JEFFCO Public Schools - Finance - Budget Development

2012 - 2014 Budget Development Process

The following information details the process used to develop the Jeffco Public Schools’ 2012-2014 budget.

The Citizens' Budget Academy

What was it?
The Jefferson County Board of Education and district leadership invited members of the community to join the Citizens’ Budget Academy (CBA). This innovative approach to the budget development process aligned with the district’s spirit of financial transparency; it provided factual information about the district’s budget and overall operations. All citizens were encouraged to attend the six week course.

When was it and what were the topics?

	Date	Time	Topics
Week 1	Tues., Sept. 6	5 - 7 pm	Organization Overview and Outlook, The Other 3 R’s of Education- Revenue, Reductions & Reserves
Week 2	Tues., Sept. 13	5 - 7 pm	Employees, Compensation and Negotiations
Week 3	Tues., Sept. 20	5 - 7 pm	Enterprise Funds (Food Service, Child Care, Property Management), Schools, Campus Activity Funds, Grant Funds, and Athletics
Week 4	Tues., Sept. 27	5 - 7 pm	Instruction , Special Education, Student Assessment
Week 5	Tues., Oct. 4	5 - 7 pm	Capital Reserve Funds, Facilities Master Plan, Support Services, Transportation, Business Services, and Leadership
Week 6	Tues., Oct. 11	5 - 7 pm	Internal Service Funds (Central Services, Employee Benefits, Information Technology, Risk Management), Debt Service Funds, and Financial Outlook

Each participant who attended at least five of the six sessions was eligible to participate during later stages of the budget development process. Those included:

District Budget Workgroups – Oct. 24 and Nov. 29

These meetings involved finalizing and prioritizing an initial list of budget reductions for 2012-2014.

Citizens’ Budget Advisory Council - Dec. 6 and Dec. 13

This group reviewed and consolidated the list of budget reductions.
The council included graduates from the CBA along with district employees.

Grassroots Survey - The week of Nov. 7

Small workgroups convened at schools and in central departments to complete a survey on community funding priorities.

Community Budget Forums - Jan. 28, 2012

Community budget forums were held at five schools across the district. Hosted by board of education members, more than 500 people attended and worked cooperative to identify their spending priorities.

Presentations and Q & As

Presentations are created in Adobe Captivate (Adobe Flash SWF Files) unless otherwise noted.

Week 1 - Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011