District Budgetary Overview



District Budgetary Overview

Introduction

This paper intends to explore the various aspects of designing a school budget. The paper is written assuming that I have been appointed as a school board member of Ennis High School in the district of Ennis TX. I need to explore how my school budget is going to be designed. The paper will focus on the various important aspects of designing a budget like the accounting practices that are acceptable within the district and the responsibilities of superintendent and school board. Moreover, key budget terminologies will also be discussed along with the consideration of how the funds in the budget will be balanced and coordinated. The timeline for district's budget along with the calculations for enrollment projections and the possible considerations of staff requisitions will also be provided in the paper. The purpose of this paper is to analyze various important aspects of designing a school budget.

Discussion

Budgeting for schools is an extremely important task. For the purpose of creating district budget for schools, the designing for budgets for each individual school is a significant task. The district budget for schools is normally more than mere numbers. The budget reflects the priorities of districts according to the past decisions and a more certain spending plan for the near future. Understanding and designing a school district budget is a challenging task. There are a lot of reporting forms, accounting procedures and complex terminologies that are important to understand and adhere with the requirements of the districts. Budget plan is a document that communicates clearly about the priorities and goals of a district (Robert, Charles & Harry, 1998 Pp. 50-74).

The most important thing is the budgeting process. Establishing the budget timeline, focusing on the utilization of funds and above all the considerations for the personnel hiring are the important areas that are needed to be consider while developing a budget. The projection of enrollment also contributes significantly towards the development of realistic and implementable budget. The preparation of the final budget and its submission to the district are assumed to be the sole responsibility of the principal of the schools. Budget allocations are primarily dependent upon the enrollment projections. The enrollment projection is mainly done by analyzing the historic trends of enrollment along with the recent demographic changes. Staffing and funding are other important issues that are focused while designing a school budget (Stuart & Craig, 1998 Pp. 1-32).

Accounting Principles of Building a Budget

Accounting principles for the purpose of building on a budget usually varies from district to district. The accounting principles that are most widely accepted within my district relates to the 'Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).' Running a school efficiently requires the principal and all the board members to have a close look on all the money that is coming into the school for assuring the accountable spending of the money. Financial management software packages are used in my school for keeping the accounts and also entering all the essential data ...