East Highlands Ranch Financial Analyst Update
Kat Moses is the new School Financial Analyst supporting East Highlands Ranch schools. Kat has been with DCSD for just over two years and previously served as the bookkeeper at Ranch View Middle School. She brings valuable school-based budgeting experience and will be supported by the other School Financial Analysts as she transitions into the role.
Current Estimates – Available Today!
The Current Estimates Report will be available today Friday, December 19th. You’ll receive an email with the report attached, and it will also be posted in the following Google Drive location:
Google Drive → School →25-26 → Current Estimates
This report includes:
Estimated carryover for SBB Discretionary and Principal’s Discretionary funds with data through November
Current tracking of spending for non-discretionary allocations
Capital projects budgets and actuals
MS & HS Athletics & Activities
Miscellaneous Programs (Budget Source 21)
This update includes October Count True Up.
Current Estimates – Available Today!
The Current Estimates Report will be available today Friday, November 21. You’ll receive an email with the report attached, and it will also be posted in the following Google Drive location:
Google Drive → School →25-26 → Current Estimates
This report includes:
Estimated carryover for SBB Discretionary and Principal’s Discretionary funds with data through October
Current tracking of spending for non-discretionary allocations
Capital projects budgets and actuals
MS & HS Athletics & Activities
Miscellaneous Programs (Budget Source 21)
Please note: The October Count True Up is not included in this report.
Spending Plans for 2024–25 Carryover
Spending Plans for awarded carryover from the 2024–25 school year were distributed to schools on Friday, October 31, with a submission deadline of today Friday, November 21. Please work with your financial analyst to get those completed.
This process aligns with Board Policy DB-R, which requires schools to address carryover exceeding 1% of prior-year discretionary funds.
A recent policy revision also requires that all schools share their carryover spending plans with their SAC by May 1, 2026.
Questica Training
Questica training presented by the Budget department that builds on the training received in Session 2 (9/16 and 9/17). We will cover Tips & Tricks & Reporting used during Budget Management with a school focus on 10/7 and department focus on 10/8.
Tuesday, Oct 7, 9-11 at Wilcox Board Conference Room - Schools
Wednesday, Oct 8, 9-11 at WSC, Mt. Evans Training Room - Departments
Please bring your laptop to the training.
Sign up HERE
October Questica Training (Topic TBD) - Save the Date
Tuesday, Oct 7, 9-11 at Wilcox Board Conference Room - Schools
Wednesday, Oct 8, 9-11 at WSC, Mt. Evans Training Room - Departments
Department Carry Over - Occasionally, departments have carry over, often from unused donated funds. Any department with carry over will be notified individually by their analyst no later than September 30.
Questica Change Request Training
This class is designed for staff with responsibilities associated with submitting Questica change requests for operational, projects, and/or Personnel changes.
Tuesday, Sept 16, 9-11 at WSC Mt Evans Training Room - Schools
Wednesday, Sept 17, 9-11 at WSC, Telluride Training Room - Departments
Sign up HERE
Change Request Budget Training
Tuesday, Sept 16, 9-11 at WSC, Mt Evans Training Room
This class is designed for school staff with responsibilities associated with submitting change requests for operational and/or Personnel changes. Basic Questica Navigation prior training required.
Wednesday, Sept 17, 9-11 at WSC, Telluride Training Room
This class is designed for department staff with responsibilities associated with submitting change requests for operational and/or Personnel changes. Basic Questica Navigation prior training required.
24-25 School Carry Over
School carryover has been awarded in Questica and all schools will be notified by midday on Friday, September 5. Schools will be able to see their allocations updated in Questica. Department grant and/or fundraising/donation carry over will be awarded later in September. Please contact your financial analyst with any questions.
Change Request Budget Training
Tuesday, Sept 16, 9-11 at WSC, Mt Evans Training Room
This class is designed for school staff with responsibilities associated with submitting change requests for operational and/or Personnel changes. Basic Questica Navigation prior training required.
