FILE:  DCB

Cf:  DC

 

BUDGET PLANNING AND PREPARATION

 

 

The Bossier Parish School Board shall cause to be prepared a comprehensive budget presenting a complete financial plan for the ensuing fiscal year.  The revenues shall be those normally expected from constitutional, statutory, and regular sources and shall not include probable revenues that may arise from doubtful or contingent sources.

 

The President and Superintendent, as treasurer, or any member of the School Board, or any person who signs, executes, causes, authorizes, or contributes in any manner to the borrowing of money in excess of the amount properly budgeted, for current operation, or beyond the limits and conditions herein prescribed, shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars, nor more than one thousand dollars, and shall be removed from office in the manner prescribed by the constitution and the laws of the state.

 

PRESENTATION OF BUDGET DOCUMENT

 

The revenues and expenditures in the budget shall be listed and classified in such manner and substance as shall be prescribed by the State Superintendent of Education, and shall detail as nearly as possible the several items of expected revenues and expenditures, the total of which shall not exceed the expected means of financing, composed of the beginning fund balance, cash balances, and revenues.  If during the course of the fiscal year it becomes evident that revenues or expenditures will vary substantially from those budgeted, then the School Board shall prepare and adopt an amended budget.

 

A budget proposed for consideration by the School Board shall be accompanied by a proposed budget adoption instrument which shall be necessary to adopt and implement the budget document.  The adoption instrument shall define the authority of the Superintendent and administrative officers of the School Board to make changes within various budget classifications without approval by the School Board as well as those powers reserved solely to the School Board.  The budget document shall at least include the following:

 

  1. Basis of Budgeting - Budgets shall be prepared on the same basis of accounting as that used in the financial statements and as stated in standard Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures.

  2. Organization of the Budget - The accounts of the School Board shall be organized on the basis of funds, each of which is considered a separate accounting entity.  The operations of each fund are accounted for with separate sets of self balancing accounts that comprise its assets, liabilities, fund equity, revenues and expenditures.

  3. Funds Budgeted - Activities of the General Fund and the Special Revenue Fund shall be presented to the School Board for adoption annually. Formal adoption of any Debt Service and Capital Projects funds are not required but shall be included in the operating budget for informational purposes.

  4. Budget Format - The presentation of the budget shall include fund balances, revenues, expenditures and other financing sources/uses. Revenues shall be budgeted by source and expenditure by function as defined by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE).  The format shall also include the presentation of actual data from the prior fiscal year, budget data for the current fiscal year and budget data for the proposed budget year.

  5. Budget Adoption Instrument - The operating budget shall be accompanied by a proposed budget adoption resolution.

  6. Balanced Budget - The total budgeted expenditures shall not exceed the total estimated funds available within each fund.

  7. Budget Message - A budget message shall be prepared and signed by the Superintendent that articulates priorities and issues for the budget for the new year.  The message should describe significant changes in priorities from the current year and explain the factors that led to those changes.

 

STAFF INVOLVEMENT IN THE PREPARATION OF THE BUDGET

 

The Superintendent or his/her designee shall assign various budgetary areas to members of the administrative staff. Each staff member who is assigned a budget area shall recommend what items are placed in his/her area of the budget, and shall also be held responsible for seeing that expenditures in those areas stay within budget boundaries.  Should any administrative staff member encounter problems in any budget area after the budget has been adopted by the Bossier Parish School Board, the Superintendent or his/her designee shall be promptly notified in order that adjustments might be made according to School Board policy.

 

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IN THE BUDGET 

 

Upon completion of the proposed budget and its submission to the School Board, the Superintendent shall publish a notice in the newspaper stating that the proposed budget is available for public inspection.  The notice shall also state that a public hearing on the proposed budget shall be held with the date, time and place of the hearing specified in the notice.  The guidelines following public involvement shall apply as follows:

 

  1. Public Inspection of the Proposed Budget - The proposed budget document shall be made available for public inspection at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the public hearing.  Also, it shall be made available to the public at the School Board office during regular office hours Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

  2. Public Hearing on the Proposed Budget – The Bossier Parish School Board shall conduct at least one public hearing prior to the adoption of the proposed budget.  Anyone interested in participating in the public hearing can speak directly to the School Board at that time.

 

ADOPTION PROCEDURES 

 

All action necessary to adopt or revise the budget shall be taken in open meeting requiring a simple majority of the School Board voting in favor of the proposed resolution and/or revisions for adoption or any revision. The adoption procedures shall also include the following:

 

  1. Review by Committee - The annual operating budget and any revisions to the budget shall be sent to the Finance Committee or appropriate committee of the School Board for review and/or alterations.

  2. Retention of Certified Copies - The Superintendent or his/her designee shall retain and file certified copies of the adopted budget, budget adoption resolution, duly authorized budget revisions or amendments, and other necessary information related to the budget.

 

 

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:88, 17:89, 17:89.1, 39:1304

 

Bossier Parish School Board