Building a Budget

Building a Budget Elmo Academy

William Paterson University
Vanessa Vitiello
December 6, 2015

Building a Budget

A school budget is one of the most important documents that an

administrator must approve and submit to the district for approval. The principal
must be confident and able to justify the budget before the district presents it to the
community. It is the document, which expresses the plan for operating the school;
the budget is also the expression in dollars of the schools educational program.
When prioritized and allocated properly, the budget can be like a roadmap that will
show the school how to arrive at an intended goal. It serves as a guide and a
control of the operations for a fiscal year.
Many different individuals and entities across several levels of government
are involved in the budgeting process. The budget and the process of budgeting for
a public school, provides school districts and their leaders with an opportunity to
justify the collection and expenditure of public funds. School budget resources come
from a combination of local state and federal funding. At the district level in
Paterson, NJ; budget discussions and works will involve school administrators,
district employees, the state appointed Superintendent of schools and district board
members to some degree. Paterson Public Schools is under state intervention and
as a result the Board of Education serves only as an advisory to the state appointed
Superintendent.
It is imperative to understand that knowing about school finances is part of
being a principal. To take the role of an administrator you must be confident in your
ability to take the lead. I have learned that an administrator does not solely rely on
others for financial information; they are the responsible party and must ensure

Building a Budget

checks and balances. A new administrator must get to know the financial contacts
in the district and form alliances to seek support.
Creating the budget for Elmo Academy was an experience that involved
long discussions with administration and constant checks for accuracy. The Principal
of Elmo Academy provided the public schools budget for the 2015-2016 academic
year to review prior to discussions regarding the creation of the 2016-2017 school
budget. The first meeting consisted of discussions regarding the consequence of the
reduction in funding. I was informed the school lost five posts or PC numbers for the
2015-2016 academic year one in each of the following departments: Art, Spanish,
History, Special Education and an office assistant. As a result of this loss, the school
was left with only one office secretary, one part time art teacher, a part time music
teacher, a part time student assistance coordinator (SAC) and one Spanish teacher
for its 209 students. I learned that over the summer there were some major budget
cuts and it is likely not all of our requests will be granted.
After our first meeting the principal had a discussion with the staff regarding
the budget during the monthly staff meeting. He asked for us to give our opinion as
to what should be a priority for the school. Outside of the individual departmental
demands the majority of the staff were adamant about security measures. Number
three on the list was the lack of resources for students with learning or language
disabilities. As teachers made suggestions the principal took notes and allowed
everyone to give their perspective on what was and was not working. In our next
budget meeting he took out these notes and we used them to determine what areas
should be on the top of our list.

Building a Budget

While the major budget categories for school districts vary there are broad
general categories that apply to most schools. Elmo Academy does not budget for
everything that is necessary to run the school. The public school district office has a
department that handles the budget for salaries, benefits and maintenance. This
school is small and does not have a cafeteria, auditorium, gymnasium, outdoor
grounds or a variety of electives such a shops (wood, metal, etc.) As a result the
major budget categories of food services, facilities and athletics are not included in
the budget. The major categories included are demonstrated in the chart below.
Support Services:
Office Supplies
Facilities Services
School Renovation
Security Supplies
Student Services:
Guidance
Nurse
Transportation
Instruction:
IEP Support
Instructional Supplies
Textbooks
Technology
Library (DLC)

The majority of the Elmo Academy budget is allocated for instructional

supplies and student services. Instructional supplies are the consumable materials
distributed to teachers and pupils of the school. It also includes non-consumable
fundamentals in the educational environment such as calculators and chemical
vials. The itemized sheet in the budget includes all department needs for
replenishing the classroom resources. The variety of these supplies range from

Building a Budget

writing utensils all the way to laboratory equipment. Student services will include
IEP support, guidance and health services.
The percentage of funds allocated for instructional supplies was decreased
after the staff meeting where it was made clear security should be a priority. The
intended amount for instruction was to be $22,900 prior to the staff meeting. As a
result of the staffs concerns the principal decided to take $2,000 from instruction
and increase the number of security cameras in and around the building.
After countless revisions the Elmo Academy 2016-2017 budget thus far has
calculated to be $67,737.00. This is a significant decrease of $53, 429.00 from the
budget of the previous year. The reason for the drastic difference in the requested
funding is the majority of last years funds were allocated to repair flood damage to
the DLC and Planetarium. There was a combination of insurance and school
renovation funds used to modernize as well as repair the DLC. Unfortunately, even
taking into consideration the decrease in budget, the principal of the school has
informed me of the fact that in the five years he has been in the district his budget
has always been trimmed in one area or another by the district finance department.