Budgeting at Crestone Charter School K-12
How school budgets are created at CCS w/in MCSD#2
For viewers of this document, there are notes attached to these slides, but please contact me with any questions, tcleary@crestonecharter.com.
This material was presented at the budget approval Governing Council Meeting, Nov 20, 2024; all stakeholders were encouraged to attend.
Please refer to the 2024-2025 FY FINAL Budget doc for line numbers quoted throughout this presentation.
CCS is a rural K-12 public charter school of 100 students, using site-based and zero-based budgeting, for the whole school but w/ grade-band differentiation
CCS collaborates w/ geographic authorizer, but is mostly autonomous except for passthrough federal, state, and grant monies; we pay the district for Central Administrative Overhead Costs and some additional purchase services
Here is a brief video explaining the relationship between achievement and funding, and how CCS allocates funding to improve student performance.
Essential Questions: How is the budget developed?
Essential Questions: How is the budget developed?
Essential Questions: How is the budget developed?
2. goals and objectives:
3. build the budget: see subsequent slides (6: Revenue)
4. summary of the balanced budget: see Budget Summary slide (7: Expenses)
5. reflection on year’s goals:
Building the Budget: Revenue
2024-2025 FY FINAL Budget REVENUE: Lines 3-47
The CCS Beginning Fund balance is at $2.11M, having increase from $1.46M over three years since I became the Director.
Total projected revenue for CCS 24/25 SY | $2,953,364 | |
State Per Pupil Operating Revenue (PPOR) | $2,262,718 | (76.6%) |
Other State Revenue | $210,370 | (7.1%) |
Federal money (Titles I, II, and IV, SRS) | $190,383 | (6.4%) |
CCS generated income and grants | About 10% |
Building the Budget: Expenses
2024-2025 FY FINAL Budget EXPENSES: Lines 48-644
Personnel Costs: $1,662,909 (56.9%) [minus capital and durable expenses (64.9%)]
Total projected revenue for CCS 24/25 SY | $2,953,364 | |
Total General Ed Expenses (Teachers, aides, specialists, mentors, travel, SpEd, Counselor, PD, Exp Ed Coordinator, Instructional, Curricular, MTSS Coach, class budgets, supplies, enrichment, programming) | $1,430,930 | (48.4%) |
Cost to District (Central Admin Overhead Costs, additional purchased services) | $407,289 | (13.8%) |
CCS Admin and operating expenses (Admin, office, Tech, facilities, transportation, food service, Capital construction and maintenance) w/out district | $1,085,145 W/dist | (36.7%) (50.5%) |
BEST and TaBOR reserves | About 1% |
Essential Questions: Who is involved? What roles do they play?
Preliminary budget (April): Director, Business manager, classroom staff and a parent input
Year to date (YTD) expenses, prior two end of years (EOY) actuals: Director and Business manager
Staffing costs: Director
Strategic plans and initiatives Director and all stakeholders
Essential Questions: How do budgets assist school boards in achieving their goals to meet the needs of the students?
CCS Governing Council model is based on Policy Governance (formerly Carver Governance).
Essential Questions: How is the budget influenced by grade?
Budget is applied to all teachers and students as a K-12 whole.
Travel budgets vary by classroom
HS credit needs, MS/HS science teacher, K-12 art supplies, and grade level book and textbook budgets also vary.
Teacher payscales and number of contract days do not vary to keep things equitable!
How school budgets are created at CCS w/in MCSD#2
Budget Priorities:
Director meets the Ends given by the Governing Council, with any reasonable Means, within Executive Limitations.
CCS uses a zero-based and site-based approach to budgeting, fairly traditional budget-building process
For viewers of this document, please contact me with any questions, tcleary@crestonecharter.com.
Here is a brief video explaining the relationship between achievement and funding, and how CCS allocates funding to improve student performance.