Understanding Virginia School Budget Categories

1. OK, Let’s Talk Budgets • Virginia has standardized the school division budgeting process • There are seven budget categories • How many are showing on the budgets you brought this evening? • Try and find the major categories.

2. Budget Time Frames in Virginia • Counties must have budget by May 1st or within 30 days of estimate of State funds. • Cities budgets must be approved by May 15th • Why do you think there is a difference?

3. Budget Categories • Instruction • Administration, attendance, and health • Pupil Transportation • Operation and Maintenance • Food Service (and non-instructional) • Facilities • Debt and Fund Transfers

4. Instruction • Teacher salaries, apportionment of School Board Office instructional personnel, supplies, texts, professional development, and others • Usually takes 70-80% of the budget • If this percentage is exceeded it may be an indication of problems? Why?

5. Admin., Attendance, & Health • All administration functions, salaries, supplies, professional development, expenses • All attendance (visiting teachers, etc) functions, salaries, related expenses • All Health (school nurses, etc) functions • Generally runs 5-10% of the budget

6. Pupil Transportation • You’ve got it! • Yellow busses • Drivers’ salaries, benefits, professional development, etc. • Oil, gas, bus purchases, maintenance on busses, etc. • Percentage varies from rural/urban (3-7%)

7. Operations and Maintenance • Maintenance costs for buildings including salaries and benefits, maintenance materials, and supplies • Does not not include capital construction • Varies extensively depending on how facilities are cared for

8. Food Service • Cafeteria expenses • By law this category must be self-supporting • Includes furniture, food, salaries, equipment, and related expenses • Usually does not appear as a percentage of budget

9. Facilities • Buildings and grounds construction, capital repairs, major replacement/renovations, etc. • Includes all expenses associated with facilities construction • Varies as a percentage of budget depending on governing body

10. Debt and Fund Transfers • Debt is usually coordinated by the governing body with some exceptions • Includes VPSA, LLF for construction and land acquisition • Fund transfers – technical – grants transferred to other funds – i.e. Title 1, and other federally-funded programs. Think of this as a holding tank for funds that come in and must go out to other areas – instruction, administration, etc.

11. Your Job • Try to figure out how your budget is organized • Can you identify the seven categories in your budget? • If you can not find seven categories, how many categories can you find? • What percentage is spent on each?