School district budget document:

At Eden the Introductory section is part of the April newsletter that is found
on the district website for families to access. The pertinent information is
copied and included in the budget report. BAT is the Budget Advisory Team.
This group is made up of Board members (all can participate), a union
representative, parents and community members. They begin meeting in
November with a review of the budget development mechanics, trend
information and a calendar. The calendar includes dates for all the different
school groups to present a budget overview to the BAT. The groups that
present include transportation, each building principal and the curriculum
coordinator, the superintendent, the finance director, the athletics director,
the technology coordinator, buildings and grounds, and pupil personnel
services. When presenting at a BAT meeting, the directors of each area
focus on the district goals, stating in their presentations the goals that are
being focused on. The board receives all the revenue information but the
public receives mainly the information on the tax levy and what the state
may be contributing. For the 5-year comparison, Eden shows past years plus
projects into the future about what expenditures could be. Eden includes the
school academic reports cards in their budget document. This includes
reports on tests scores and comparisons and teacher qualifications. In past
years there was no glossary. They are including one this year as they discuss
the budget for next school year. It is a 10-page document that is given to
the BAT. The major terms used are discussed at the first orientation meeting.
Eden follows a zero based budget to plan for each school year. Through this
type of budgeting each principal reviews the current courses provided and
makes a wish list of programs and materials they would like for the follow
school year. All administrators get together to make decisions regarding any
items needed and rank each item. The administrators continue to meet to
create the budget together.