Governance Policy Manual

Policy Category: Recommended Guardrail

Financial Planning and Budge ng
(Interim Policy GPM.G2 or 6000)
Review cycle: Annual in June

Financial planning or budge ng for any scal year, or part thereof, shall not risk scal jeopardy
or deviate materially from the Board’s goals and resul ng District strategic plan and shall be
derived from a minimum four-year plan in full compliance with state law. Without limi ng the
above, for any nancial plan or budget, the Superintendent shall not cause or allow Sea le
Public Schools to:

1) Omit credible projec ons of revenues and expenses; separa on of capital and
opera onal items; cash ow and signi cant balance sheet items; or disclosure of
planning assump ons and analysis.
2) Fail to compare, for each major fund type and ac vity, the actual expenditures for the
most recently closed scal year, budgeted expenditures for the current scal year, and
proposed budget expenditures for the next scal year.
3) Fail to provide adequate and reasonable budget support for Board development and
other governance priori es, including the costs of scal audits, Board and commi ee
mee ngs, Board memberships and ac vi es as delineated in the Board’s annual plans.
4) Omit or fail to propose budget changes which mi gate risk and/or are scally sound due
to any exis ng provision in a collec ve bargaining agreement for which there is no legal
requirement.
5) Fail to propose and nego ate pay scales aligned with mul -year scal capacity so as to
ensure equitable pay and bene ts for all labor partners and other sta and mi gate the
risk of compensa on concentra on in any class or sub-class of labor class.
6) In years in which an opera ng de cit or surplus is projected, omit categorical and
programma c loca on and type of budget reduc ons or enhancements and their
maintenance of Board’s goals and resul ng District strategic plan.
7) In years in which a signi cant opera ng de cit or surplus is projected, fail to present a
Reduced or Increased Educa onal Program Resolu on for Board approval.
8) In any way allow building or other leaders to solicit or fundraise in support of building,
departmental or district budget if that funding is not a) sustainable, if one- me funds, or
for one- me needs, and/or b) aren’t clearly shown as matched by the district through a
balancing mechanism consistent with the Board’s goals and resul ng District strategic
plan.
9) Agree to sta ng ra os with any bargaining unit that are not exible enough to ensure
alignment with established goals and guardrails related to ensuring student overcomes.
10) U lize funding models and sta ng ra os that 1) center adult over student need and 2)
are not exible enough to ensure alignment with established goals related to ensuring
student outcomes 3) are inconsistent with the Board’s policies and statement of values
including the Board’s goals and resul ng District strategic plan.
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 11) Present budgets that u lize student or family fees as the majority of revenue to support
programming, equipment and/or materials, that student/family fee revenue are
insu cient to support at other schools, without a demonstrated alterna ve nancial
source providing equitable access to the same basket of programs, equipment and/or
materials.
12) Fail to delineate, manage to, and communicate a clear meline regarding the budge ng
process.
13) Propose to retain sta c student assignment plans, school boundaries and transporta on
standards, if modi ca ons will create or maintain e cacy in associa on with the
proposed budget and aligned with high standards of service.
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 Governance Policy Manual
Policy Category: Guardrails
Policy Name: Administra on of the Annual Budget and Financial Repor ng
Interim Policy: GPM.G3
Review Cycle: Annual in June

Administra on of the Annual Budget:

With respect to execu on of the budget and the ongoing condi on of the district’s nancial
health, the Superintendent shall not cause or allow a material devia on from the annual budget
or policy adopted by the Board, cause or allow any scal condi on that is inconsistent with
achieving the Board’s the Board’s goals and resul ng District strategic plan or place the long-
term nancial health of the district in jeopardy.

Accordingly, the Superintendent may not:

1. Expend more funds than are an cipated to be received in the scal year unless
authorized by the Board through u liza on of available reserves. Addi onally, debt and
liquidity guidelines are met;
2. Indebt or obligate SPS to any amount greater than can be repaid by unencumbered
revenues by the end of the current scal year;
3. Allow a year end fund balance that is below the budgeted amount;
4. Fail to se le payroll and debts within the meframe of agreed contracts;
5. Allow reports or lings required by any state or federal agency to be overdue,
inaccurately led, or unavailable to the public;
6. Fail to arrange for the annual audit of all district funds and accounts and budget for a
non-state auditor audit every seven to eight years.
7. Fail to keep complete and accurate nancial records by funds and accounts in
accordance with established scal accoun ng procedures as re ected in the Accoun ng
Manual for Public School Districts in the State of Washington.
8. Fail to provide contract and business preferences to Women and Minority owned
(WMBE) and local Businesses.
9. Fail to ensure equitable assessment of fees, or allow others u lizing SPS resources to do
so, or u lize automa c waivers whenever possible.

Repor ng:
The superintendent shall ensure that the Accoun ng Manual for Public School Districts in the
State of Washington compliant nancial statements are presented on a mul -year compara ve
basis accessible for general public consump on and analysis and shall express alignment with
the Board’s goals and resul ng District strategic plan as well as scal health. Without limi ng
the above, the Superintendent shall not:

1) Omit historical spending on a per building, line-item basis with year-over-year

comparison;
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2) Fail to provide historical actual spending data in conjunc on with year-over-year
trends in students outcomes at the building, grade, District, and demographic levels;
3) Fail to provide publicly available data on three year-over-year District spending.

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