Wednesday, Sept 17, 9-11 at WSC, Telluride Training Room
This class is designed for department staff with responsibilities associated with submitting change requests for operational and/or Personnel changes. Basic Questica Navigation prior training required.
24-25 School Carry Over Scheduled for September 5
We are scheduled to award school carry over in Questica on Friday, September 5. Schools will see their allocations increased in Questica Budget as well as published change requests placing the dollars into the schools' accounts. Carry over summaries will be sent to the School Leadership team at this time too. Department grant and/or fundraising/donation carry over will be awarded later in September. Please contact your financial analyst with any questions on your site's carry over after you receive it.
Capital/Project change requests
Please be advised that Capital/Project change requests will be temporarily suspended until after Labor Day. During this time, the Budget Office is reconfiguring the request process with the objective of streamlining workflows and reducing delays.
As part of this revision, the initial request submission will now constitute principal approval, thereby removing the need for a separate, duplicative approval step. This adjustment is intended to increase efficiency and ensure projects are able to progress without unnecessary interruption.
Please note that this temporary pause does not affect normal change requests, including amendments and position allocation changes, which may continue to be submitted and processed as usual.
Additional guidance and updated instructions will be provided prior to the resumption of Capital/Project change requests. In the interim, please hold any new submissions of these requests until the updated process is formally communicated.
We appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we work to enhance this process.
Farewell and Thank You from Colleen Doan
After 11 years with DCSD, August 22nd will be my last day. It has been a pleasure to work with so many wonderful professionals in the school district over the years. Thank you for all that you do to support our kids in Douglas County. While being your budget director has certainly had its challenges, I have genuinely appreciated the opportunity to partner with many of you in order to improve our site-based budgeting and maximize the use of our limited resources in DCSD. If you would like to keep in touch, please send me an email at cadoan@dcsdk12.org before August 22nd and I will pass along my personal contact information. Best of luck to you all for a wonderful 2025-2026 school year!
Questica Basic Navigation Training for August
The Budget Department will host a training session on the basics of navigating Questica, with a focus on how to view budgets and personnel data through the lens of a school user (August 20th) and department users (August 21st).
This session is ideal for both new and returning Questica users—whether you're learning the system for the first time or looking for a quick refresher on key features.
Please bring your laptop to the training.
School Users: Aug 20 from 9-11 at HRHS library
Department Users: Aug 21 from 9-11 at WSC Telluride room
Sign up to reserve your space: https://forms.gle/EtyVw8NkSydXPWkq7
2024-2025 Carry Over Reminders
Preliminary calculations on carry over based on June financials were made available for all schools saved out in their Budget Google Drive in July. This is not the official carry over as we need to wait for year end accruals and journals to be posted by the end of August before we can calculate the actual, official carry over. However, please review your individual dashboards for any potential deficit issues and/or unspent or overspent non-discretionary budgets. Financial analysts emailed principals with specific concerns earlier this summer. Official school carry over for 2024-2025 is scheduled to be awarded on September 5th.
Questica Basic Navigation Training for August
The Budget Department will host a training session on the basics of navigating Questica, with a focus on how to view budgets and personnel data through the lens of a school user (August 20th) and department users (August 21st).
This session is ideal for both new and returning Questica users—whether you're learning the system for the first time or looking for a quick refresher on key features.
Please bring your laptop to the training.
School Users: Aug 20 from 9-11 at HRHS library
Department Users: Aug 21 from 9-11 at WSC Telluride room
Sign up to reserve your space: https://forms.gle/EtyVw8NkSydXPWkq7
Questica Training for School-Based Users
August 20 | 9:00–11:00 AM | Wilcox Boardroom
The Budget Department will host a training session on the basics of navigating Questica, with a focus on how to view budgets and personnel data through the lens of a school user.
This session is ideal for both new and returning Questica users—whether you're learning the system for the first time or looking for a quick refresher on key features.
