Stakeholder Input in the Budgeting Process

Week 2, Assignment 5

Additional Stakeholder Input in the Budgeting Process-

Ø  Central Office Administrators and Staff

o   Central Office Administrators and Staff provide input regarding the budget specific to their department(s). They will submit their budget, along with budget codes, to the CFO for review.

Ø  Principals

o   Principals are the key figure in setting the budget process on their campuses.  Principals lead their SBDM team in the development of their Campus Improvement Plan (CIP) which guides the budget.  The budget and CIP must be turned in to the Senior Director of Academic Support who will send the documents to the Superintendent and CFO for approval.

Ø  Site Based Decision Making (SBDM) Committees

o   These committees exist at every campus.  According to Education Code 11.253(e),” the campus-level committee shall be involved in decisions in the areas of planning, budgeting, curriculum, staffing patterns, staff development, and school organization. “ 

Ø  District Improvement Committee

o   This body reviews the BOT (Board of Trustees) goals and works to make goals for the district.  These goals are reviewed by the Superintendent and the Cabinet) to fashion the District Improvement Plan (DIP).  The District Improvement Committee will also review each campuses CIP to make sure that it is aligned to the goals of the Board of Trustees. 

Ø  Teacher Organizations

o   District Improvement Committees and Campus Improvement Committees include teachers who are members of teacher organizations.  They represent their organizations through these committees. 

Ø  Key Stakeholders

o   These individuals are involved in the goal setting and budgeting process through site based decision making as well as the district improvement committees.  Superintendent newsletters, web sites, and Town Hall meeting are mediums used to keep Stakeholders informed.   

Ø  Board of Trustees

o   The BOT develops the goals for the district.  When the goals are developed, the Superintendent leads the budget process based on these goals.  The Superintendent works with the Board in finalizing the budget for the district, giving several budgeting options.  The BOT and the Superintendent work together to finalize the district budget and include additional district professionals when input is needed.

When talking with the one of our Business Managers  about the budgeting process and the importance of input from Stakeholders, he could not stress enough how valuable this process was.  In his words, “we need the support and involvement of our stakeholders, they must be included in this process”.  “Inclusion equals by-In”.