Budget

2024-25 Budget Information

At its Dec. 13 meeting, the Board of Education approved the 2024-25 Budget Development Plan & Calendar. Work on next school year’ budget begins in December. Follow this link to view the full plan & calendar. Or click here to download a PDF of the 2024-25 Budget Plan & Calendar.


2023-24 Budget Information

2023-24 School Budget
Budget: $81,570,122 | Estimated average tax rate increase: 0% | Tax levy increase: 1.12% | Budget-to-budget increase: 6.44%

Three elected to the Board of Education

The 2023-24 budget of was approved by voters, 985 yes votes to 260 no votes, with a passing margin of 79%, which is the highest passing rate dating back to the 1980s. Additionally, proposition #2 for maintaining an ex officio student board member passed with 1,101 yes vote to 142 no votes. The three board candidates, who were running for three open seats, received the following number of votes: Don Marshall with 976 votes, Lakshmi Nagarajan with 1017 votes and James Ireland with 987 votes.


Overview of the Budget Process

Budget development actually starts in every November when the Board of Education begins to identify their budget objectives and the factors external and internal to the school district that are likely to have the greatest impact on the next year’s budget. Such factors can include rising prices for fuel or health insurance, for example, or the expectation that we will be impacted by a new state mandate or a change in pupil enrollment.

By December, the Board has created a detailed budget development calendar that includes the objectives and context for the new school budget.

In January, the Board of Education receives preliminary budget requests for the coming school year from school administrators, as well as requests for additional staffing and possible new or improved programs.

February, March and early April are spent analyzing and discussing these requests at a series of public Finance Committee meetings. The school board also solicits public input on the budget and devotes time to budget development issues at its regular February and March business meetings. Administrators work to refine their numbers as more accurate cost estimates and enrollment figures are received during this period, and as Board members ask them to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of providing a service in a different way.

Throughout the winter and spring, school board members and administrators are also monitoring budget activity at the state level. BH-BL school board members and administrators are in frequent contact with local legislators to inform them how various state funding proposals will affect our schools.

In mid-April, the Board of Education votes on a proposed budget. A newsletter describing the budget is then printed and mailed to all district homes in early May. A copy of the proposed budget broken down by line items is also available in May at the main office of each school or the District Office. The public vote on the proposed budget is held by law on the third Tuesday in May.