California School Finance > District Budgeting ( DNN 4.3.4 )

District Budgeting

The District's Responsibility
School districts are the fiscal agents of California's public school system and as such they are responsible for using the funds the state and federal government provide to deliver educational services to the state's children.

See The District's Responsibility

Building the Budget
A few basic realities govern the budgeting process for school districts in California.

See Building the Budget

Financial Reporting
A wealth of data is available regarding a school district's finances.

See Financial Reporting

Collective Bargaining
The bulk of every school district’s expenditures are tied up in personnel. As a result collective bargaining agreements can have a dramatic impact on a district’s budget, both in current and future years.

See Collective Bargaining

Site Level Budgeting
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.

See Site Level Budgeting

Fiscal Oversight
A district’s first budgetary responsibility is to be fiscally sound. District officials must ensure that the district is able to meet its financial commitments each year.

See Fiscal Oversight