4001: Budget

The board shall adopt a budget each year to support the ESU’s programs and services for the ensuing fiscal year. The ESU administrator shall be responsible for developing the budget subject to the direction and decisions of the board. The budget document shall be under continuous development, based upon the requirements of the adopted educational program.

Proposed Budget. The administrator shall prepare the proposed budget in accordance with board policies and goals, state statutes, and regulations. As the ESU’s spending plan, the budget will be based on up-to-date revenue estimates, and will reflect the assessed needs and programs approved by the board.

Budget Hearing Notice. Notice of place and time of the hearing, together with a summary of the proposed budget statement, must be published at least four calendar days prior to the date set for hearing in a newspaper of general circulation within the ESU. The four calendar days shall include the day of publication but not the day of hearing.

Budget Hearing. The board must conduct a hearing prior to adopting the budget. The hearing must be held separately from any regularly scheduled meeting and may not be limited by time. The board must make a presentation outlining key provisions of the proposed budget statement, including, but not limited to, a comparison with the prior year's budget. Any member of the public desiring to speak on the proposed budget statement shall be allowed to address the board at the hearing and must be given a reasonable amount of time to do so. Five minutes shall generally be considered a reasonable amount of time.

Budget Hearing Documents. The board must make at least three copies of the proposed budget statement and at least one copy of all other reproducible written material to be discussed at the hearing available to the public at the hearing.

Budget Adoption. After the budget hearing, the proposed budget statement shall be adopted or amended and adopted as amended. If the adopted budget statement reflects a change from that shown in the published proposed budget statement, a summary of the changes (including the items changed and the reasons for such changes) must be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the ESU within twenty calendar days after its adoption without further hearing.

Purchase Authorization. Except for bids required under the section "Bid Letting and Contracts,” the board’s adoption of the budget shall authorize the purchases without further board action.

Monthly Report. At each monthly board meeting, the administrator will provide a report on the current status of the major sections of the budget.

Adopted on: February 12, 2019
Revised on: November 9, 2020
Reviewed on: Oct. 10, 2022