The Governing Board recognizes its critical responsibility for adopting a sound budget each fiscal year which is aligned with and reflects the district's vision, goals, priorities, local control and accountability plan (LCAP), and other comprehensive plans. The district budget shall guide decisions and actions throughout the year and shall serve as a tool for monitoring the fiscal health of the district.
(cf. 0000 - Vision)
(cf. 0200 - Goals for the School District)
(cf. 0400 - Comprehensive Plans)
(cf. 0460 - Local Control and Accountability Plan)
(cf. 3300 - Expenditures and Purchases)
(cf. 3460 - Financial Reports and Accountability)
(cf. 9000 - Role of the Board)
The district budget shall show a complete plan and itemized statement of all proposed expenditures and all estimated revenues for the following fiscal year, together with a comparison of revenues and expenditures for the current fiscal year. The budget shall also include the appropriations limit and the total annual appropriations subject to limitation as determined pursuant to Government Code 7900-7914. (Education Code 42122)
Budget Development and Adoption Process
In order to provide guidance in the development of the budget, the Board shall annually establish budget priorities based on identified district needs and goals and on realistic projections of available funds.
The Superintendent or designee shall oversee the preparation of a proposed district budget for approval by the Board and shall involve appropriate staff in the development of budget projections.
The Board shall hold a public hearing on the proposed budget in accordance with Education Code 42103 and 42127. The hearing shall occur at the same meeting as the public hearing on the district's LCAP and the local control funding formula (LCFF) budget overview for parents/guardians. (Education Code 42103, 42127, 52062, 52064.1)
(cf. 9320 - Meetings and Notices)
(cf. 9322 - Agenda/Meeting Materials)
(cf. 9323 - Meeting Conduct)
The Board shall adopt the district budget at a public meeting held after the date of the public hearing but on or before July 1 of each year. The Board shall adopt the budget following its adoption of the LCAP, or annual update to the LCAP, and the LCFF budget overview for parents/guardians. The budget shall include the expenditures necessary to implement the LCAP or the annual update to the LCAP. (Education Code 42127, 52062)
The budget that is presented at the public hearing as well as the budget formally adopted by the Board shall adhere to the state's Standardized Account Code Structure as prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI). (Education Code 42126, 42127)
The Superintendent or designee may supplement this format with additional information as necessary to effectively communicate the budget to the Board, staff, and public.
No later than five days after the Board adopts the district budget or by July 1, whichever occurs first, the Board shall file the adopted district budget with the County Superintendent of Schools. The budget and supporting data shall be maintained and made available for public review. (Education Code 42127)
(cf. 1340 - Access to District Records)
If the County Superintendent disapproves or conditionally approves the district's budget, the Board shall review and respond to the County Superintendent's recommendations at a regular public meeting on or before October 8. The response shall include any revisions to the adopted budget and any other proposed actions to be taken as a result of those recommendations. (Education Code 42127)
Budget Advisory Committee
The Superintendent or designee may appoint a budget advisory committee composed of staff, Board representatives, and/or members of the community.
The committee shall submit recommendations during the budget development process and its duties shall be assigned each year based on district needs. All recommendations of the committee shall be advisory only and shall not be binding on the Board.
(cf. 1220 - Citizen Advisory Committees)
(cf. 2230 - Representative and Deliberative Groups)
(cf. 3350 - Travel Expenses)
(cf. 9130 - Board Committees)
(cf. 9140 - Board Representatives)
Budget Criteria and Standards
The district budget shall be developed in accordance with state criteria and standards specified in 5 CCR 15440-15450 as they relate to projections of average daily attendance (ADA), enrollment, ratio of ADA to enrollment, LCFF revenue, salaries and benefits, other revenues and expenditures, facilities maintenance, deficit spending, fund balance, and reserves. In addition, the Superintendent or designee shall provide the supplemental information specified in 5 CCR 15451 which addresses the methodology and budget assumptions used, contingent liabilities, use of one-time revenues for ongoing expenditures, use of ongoing revenues for one-time expenditures, contingent revenues, contributions, long-term commitments, unfunded liabilities, status of collective bargaining agreements, the LCAP, and LCAP expenditures. (Education Code 33128, 33129, 42127.01; 5 CCR 15440-15451)
The district budget shall provide for increased or improved services for unduplicated students at least in proportion to the increase in funds apportioned on the basis of the number and concentration of unduplicated students in accordance with 5 CCR 15496. Unduplicated students are students who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, English learners, and/or foster youth. (Education Code 42238.07; 5 CCR 15496)
(cf. 3553 - Free and Reduced Price Meals)
(cf. 6173.1 - Education for Foster Youth)
(cf. 6174 - Education for English Learners)
The Board may establish other budget assumptions or parameters which may take into consideration the stability of funding sources, legal requirements and constraints on the use of funds, anticipated increases and/or decreases in the cost of services and supplies, program requirements, and any other factors necessary to ensure that the budget is a realistic plan for district revenues and expenditures.
