Budget Philosophy

The Mabton School Board of Directors takes very personally their duty to ensuring that our dollars and resources are put in service of the children of Mabton.  The mission of the Mabton School District is to ensure academic success for ALL students.  This starts with responsible management of our dollars and resources!

The 2024-2025 Budget

On July 22, 2024 the Mabton Board of Directors approved the budget as provided in the following documents.

• 2024-25 Budget Hearing Adoption Summary
• 2024-25 F195 Budget Detail / Four-Year Budget Summary and Enrollment Projections
• 2024-25 F203 Revenue Report
• 2024-25 MSOC Disclosure
• 2024-25 MSD Budget Presentation
• Education Funding FAQ
• Issues at the Core of Washington State's School Funding Dilemma

Our Budgeting Process

The Mabton School Board begins the budgeting process one school year in advance.  The following is an overview of our budgeting journey.

 

September 1

Our fiscal year begins.  As a monthly activity, the board receives a monthly budget report that shows our the status of our spending categories in relationship to our adopted budget. 

 

Early Fall

In the Sept/October time frame, the board receives a report on the final closeout of the previous year's budget.  The main indicator in this report is our ending fund balance.  In accordance with Policy 6022, our fund balance must fall between 12%-14% of our total budget.  Currently, Policy 6022 has temporarily been set to 7%-10% as we realign with new funding models that resulted from the McCleary Decision.

 

February

Budget Study Session #1:  Student Enrollment Trends - The end result of our budget planning is for the board to set the number of students to budget for.  Predicting how many students will show up for school the following year is no simple task.  At this study session the board, superintendent, and business manager study past student enrollment trends, as well as discuss other factors influencing student enrollment.  Everything from data to the current economic conditions of our area is explored.

 

March

Budget Study Session #2:  Staffing Needs - Based on past data and current student enrollment projections the staffing model is examined.  The board hears from both district and building leaders as they outline their current staffing situation and hear about upcoming possible needs.  All departments are looked at to include teachers, paraeducators, support staff, administrators, and central office.  The state-issued prototypical school model is also used as a comparison.

 

April

Budget Study Session #3:  Revenues - In this step, a study of past revenues and expected future revenues is examined.  Consideration is given to all categories of revenues to include state allocation dollars and grant dollars.

 

May

Budget Study Session #4:  Expenditures - In this step, a study of past spending and expected future spending is examined.  Consideration is given to all areas of expenditures to include instructional materials, human resources, technology, maintenance, transportation, curriculum, and capital projects.

 

Setting the Full-Time Enrollment (FTE) Number - One of the most critical parts of the budging process is when the Board decides on an enrollment number to base the next year's budget.  The Board is tasked with setting a number that represents the number of students they expect to have, on average for the next school year.  It is important that this number is accurate.  Setting it too high will put the district in the red with the budget.  Setting it too low shorts the district on their revenues from September through December.

 

Using the board-declared FTE number, the state provides a set amount of revenue each month.  From September through December we receive exactly what we stated.  Each month we provide the actual student count.  In January, our enrollment average is figured and the state begins recovering any over-payments or catching up on underpayments over the months of January through August.

 

April-June

Preparing the Budget - Over the months of April through June, the district administrators begin their work of aligning the budget for the next year.  This is when the business manager begins building the budget.  Principals and directors begin working with their staff members on needs for the next year.  There is always another layer of planning when it comes to budgeting in complex organizations such as schools!

 

July

Budget Hearing - Once the budget is prepared it is presented to the board in a meeting held in public.  The board is given information and an opportunity to ask questions.

 

Budget Approval - At the regular July Board of Director's meeting, the final budget is presented for the Board to take action on its approval.  If approved, the budget then gets submitted to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for state approval.