Adopted: MSBA/MASA Model
Policy 701
Revised: Rev. 2008
701 ESTABLISHMENT AND ADOPTION OF SCHOOL
DISTRICT BUDGET
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of
this policy is to establish lines of authority and procedures for the
establishment of the school district’s revenue and expenditure budgets.
II. GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY
It is the policy
of this school district to establish its revenue and expenditure budgets in
accordance with the applicable provisions of law. Budget planning is an integral part of
program planning so that the annual budget will effectively express and
implement school board goals and the priorities of the school district.
III. REQUIREMENT
A. The superintendent or such other school
official as designated by the superintendent or the school board shall each
year prepare preliminary revenue and expenditure budgets for review by the
school board or its designated committee or committees. The preliminary budgets shall be accompanied
by such written commentary as may be necessary for them to be clearly
understood by the members of the school board and the public. The school board shall review the projected
revenues and expenditures for the school district for the next fiscal year and
make such adjustments in the expenditure budget as necessary to carry out the
education program within the revenues projected.
B. The school district must maintain
separate accounts to identify revenues and expenditures for each building. Expenditures shall be reported in compliance
with Minn. Stat. § 123B.76.
C. Prior to July 1 of each year, the school
board shall approve and adopt its initial revenue and expenditure budgets for
the next school year. The adopted
expenditure budget document shall be considered the school board’s expenditure
authorization for that school year. No
funds may be expended for any purpose in any school year prior to the adoption
of the budget document which authorizes that expenditure for that year, or
prior to the adoption of an amendment to that budget document by the school
board to authorize that expenditure for that year.
D. Each year, the school district shall
publish its adopted revenue and expenditure budgets for the current year, the
actual revenues, expenditures, and fund balances for the prior year, and the
projected fund balances for the current year in the form prescribed by the
Commissioner within one week of the acceptance of the final audit by the school
board, or November 30, whichever is earlier.
A statement shall be included in the publication that the complete
budget in detail may be inspected by any resident of the school district upon
request to the superintendent. These
budgets, reports of revenue, expenditures, and fund balances must be published
in a newspaper of general circulation in the school district. At the same time as this publication, the
school district shall publish the other information required by Minn. Stat. §
123B.10.
E. At the public hearing on the adoption
of the school district’s proposed property tax levy, the school board shall
review its current budget and the proposed property taxes payable in the
following calendar year.
F. The school district must also post the
materials specified in Paragraph III.D. above on the school district’s official
website, including a link to the school district’s school report card on the
Minnesota Department of Education’s website.
G. The school district must also include
the budget information specified in Paragraph III.D. above in the materials provided
as part of its truth-in-taxation hearing.
IV. IMPLEMENTATION
A. The school board places the
responsibility for administering the adopted budget with the
superintendent. The superintendent may
delegate duties related thereto to other school officials, but maintains the
ultimate responsibility for this function.
B. The program-oriented budgeting system
will be supported by a program-oriented accounting structure organized and
operated on a fund basis as provided for in Minnesota statutes through the
Uniform Financial Accounting and Reporting Standards for Minnesota School
Districts (UFARS).
C. The superintendent or the
superintendent’s designee is authorized to make payments of claims or salaries
authorized by the adopted or amended budget prior to school board approval.
D. Supplies and capital equipment can be
ordered prior to budget adoption only by authority of the school board. If additional personnel are provided in the
proposed budget, actual hiring may not occur until the budget is adopted unless
otherwise approved by the school board.
Other funds to be expended in a subsequent school year may not be
encumbered prior to budget adoption unless specifically approved by the school
board.
E. The school district shall make such
reports to the Commissioner as required relating to initial allocations of
revenue, reallocations of revenue, and expenditures of funds.
Legal
References: Minn. Stat. § 123B.10 (Publication of
Financial Information)
Minn. Stat. §
123B.76 (Expenditures; Reporting)
Minn. Stat. §
123B.77 (Accounting, Budgeting and Reporting Requirements)
Minn. Stat. §
126C.23 (Allocation of General Education Revenue)
Minn. Stat. §
275.065 (Truth in Taxation; Proposed Property Taxes; Notice)
Cross
References: MSBA/MASA Model Policy 701.1
(Modification of School District Budget)
MSBA/MASA Model
Policy 702 (Accounting)
MSBA Service
Manual, Chapter 7, Education Funding