(cf. 2210 - Administrative Discretion Regarding Board Policy)
(cf. 3110 - Transfer of Funds)
Fund Balance
The district shall classify fund balances in compliance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 54, as follows:
1. Nonspendable fund balance includes amounts that are not expected to be converted to cash, such as resources that are not in a spendable form (e.g., inventories and prepaids) or that are legally or contractually required to be maintained intact.
2. Restricted fund balance includes amounts constrained to specific purposes by their providers or by law.
3. Committed fund balance includes amounts constrained to specific purposes by the Board.
For this purpose, all commitments of funds shall be approved by a majority vote of the Board. The constraints shall be imposed no later than the end of the reporting period (June 30), although the actual amounts may be determined subsequent to that date but prior to the issuance of the financial statements.
4. Assigned fund balance includes amounts which are intended for a specific purpose but do not meet the criteria to be classified as restricted or committed.
The Board delegates authority to assign funds to the assigned fund balance to the Superintendent and authorizes the assignment of such funds to be made any time prior to the issuance of the financial statements. The Superintendent shall have discretion to further delegate the authority to assign funds.
5. Unassigned fund balance includes amounts that are available for any purpose.
When multiple types of funds are available for an expenditure, the district shall first utilize funds from the restricted fund balance as appropriate, then from the committed fund balance, then from the assigned fund balance, and lastly from the unassigned fund balance.
The Board intends to maintain a minimum assigned and unassigned fund balance in an amount the Board deems sufficient to maintain fiscal solvency and stability and to protect the district against unforeseen circumstances.
If the assigned and unassigned fund balance falls below the level set by the Board due to an emergency situation, unexpected expenditures, or revenue shortfalls, the Board shall develop a plan to recover the fund balance which may include dedicating new unrestricted revenues, reducing expenditures, and/or increasing revenues or pursuing other funding sources.
Reserve Balance
The district budget shall include a minimum reserve balance for economic uncertainties that is consistent with the percentage or amount specified in 5 CCR 15450.
In any year following the fiscal year in which the district is notified by the SPI that the amount of monies in the state Public School System Stabilization Account equals or exceeds three percent of the combined total of general fund revenues appropriated for school districts and allocated local proceeds of taxes, the district budget shall not contain a combined assigned or unassigned ending general fund balance that is in excess of 10 percent of these funds, unless the requirement is waived in accordance with Education Code 42127.01. (Education Code 42127.01)
Long-Term Financial Obligations
The district's current-year budget and multiyear projections shall include adequate provisions for addressing the district's long-term financial obligations, including, but not limited to, long-term obligations resulting from collective bargaining agreements, financing of facilities projects, unfunded or future liability for retiree benefits, and accrued workers' compensation claims.
(cf. 4141/4241 - Collective Bargaining Agreement)
(cf. 4154/4254/4354 - Health and Welfare Benefits)
(cf. 7210 - Facilities Financing)
(cf. 9250 - Remuneration, Reimbursement and Other Benefits)
The Board may approve a plan for meeting the district's long-term obligations to fund contributions to the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) which, to the extent possible, minimizes significant increases in annual general fund expenditures towards pension obligations. The plan may include prefunding required pension contributions through the California Employers' Pension Prefunding Trust Program pursuant to Government Code 21710-21716.
