3160-Budget Procedures and Line Item Transfers

In accordance with Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-222, the Board of Education (the “Board”)  shall prepare an itemized estimate of its budget each year for submission to the Board  of Finance and Legislative Council for review. The Legislative Council is the “Fiscal  Authority’ as defined in the Town Charter. For purposes of this policy, an itemized estimate means an estimate in which the following broad budgetary categories listed below are divided into one or more budgetary category line items. 

100 - Salaries 

200 - Employee Benefits 

300 - Purchased Professional Services 

400 - Purchased Property Services 

500 - Other Purchased Services 

600 - Supplies 

700 - Property 

800 - Other 

900 - Special Education Contingency 

The itemized estimate provided to the Fiscal Authority is referred to herein as the  “Itemized Estimate.” 

The Board shall review the recommendations and suggestions made by the Fiscal  Authority as to how it may consolidate non-educational services and realize financial  efficiencies. If the Board rejects such suggestions and recommendations, it shall provide the Fiscal Authority a written explanation of the reason for the rejection. 

Following the annual appropriation, the Board shall meet and revise the Itemized Estimate, if necessary, and adopt a final appropriated budget for the year. Line items  in the budget may be allocated more specifically by the Superintendent or the  Superintendent’s designee in the development, administration and monitoring of the budget. 

The Superintendent and/or the Superintendent’s designee shall be responsible for administering and monitoring the budget through the course of the year. The Superintendent or designee shall maintain a system of appropriate expenditures and  encumbrance accounting that is organized to conform with the requirements for State and Federal Accounting Reports. A quarterly budget report shall be prepared in the  same format as the Itemized Estimate showing for each budgetary category line item the  appropriated budget amount, expenditure to date (to include encumbered and expended  amounts), projected expenditures, difference between the projected expenditures and the appropriation, and general comments indicating the reasons for the difference.

Such budget report shall be presented to the Board at the second regularly scheduled  meeting in the month following the period for which such report is prepared, in  accordance with the following schedule: 

Period Covered Submitted

July, August, September                               October

October, November, December                    January

January, February                                         March

March, April                                                   May

Year-End Report                                           August*

*The year-end report shall be completed and presented by the end of August.

Based on expenditures and budget projections, with such budget reports, the Superintendent shall recommend to the Board transfers from one of the broad budgetary categories in the Itemized Estimate (as set forth above) to another as needed. 

For effective and efficient administration of day-to-day operations, budget transfer  authority is granted to the Superintendent or the Director of Business, as his/her  designee, under the following restrictions: 

Transfers between major object codes less than $10,000 may be made without prior Board of Education approval, but will be referenced in the monthly financial report. 

Notice of major object codes falling into a negative balance will also be included in the monthly financial report. 

No transfers within major object codes, whether individual or cumulative, of $10,000 or more shall be made unless authorized by the Board. 

If the emergency transfer of $50,000 or less is needed and the Board is unable to meet in advance, the Superintendent may approve the transfer and report to the Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting. 

The Board shall not expend more than the amount of the appropriation and the amount of money received from other sources, including any unexpended funds that have been  set aside in a nonlapsing account as authorized by law and described below, for educational purposes. If any occasion arises whereby additional funds are needed by  the Board, the Chairperson of the Board shall notify the Fiscal Authority and submit a request for such necessary additional funds. No additional funds shall be expended  until such supplemental appropriation is granted and no supplemental expenditures shall  be made in excess of those so authorized. 

Unexpended Funds  

Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, municipal charter, home rule  ordinance, or other ordinance, the Board may deposit into a nonlapsing account any unexpended funds from the prior fiscal year from the budgeted appropriation, in an  amount not to exceed two per cent of the total budgeted appropriation for such prior  fiscal year. Each expenditure from the account must be authorized by the Board and  shall be made only for educational purposes, in accordance with state law. 

Legal Reference: 

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-221 

§ 10-222 

§ 10-248a 

Public Act 24-45, “An Act Concerning Education Mandate Relief, School Discipline and Disconnected  Youth.” 

Adopted: December 17, 2024 NEWTOWN PUBLIC SCHOOLS  Newtown, Connecticut