Budget Saving Ideas: The Budget Suggestion webpage is now closed. Thank you to everyone that submitted an idea. We are currently compiling all suggestions and will post the final results within the next few days. See a sampling of suggestions .

• Overview
• Where does our budget money come from?
• Budgeting for 2008-09: English | Spanish
• Budget Timeline
• Related Resources
• Contact Information

Overview
The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), along with all school districts in California, is required by state law to adopt a balanced budget each year. In June of each year, the Board of Education formally adopts the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Budget development is a constant, year-round process involving ongoing planning and evaluation as part of a regular budget process timeline.Each year, the budget must:

• Establish the maximum amounts that the district can spend for each of its several funds
• Be balanced, with beginning balances and projected revenues matching or exceeding spending (also referred to as "expenditures") plus reserves
• Cover the fiscal year (July 1 through June 30 of each year)

All school districts face ongoing budgetary challenges and influences that can include an individual state's own budget crisis, declining enrollment, changes in federal revenue allocations, and the timing out of grants or special funding. These issues mean the district's Financial Operations team must monitor state and school district finance issues on a constant basis.

Where Does Our Budget Money Come From?
The process for funding a public school district in California is not simple. All districts rely on revenue from three primary sources: federal, state and local. Some funding sources have specific restrictions. This means the ability to be flexible with district revenue is limited.

Related Resources

SDUSD Resources

• Glossary of Budget Terms
• Overview of Layoff Processes
• Adopted Budgets:
  2006-07  | 2007-08 
• Video: Bill Kowba's Report for the Board of Education on January 2008 Governor’s Budget Assessment (Requires QuickTime)
• Enrollment Reports
• Average Daily Attendance (ADA)
• Audit and Finance Committee

State Budget Resources

• California Department of Finance
  The Department of Finance provides budget information and monthly updates on the state's financial situation as part of the Governor's Cabinet. Both the Governor's budget proposal in January and the revised information in May are available at this site for download and viewing.
• State Budget FAQs related to Education Funding
  This link will take you directly to the questions related to education funding on the list of Budget FAQs provided by the Department of Finance.
• California Legislative Analyst's Office
  The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) has been providing fiscal and policy advice to the Legislature for more than 55 years. The LAO is overseen by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC), a 16-member, bipartisan committee. Historically, one of the most important responsibilities of the LAO has been to analyze the annual Governor's budget and publish a detailed review at the end of February. This document, the Analysis of the Budget Bill, includes individual department reviews and recommendations for legislative action.
• California State Assembly Budget Committee
  The Assembly Budget Committee is the committee responsible for creating the Assembly's version of the budget. This link provides the Assembly's analysis of the Governor's proposals and periodic information about hearing schedules for the Assembly's progress on the budget bill.
• California State Senate Budget
  This link provides additional information about the state budget process and the Senates process for taking action on the Governor's proposal.

Contact Information
For specific information about a school site's budget, please contact the principal or site administrator.