California now requires school districts to have a place for site-level information in their financial data under the standardized account code structure (SACS). However, it does not require districts to compile or report expenditures by individual school. Many experts believe that school-level data is an essential part of a complete budget report because it provides information about expenditures at the point where they most directly affect students—at the school site.
The audiences for school-level budget information can be quite diverse as are their respective information needs.
- New parents may most appreciate a straightforward visual presentation that provides a basic summary of the school’s resources and expenditures.
- School-level staff will likely be interested in the level of district resources the school receives based on student needs and in comparison to other schools.
- District officials, including the school board, benefit from the most robust and nuanced information, including comparisons. They also need to provide clear data to the media and to those staff—and community and parent advocates—interested in broad districtwide issues of accountability, equity, and funding adequacy.
School budget reports come in many shapes and sizes
When they are available, school-level budgets in California take many different forms. The most comprehensive ones report the cost of every district resource that goes to the school, including the actual salaries and benefits of all staff; the value of shared resources, such as district office business and maintenance services; and site-level discretionary budgets, such as Title I funds, grants, and supplies.
Some districts only provide school budgets that report on the expenditures over which the site has discretion. Others will summarize the amount of discretionary funds and perhaps compare what various schools receive, but they will not describe how the sites spent the money. In many districts, the reports combine financial information with student demographics to help put categorical funding for specific populations—such as Special Education and Title I—into perspective. In a few districts, reports also include performance information.
The Los Altos School District has received state and national recognition for excellence in school district budgeting and financial reporting. Their 2006-07 Almond school budget is a good example of a site-level budget.
School-level plans are a required part of categorical funding
Schools in California that participate in selected state and federal programs are required to develop site-level plans for how they will spend those program funds. Each year they must complete a planning process called the "Single Plan for Student Achievement." Its stated purpose is to improve the academic performance of all pupils, as measured by the state’s standardized tests. This planning process has taken the place of earlier approaches to site-level improvement planning in California, most notably the model previously required by the state’s School Improvement Program.
The Single Plan is to be developed by a school site council made up of the principal, staff, parents, and community members (with representatives of the latter two groups selected by their peers). It addresses how the particular categorical funds will be used, but it does not necessarily look at the entire budget for a school. The district is expected not only to pass the funds through to the school, but also to review and approve the plans.
You can view a 58-page planning guide and template to meet the content requirements for these programs at the CDE website.
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