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701-Establishment and Adoption of School District Budget

  • 700 Series: Non-Instructional Operations
701-Establishment and Adoption of School District Budget
Rationale Date Approved/Revised
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
  • 6/23/09
  • Revised: 5/26/15
  • Revised: 5/21/19
  • Revised: 11/15/22

1)  General Statement of Policy   

The policy of this school district is to establish its revenue and expenditure budgets in accordance with the applicable provisions of law.  Budget planning is an integral part of education program planning so that the annual budget will effectively express and implement school board goals and the priorities of the school district.

2)  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 Minnesota Statutes section 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 Minnesota Commissioner of Education 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.  A summary of this information and the address of the school district’s official website where the information can be found 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 Minnesota Statutes section 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 2.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 and publish a summary of information and the address of the school district’s website where the information can be found in a qualified newspaper of general circulation in the district.                                                                   

3)  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 the superintendent 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 Minnesota Commissioner of Education as required relating to initial allocations of revenue, reallocations of revenue, and expenditures of funds.  

Adoption and Revision History

Incorporated Policies

701 ESTABLISHMENT AND ADOPTION OF SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET  (see policy history at right)

This Policy Adopted:  February 10, 1998; Rescinded:  June 23, 2009

Replaced Policy:  DBA (Budgeting System) adopted June 28, 1979; DBAA (Capital Outlay Program) adopted June 28, 1979; DBD (Budget Planning) adopted June 28, 1979; DBE (Determining Budget Priorities) adopted June 28, 1979; DBF (Dissemination of Budget Recommendations) adopted June 28, 1979; DBG (Budget Hearing and Reviews) adopted June 28, 1979; DBL (Budget Publication) adopted June 28, 1979.

E-032  ESTABLISHMENT AND ADOPTION OF SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET

This Policy Adopted:  June 23, 2009; Revised:  November 22, 2011

Revised:  September 25, 2012; Revised:  July 18, 2017

MSBA 701

701 ESTABLISHMENT AND ADOPTION OF SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET

This Policy Revised:  May 21, 2019; November 15, 2022

 

 Administrative Rule, Regulation and Procedure: NA 

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)       

            

Cross References: MSBA/MASA Model Policy 701.1 (Modification of School District Budget)

MSBA/MASA Model Policy 702 (Accounting)