary approaches being used by school districts in the state of Texas.  Section 2.4 lists the five approaches as (1) Line-item budgeting (2) performance budgeting (3) programming budgeting (4) zero-based budgeting and (5) site-based budgeting.  Considering the state of Texas is facing a financial crisis when it comes to school finance, the section on the five types of approaches provides important information for districts that are changing the way they create their budgets. 

Section 2.6 of the TEA Budgeting Guidelines provides information on legal requirements.  The document also has information about the how the functions areas of instruction, instructional support, central administration, district operations and debt service should be used when planning the district budget.  The legalities of the amendment process are explained in terms of moving funds from one function to another.

Reflection: 

Having had the opportunity to serve as a campus for the past six years, I have learned quite a bit about the campus budget process.  The TEA Budgeting Guidelines helped me see the budgetary process from a much more global perspective.  The portion that explained the different types of budget approaches was very helpful.  This year, the district is completely changing the way we create the budget, due to the shortfall.  In the past, we have always used a line-item budgeting approach.  I agree with the description that states this is the most “simplified” approach.  Now that the district is facing an estimated six million dollar cut, we are being mandated to use zero-based budgeting.  The information presented in the resource states that the “basic tenet of ZBB is that program activities and services must be justified annually.”  I believe this approach will definitely give the district more control over all aspects of the budget process.  This approach will certainly require every administrator to analyze requests before they are submitted and prepare justification for each expenditure.