The standard annual budgeting process for many districts begins with reviewing the prior year’s budget and making incremental changes. Yet, to achieve transformational change so that every school can succeed for every student in California, the budget process needs to evolve and be fully integrated into the district’s annual LCAP and strategic planning processes.
Like many changes, this means breaking routines and building new ones—across all departments, not just on the finance team. And it takes time. This checklist provides an overview of this strategic budget development process with specific steps to get there.