Please use the form linked to sign up for this session: https://forms.gle/Ga5n8wnLMv6bk2947
Please bring your laptop to the training.
Questica Training for Department-Based Users
August 21 | 9:00–11:00 AM | West Support Center – Telluride Room
The Budget Department will host a training session on the basics of navigating Questica, with a focus on viewing budgets and personnel data from a department user’s perspective.
While this session is geared toward department-based staff, school-based users are welcome to attend, as many of the concepts are similar.
This is a great opportunity for new users to learn Questica’s navigation and viewing features, and a helpful refresher for those already familiar with the system.
Please use the form linked to sign up for this session: https://forms.gle/Ga5n8wnLMv6bk2947
Please bring your laptop to the training.
2024-2025 Carry Over Process and Timeline
Preliminary calculations on carry over based on June financials will be available for all schools saved out in their Budget Google Drive the week of July 21st. This is not the official carry over as we need to wait for year end accruals and journals to be posted by the end of August before we can calculate the actual, official carry over. However, please review your individual dashboards for any potential deficit issues and/or unspent or overspent non-discretionary budgets. Financial analysts emailed principals with specific concerns earlier this summer. Official school carry over for 2024-2025 is scheduled to be awarded on September 5th.
Questica Budget August Training
The Budget Office will be hosting Questica Budget training opportunities for new bookkeepers/secretaries without prior DCSD budgeting experience on August 20th and 21st from 9-11 AM. Location is TBD. The session on the 20th is for school staff only and the session on the 21st is for school and department staff (different processes in budget so different examples will be used). Attendees should only attend one session. Course sign ups and more information will be released before the start of the school year.
All change request types, including building modifications, are closed for 2024-2025. If you are in need of a change request for a building modification to be completed this summer, please create it under 2025-2026 instead of 2024-2025. It will still route through the same approval steps and you will be able to add budget in 2025-2026. The budget is closed for 2024-2025. If you need help making sure you are using the correct year in Questica, please contact your financial analyst or check our resources on the Budget Google site.
2024-2025 Current Estimate Dashboards Updated
All neighborhood school current estimate dashboards were updated for April month end close, dropped in the schools' Budget Google Drive folders and individualized emails sent to principals and bookkeepers this week. We will release the May estimates soon and work with schools to clean up issues before June closes later this summer. Please pay close attention to any non-discretionary issues where your school may have exceeded its budget as any excess spend will deduct from SBB carry over.
Questica Budget Training Opportunities for 2025-2026 *new dates*
The Budget Office is releasing dates for Questica Budget training opportunities now for 2025-2026 so that budget users can mark their calendars before they fill up. For most months of the school year there will be two sessions monthly: the first one focused on school budgets and second one open to anyone where we will also discuss department specific budgeted processes. The content will be different monthly, but the dates within a month will cover the same content so end users should plan on only one date per month. These training sessions are optional, but will build monthly upon the skills taught in prior month sessions. The August sessions are highly encouraged for new bookkeepers/secretaries without prior DCSD budgeting experience. There will be separate sessions taught as a cohort for new principals in preparation for budget development in January/February. Please note that these are different dates than what was provided last week due to scheduling conflicts and we apologize for any confusion. All sessions are tentatively planned for 9-11 AM and location details and course content specifics will be shared in August:
August 20th and 21st
September 16th and 17th
October 7th and 8th
November 18th and 19th
January 7th and 8th
January 13th and 14th
March 11th and 12th
April 14th and 15th
Questica Budget Training Opportunities for 2025-2026
The Budget Office is releasing dates for Questica Budget training opportunities now for 2025-2026 so that budget users can mark their calendars before they fill up. For most months of the school year there will be two sessions monthly: one focused on school budgets and one open to anyone where we will also discuss department specific budgeted processes. The content will be different monthly, but the dates within a month will cover the same content so end users should plan on only one date per month. These training sessions are optional, but will build monthly upon the skills taught in prior month sessions. The August sessions are highly encouraged for new bookkeepers/secretaries without prior DCSD budgeting experience. There will be separate sessions taught as a cohort for new principals in preparation for budget development in January/February. All sessions are tentatively planned for 9-11 AM and location details and course content specifics will be shared in August:
August 20th and 21st
September 18th and 19th
October 15th and 16th
November 19th and 20th
January 7th and 8th
January 14th and 15th
March 18th and 19th
April 15th and 16th
Change Requests for 2024-2025 Budget Closed
The last day for schools or departments to submit change requests to amend the 2024-2025 budget was May 15th. We are unable to process further revisions in order to prepare the Final Revised Budget for the Board of Education. This includes adding budget to building modifications to be completed before June 30th. Schools and departments are welcome to submit change requests for next school year (2025-2026) including building modifications for work planned after July 1. Please contact your financial analyst if you need assistance submitting a change request. Training sessions for budget for next school year will be announced soon in order to mark your calendars.
