Official Web Site of the Diocese of Shreveport

Catholic Schools Office

School Council Thoughts
Thoughts on Budgeting	Thoughts on Council Effectiveness	Thoughts on Tuition	Thoughts on Policy	General Thoughts


Thoughts on Budgeting
	Building a Better Budget
	It’s that time again, building a budget for the next school year based upon mission, philosophy and planning. According to Catholic School Management, Inc., the Catholic school financial planning model should look like this:

	It is very important that the School Council know the mission and philosophy of the school. Knowing why the school exists will assist the School Council in budgeting for the school. “No Mission, No Money...No Money, No Mission” was stated by a very wise person. Knowing the mission of the school is the starting point for strategic planning and budgets.
	A school budget is built each year upon “ghosts” in our Catholic schools. Some operating assumptions include: the mission requires a plan and the budget is the financial expression of that plan; successful schools face financial issues as a team including pastor, principal, and School Council; an approved school budget is not permission to spend, but rather a plan to spend if the revenue becomes available; good stewardship requires regular monitoring and appropriate checks and balances; the Holy Spirit does not have a checkbook!
	Common Budgeting Pitfalls Sometimes a School Council will raise tuition too much, or not at all in a school year. Either of these pitfalls need to be avoided at all costs. Tuition is set after a budget is built to determine appropriate per-pupil costs. A budget sets tuition. Never does tuition set a budget.
	Other pitfalls include: • Raising salaries of teachers and staff without raising revenues • Recommending to the pastor and principal a budget that is not balanced • Counting on parish support, fundraising or memorials to “plug” in deficits • Projecting unrealistic enrollment figures • Paying this year’s bills with next year’s tuition revenue Beware: Principal and teacher professional development resources should not be cut. Resources used to build and expand the instructional capacity of staff do not represent a negotiable expenditure; they represent a crucial investment. In our schools our core values are furthering the faith, teaching and learning. Any budgetary cut that affects our core values is a costly mistake – and will have long-term negative consequences.

The School Council and the Budget Process
	At mid-year, knowing the status of your school’s budget will guide your ability to assist the principal and pastor in formulating decisions for the next school term. In January, the Finance Committee of the School Council is actively finishing the proposed budget for 2002-2003. It will be from the proposed budget that tuition may be promulgated by the principal in order to begin registration for the next school year. It will be during this time that the School Council will recommend to the pastor a set amount of parish investment to assist the Catholic families in affording Catholic school education. The Home and School Organization will be informed of the amount of funds that parents will need to raise to close the “gap” between tuition and parish investment. Ordinarily, the Finance Council will depend upon past records to determine a reasonable amount of fund-raising for parents. Jill Braniff, Diocesan Business Officer, would gladly meet with the School Councils in January to review finance statements for the past six months. Her expertise is valuable these days where the future of Catholic schools is being prepared by School Councils who serve as planning entrepreneurs and developers of the mission of the Catholic Church. I would like to challenge each School Council to assist the principals and pastors by inviting new families to look at our Catholic schools and see that we have “Excellence You Can Believe In.”

	Budgets for the Coming Year
	It’s a grin-and-bear-it time for School Council members when a neighbor wishes them a “Happy New Year.” At this time, the new year wish signals the present school year is half complete and we must prepare for the tedious task of budgets and the announcement of the new tuition scale for the next year. A strong, functioning school council will welcome this time of year to evaluate each budget item to determine if expenditures and income are in sync with predictions made one year ago. If expenses seem to be as predicted, then the half-way mark can serve as a guide for future budgeting. Finally, the Business Office has recommended that the School Finance Council consider a line item manual depreciation. If depreciation is added to the expense budget and income is truly reflected, then it will not be such a shock to the operating budget when capital expenses are needed. Evaluation Strong School Councils use the mid-year evaluation tool found on our website to assist them in growing as a Council. The School Council president should see that an evaluation of the Council’s goals is done by each member of the School Council, including the principal and pastor. Use a meeting to discuss the evaluation and make changes to become a more effective Council to the pastor and the principal.