The Board shall approve a plan for meeting the district's long-term obligations to fund nonpension, other postemployment benefits (OPEBs). This plan shall include a specific funding strategy and the method that will be used to finance the district's annual fiscal obligations for such benefits in a manner that continually reduces the deficit to the district to the extent possible. The Board reserves the authority to review and amend the funding strategy as necessary to ensure that it continues to serve the best interests of the district and maintains flexibility to adjust for changing budgetary considerations.
The Superintendent or designee shall annually present a report to the Board on the estimated accrued but unfunded cost of OPEBs. As a separate agenda item at the same meeting, the Board shall disclose whether or not it will reserve a sufficient amount of money in its budget to fund the present value of the benefits of existing retirees and/or the future cost of employees who are eligible for benefits in the current fiscal year. (Education Code 42140)
The Superintendent or designee shall annually present a report to the Board on the estimated accrued but unfunded cost of workers' compensation claims and the actuarial reports upon which the estimated costs are based. As a separate agenda item at the same meeting, the Board shall disclose whether it will reserve in the budget sufficient amounts to fund the present value of accrued but unfunded workers' compensation claims or if it is otherwise decreasing the amount in its workers' compensation reserve fund. The Board shall annually certify to the County Superintendent the amount, if any, that it has decided to reserve in the budget for these costs. The Board shall submit to the County Superintendent any budget revisions that may be necessary to account for this budget reserve. (Education Code 42141)
Budget Amendments
No later than 45 days after the Governor signs the annual Budget Act, the Superintendent or designee shall make available for public review any revisions in budgeted revenues and expenditures which occur as a result of the funding made available by that Budget Act. (Education Code 42127)
Whenever revenues and expenditures change significantly throughout the year, the Superintendent or designee shall recommend budget amendments to ensure accurate projections of the district's net ending balance. When final figures for the prior-year budget are available, this information shall be used as soon as possible to update the current-year budget's beginning balance and projected revenues and expenditures.
In addition, budget amendments shall be submitted for Board approval as necessary when collective bargaining agreements are accepted, district income declines, increased revenues or unanticipated savings are made available to the district, program proposals are significantly different from those approved during budget adoption, interfund transfers are needed to meet actual program expenditures, and/or other significant changes occur that impact budget projections.
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
1240 Duties of county superintendent of schools
33127-33131 Standards and criteria for local budgets and expenditures
41202 Determination of minimum level of education funding
42103 Public hearing on proposed budget; requirements for content of proposed budget
42122-42129 Budget requirements
42130-42134 Financial certifications
42140-42142 Disclosure of fiscal obligations
42238-42251 Apportionments to districts, especially:
42238.01-42238.07 Local control funding formula
42602 Use of unbudgeted funds
42610 Appropriation of excess funds and limitation thereon
45253 Annual budget of personnel commission
45254 First year budget of personnel commission
52060-52077 Local control and accountability plan
GOVERNMENT CODE
7900-7914 Appropriations limit
21710-21716 California Employer's Pension Prefunding Trust Program
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
15060 Standardized account code structure
15440-15451 Criteria and standards for school district budgets
15494-15497 Local control funding formula, supplemental and concentration grant expenditures
Management Resources:
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS
California School Accounting Manual
New Requirements for Reporting Fund Balance in Governmental Funds, January 7, 2011
FISCAL CRISIS AND MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE TEAM PUBLICATIONS
Fiscal Oversight Guide for AB 1200, AB 2756 and Subsequent Related Legislation, December 2015 GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
Best Practice: Fund Balance Guidelines for the General Fund, September 2015
GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD STATEMENTS
Statement 75, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Post-employment Benefits Other Than Pensions, June 2015
Statement 54, Fund Balance Reporting and Governmental Fund Type Definitions, February 2009
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
Association of California School Administrators: http://www.acsa.org
California Department of Education, Finance and Grants: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg
California Department of Finance: http://www.dof.ca.gov
Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team: http://www.fcmat.org
Government Finance Officers Association: http://www.gfoa.org
Governmental Accounting Standards Board: http://www.gasb.org
School Services of California, Inc.: http://www.sscal.com
Policy VALLECITO UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: April 10, 2019 Avery, California