Steps to monitoring the district’s budget 

The governing board is responsible for supporting and monitoring implementation of the district budget. Although the actual implementation of the budget is the responsibility of the superintendent and district staff, the board provides overall guidance and direction through policies. In addition, decisions made by the board throughout the year will impact the implementation of the budget, so it is necessary that the board be aware of the fiscal implications of all its actions.

Taxpayers expect to see public dollars spent effectively. Ensuring this happens and communicating the district’s financial situation to the public are major aspects of the board’s fiscal accountability role. The board also must ensure that the district is able to meet its fiscal obligations and that resources are focused on achieving the results described in the district vision for student learning. As part of its ongoing responsibility, the board reviews previous-year budgets to determine and learn from the accuracy of the district’s projections; reviews financial reports on the current-year budget in order to make any necessary adjustments; and continually assesses whether the district is likely to be fiscally solvent in future years.

 The board’s role in this area is to:

Step 1: Support implementation of the budget through the board’s policies and actions;

Step 2: Regularly review and amend the budget to reflect changing conditions;

Step 3: Use interim reports effectively to monitor the current-year budget and future projections;

Step 4: Receive and analyze year-end reports and the annual audit of the previous-year budget;

Step 5: Look for warning signs of fiscal difficulties and act to avoid a fiscal crisis; and

Step 6: Inform and involve all stakeholders in support of the district’s fiscal operations.

Taken from “School Finance: Fiscal Accountability,” part of the Maximizing School Board Governance series from CSBA, available at www.csba.org/co/books.