Last day to amend 2024-2025 budget: May 15
The last day for schools or departments to submit a change request in Questica to amend the current year's budget is May 15. This includes both changes to operating budget and changes to personnel. After this date the Budget Office will be unable to accommodate requests for changes in order to wrap up the Final Revised Budget for the Board of Education. This also includes adding budgets to building modifications to be completed before June 30. Please contact your financial analyst if you require assistance submitting a change request.
New School Financial Analyst for East Highlands Ranch (EHR)
I wanted to let you know that effective May 12, Mubeen Matin (mmatin@dcsdk12.org) will begin serving as your primary financial analyst for EHR, providing day-to-day support. I will continue to support Mubeen as he transitions into this role, so please continue to copy me on any emails so I can assist as needed. Mubeen's direct line is 720-433-1072.
Once Mubeen is fully up to speed, I will step back from day-to-day support but will remain available in my broader role to support EHR and all schools as needed. It’s been a pleasure getting to know EHR more closely, and I look forward to continuing to work with you all in the future.
Thank you!
Drew Phelps, Manager of School Budgeting
Last day to amend 2024-2025 budget: May 15
The last day for schools or departments to submit a change request in Questica to amend the current year's budget is May 15. This includes both changes to operating budget and changes to personnel. After this date the Budget Office will be unable to accommodate requests for changes in order to wrap up the Final Revised Budget for the Board of Education. Please contact your financial analyst if you require assistance submitting a change request.
Questica Capital: Project Year Update and 2024-25 Procedures
The default project year for all new projects created in Questica Capital is now 2025-26.
Updated Guidance for all project requests for the current school year 2024-25
For projects needed in the 2024-25 school year, follow the standard project creation process.
When submitting a Change Request for a 2024-25 project, omit the Capital Project Budget Lines. Refer to the guide: Capital > Change Request Project Budget Lines.
Lastly, contact your Financial Analyst or email the Budget Office at Budget-Department@dcsdk12.org for assistance.
2024-2025 Questica Budget Project and Capital Guide.pdf
Updated Information for School Position Allocation Change Requests in Questica Budget
We wanted to provide a quick clarification regarding recent updates around change requests. While updates have been made to streamline the school process for 1:1 position swaps (e.g., replacing a position with the same position and FTE), departments should continue to follow the existing process.
Specifically:
For Schools: When a position change is a 1:1 swap, entering the replacement in the "Replacement For" field in Workday—along with any necessary notes—will now suffice. A separate change request in Questica is no longer required for these specific scenarios.
For Departments: The process remains unchanged. A change request in Questica is still required for all position allocation changes, including 1:1 swaps.
We hope this clears up any confusion from prior messaging.
The Budget Office will host one more Change Request Training this month on April 23rd from 9-11 at the WSC. Sign up HERE to reserve your spot.
If you have any questions, please reach out to your financial analyst.
