TEA Budgeting Guidelines

Understanding the TEA Budgeting Guidelines

After reading and reviewing the TEA Budgeting Guidelines, I found it to be a very thorough document that provides detailed information on the budgeting process. This document stated the objectives of budgeting and budgeting approaches. The budgeting approaches included line-item budgeting, performance budgeting, program and planning budgeting, zero-based budgeting and site-based budgeting. The guidelines provided the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. Legal requirements were also discussed. Texas law was noted and explained the legal basis for the development of school budgets. TEA legal requirements along with local district requirements were documented. The superintendent is responsible for preparing or causes the budget to be prepared. State law, TEA requirements, and local policy serve as a check and balance system so the budget is prepared and meets all requirements.

Annual budget responsibilities and guidelines were defined, along with the roles and responsibilities at the campus level and district level. The process of establishing a budget calendar was noted. Another topic that was stated in the guidelines was annual district revenue estimates. This is very important when developing a budget. The superintendent must review revenue estimates from the Foundation School Program and local tax properties. This document provides valuable information about Tier I and Tier II costs and allotments.

The TEA budgeting guidelines explained the process of budgeting for grant programs. There are two types of grants, non-competitive and competitive. The process of amending grant budgets was precisely noted. Overall, this document is a reference for the budgeting process. There was new information that I need to become more familiar in order to truly understand the entire budgeting process. The TEA Budgeting Guidelines is a required document for both experienced and new superintendents. As legislation for public schools changes, so will this document.