Budget development starts in early October when the District Administration begins to identify their budget objectives and the factors external and internal to the school district that are likely to have the greatest impact on the next year's program budgets. Such factors can include rising prices for fuel or health insurance, for example, or the expectation that we will be impacted by a new state mandate or a change in pupil enrollment.

By December, the Administration has created a budget development calendar that outlines Board discussion for the new school budget.

In January, the Administration receives preliminary budget requests for the coming school year from school administrators, including requests for additional staffing and possible new or improved programs.

February, March and early April are spent analyzing and discussing these requests at a series of public Budget Committee meetings. The school board also solicits public input on the budget and devotes time to budget development issues at these meetings. Administrators work to refine their numbers as more accurate cost estimates and enrollment figures are received during this period, and as Board members ask them to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of providing a service in a different way.

Throughout the winter and spring, school board members and administrators are also monitoring budget activity at the state level. North Colonie school board members and administrators are in frequent contact with local legislators to inform them how various state funding proposals will affect our schools.

In mid-April, the Board of Education votes on a proposed budget. A newsletter describing the budget is then printed and mailed to all district homes in late April. The public vote on the proposed budget is held by law on the third Tuesday in May, which, this year, is May 18, 2010.