The Budget Office is hosting an end of year Questica Change Request Training for school staff. This training is highly encouraged for any school staff with budget management responsibilities in Questica and not just principals. Whenever schools desire to edit their budget for personnel or operating a change request is needed to communicate the requested change and identify funding sources. Due to demand and availability, we added another session in order to host two sessions this month. The two classes will be identical so please do not sign up for both sessions. They are on April 16 and April 23 from 9-11. Sign up HERE to reserve your spot.
Change Request Training for Schools
The Budget Office will be hosting a Questica Change Request Training on April 16th from 9-11 in the Mt Evans Conference Room at the West Support Center. This training is geared toward any school staff with budget management responsibilities and not only principals. Change requests are needed in Questica whenever a budget owner desires to revise the budget outside of budget development. It is the process used to communicate staffing changes and indicate funding sources for operating changes. Sign up to reserve your spot HERE and contact your analyst with any questions.
Current Estimate Dashboards for Neighborhood Schools
Your January Current Estimates will be available in your Google Drive folder no later than the end of today. This report includes:
Estimated carryover for SBB Discretionary and Principal’s Discretionary funds
Current tracking of spending for non-discretionary allocations
Capital projects budget and actuals
If you have any questions, please reach out to your financial analyst.
2025-2026 Athletics and Activities Budgets due Friday, March 7
All middle and high schools are required to submit their Fund 26 (Athletics and Activities) budgets via promotion to their financial analyst in Questica by Friday, March 7. Please refer to the training materials from the February 25 training with athletics and activities directors for more information. Please contact your financial analyst if you require assistance completing your budget.
24-25 READ Act budget update due February 28th
Neighborhood elementary principals received a Google sheet with their updated current year READ Act allocation and staff currently paid by the READ Act non-discretionary allocation on Wednesday, February 19th from their financial analyst. The customized spreadsheets will be stored in each school's shared budget drive and principals will receive an email with instructions from their analyst. This is for a required updated report to the CDE for the current school year. Please review the Google sheet and instructions from your analyst to have any feedback due back to your analyst by Friday, February 28th.
24-25 READ Act Budget Update due February 28th
Neighborhood elementary principals will receive a Google sheet with their updated READ Act allocation and staff currently paid by the READ Act non-discretionary allocation on Wednesday, February 19th from their financial analyst. This is for an updated report to CDE on the current school year. Please review the Google sheet and instructions from your analyst to have any feedback due back to your analyst by Friday, February 28th.
Reminders on 25-26 Budget Deadlines and Open Lab Session
Budget owners submit their budget via Questica Budget by clicking the “Promote” button on their costing center and moving their budget to the Budget Office Review stage. See below for the deadlines for each type of budget:
Elementary/Middle/High/Alternative SBB: February 7*
*schools may get an extension to February 10 if needed but the principal needs to communicate the request to their analyst or Colleen Doan
Departments/Districtwide: February 14
Athletics & Activities: will be released to start budgeting on February 24
The Budget Office is hosting one final open lab for department budget owners on Wednesday, February 12 at WSC from 12-2. We strongly encourage attendance if you haven't scheduled one on one time with your department analyst yet.
The Budget Office will begin its comprehensive review of each SBB and upon successful completion promote the budget to schools' EDOS for review and approval. Budget Office reviews will be completed by February 17 and EDOS review and approval by February 21. The Budget Office will not begin processing job requisitions until the SBB has been reviewed and promoted to the EDOS for final approval.
Budget development for 25-26 launched on January 23rd for all budget owners except BASE and Athletics/Activities. Principals should refer to the DLT slide deck for detailed information about budget development. Additional support materials were emailed to all principals by Drew Phelps and are posted to the Budget Office Google site. Each feeder has in person budget development sessions scheduled with their analyst and we are also offering 1:1 appointments. Please sign up soon from the links sent by your analysts to reserve a slot. For all budget users (schools and departments) we are hosting two open lab sessions at the West Support Center. Sign up HERE to reserve your spot.
SBBs are due from schools via stage promotion in Questica on February 7th and DBBs are due from departments via stage promotion in Questica on February 14th.
