Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Budget: Beyond the Numbers

By:  Ken Carter, Finance Director
 
Our annual budget is a picture of all the school district’s duties and responsibilities which, by extension, is ours individually – for we are the school district. We, you and I, exist in the district context for a sole purpose – the education of our young people. The annual budget provides, in many and various ways, the resources for that purpose.

Our district’s largest resource is people. People who teach and support our children.  People who provide good nutrition and safe transportation for those children.  People who lead and people who follow that leadership for the benefit of children. So you should not be surprised to learn that 83% of our budget is dedicated to personnel salaries and benefits. Three quarters of that total provides for the wonderful people who have direct interaction with our students.  We can conclude from the allocation of these precious resources that our district’s lifeblood is our people.

But our lifeblood must be protected, sustained and furnished with an environment in which to flourish. That’s where the “operations” portion of your budget comes in. Operations as people resource support provides buildings, climate control, technology, security, transportation, payroll and a host of other functions on a daily basis. It is the goal of operations to provide a safe, comfortable and effective environment to facilitate the magic of the classroom. A large and complicated tack indeed! Think of it - our campuses daily become the largest population center in Pike County. A population which must be housed, moved and protected moment by moment.

For the Finance office staff, our ongoing involvement in budget management is the core of our tasks. We strive to manage processes which enable good stewardship of all our citizens have entrusted to us. Thanks for allowing us to work for you – our best and most precious resource!

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