Superintendent interview - budget process

Superintendent Interview – Budget Process

I interviewed our school superintendent, Dr. Ray Lea. I found our interview to be very beneficial and helpful. I began the interview by describing what we had learned and discussed in week 1’s lesson as well as the first part of this assignment focusing on a goal driven budget. We discussed the importance of knowing about and being able to discuss the concept of goal driven budget when interviewing for superintendent positions. He shared that this is a very “hot” topic when interviewing and one has to have an understanding and be articulate in describing the process.

He likes to start the process with board goals. He said he likes to focus on 5 broad goals to define the goals of the district. The five he focuses on are academics, district personnel, safe environment for students & staff, communication (including community & public relations) and budget (good, sound stewards of tax payers’ money). This are discussed with District Leadership Team and adopted by board. After setting the district visions and goals it is up to individual campuses to be more specific and include specific strategies to meet campus goals which need to have a strong connection with district goals and vision.

When specifically asked what the superintendent’s role is during the budgeting process Dr. Lea quickly responded it varies by the size of the district. In our district (4A) there is a business manager and staff responsible for developing the budget. However, his background is from smaller districts. He shared in smaller districts it is the total responsibility and duty of the superintendent, which can be very challenging for a beginning superintendent. He did discuss he is involved in the budget process and reminded me that by law the superintendent is responsible for the school district’s budget.

For Dr. Lea the budget process starts immediately after current budget is adopted. He said this year the budget was adopted by the board on a Thursday night, on Friday morning he was in the business manager’s office discussing next year’s budget (basically preparing for next year’s additional 2 million dollar cut). The calendar our district uses is the TASB model. He said it is very important to follow a written calendar during the year so the district does not miss posting deadlines. He and the business office are in constant communication about upcoming dates and events. He stressed the two critical dates/ deadline: August 20^th budget prepared by & August 31^st adopted by school board.

During the budgeting process Dr. Lea said he works with the business office on calculating revenue projections and prioritizing every aspect of the district in order to get the best “bang for the buck” with the funds available. Dr. Lea pointed out it is important to pay particular attention to percentages of special funds used, such as: Compensatory Education, Special Education and Career & Technology.

We discussed cutting the budget; he cautioned me by discussing to watch federal law, especially when dealing with federal programs. He said often a district may have required amount they must spend or may not be able to cut more than a certain percentage based on previous year.  He stated that in most districts 83% of the budget is personnel expenses. This can be difficult to cut without a plan of action.

In the interview we also discussed using the state funding template for planning and preparing the budget, the use of property values, WADA (targeted revenue dollar), Maintenance & Operations (M&O) and Interest and Sinking (I&S) calculations.

In the end Dr. Lea reminded me the “buck stops” with the superintendent when it comes to the school district’s budget.