Please Note: Highly Impacted Requests are due from Principals on Monday, February 3rd - please access the highly impacted application link here.
25-26 Budget Development Deadlines, Resources and Support Opportunities
Budget development for 25-26 launched on January 23rd for all budget owners except BASE and Athletics/Activities. Principals should refer to the DLT slide deck for detailed information about budget development. Additional support materials were emailed to all principals by Drew Phelps and are posted to the Budget Office Google site. Each feeder has in person budget development sessions scheduled with their analyst and we are also offering 1:1 appointments. Please sign up soon from the links sent by your analysts to reserve a slot. For all budget users (schools and departments) we are hosting two open lab sessions at the West Support Center. Sign up HERE to reserve your spot.
SBBs are due from schools via stage promotion in Questica on February 7th and DBBs are due from departments via stage promotion in Questica on February 14th.
Schedule 1:1 Time with Your Financial Analyst During Budget Development
As part of this year’s budget development process, we are pleased to offer principals the opportunity to schedule 1:1 time with their financial analyst. These personalized sessions are designed to provide additional support and guidance as you navigate your budget planning.
Details:
Financial analysts will share their available time slots by Friday, January 17th, with the link for signing up for a time slot.
These 1:1 sessions are optional and are in addition to the scheduled feeder group sessions and the open labs that have been planned.
We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to receive tailored assistance during the two-week budget development timeline.
25-26 Budget Development Open Labs
The Budget Office is hosting 2 hour open labs for anyone with budget responsibilities to come and get hands-on assistance with building their 25-26 budget. Both sessions will be located at the West Support Center. Sign up sheets will be available next week.
Monday, January 27 from 2:00-4:00
Tuesday, February 4 from 8:30-10:30
This will not be guaranteed time with a school’s specific analyst, but help from the Budget Office team to provide general support related to building a budget.
Questica
No Budget Changes via Change Requests from Now until January 27
The hold on change requests until January 27th is due to the preparation of the Revised Budget for the Board of Education. In order to build the financial statements, we need to work with a stable/unchanging version of the budget in Questica and Workday. One for one position allocation change requests for name changes are always accepted. This hold applies to all costing centers. Building modifications are exempt from this hold.
25-26 Budget Development Training
The Budget Office is offering two training sessions in the Questica Budget test environment prior to budget development launching at DLT on January 23rd geared towards school audiences. The purpose of these training sessions is to practice in the test environment to gain familiarity with the budget development processes only done once a year. These will not be early opportunities to build the 25-26 budget, but rather to practice with realistic examples to become more familiar with the process. Click here to sign up for the following sessions.
School Staff Only: Tuesday, January 14th from 8:30-10:30 at WSC
School Staff Only: Wednesday, January 15th from 1:00-3:00 at WSC
During the budget development window there will be additional open labs and regionally hosted feeder level training opportunities in addition to pre-scheduled one on one sessions with analysts.
Budget Presentation at January Regional Meetings
On January 16th, the Budget Office will present a longer update than usual at regional meetings in order to prepare for 25-26 budget development launching on January 23rd. The purpose of the presentation is to provide the key highlights of changes to Questica Budget from both the prior year budget development and the current year budget management processes in order to preemptively address issues. This will not be a hands-on training class, but rather focus on expectations for DLT and the following two weeks of school budget development. Specific times and locations will be shared with principals from their EDOS.
25-26 Budget Development Training
The Budget Office is offering three training sessions in the Questica Budget test environment prior to budget development launching at DLT on January 23rd. The purpose of these training sessions is to practice in the test environment to gain familiarity in the budget development processes only done once a year. These will not be early opportunities to build the 25-26 budget, but rather to practice with realistic examples to become more familiar with the process. Click here to sign up for the following sessions.
Department Staff Only: Thursday, January 9th from 1:00-2:30 at WSC
School Staff Only: Tuesday, January 14th from 8:30-10:30 at WSC
School Staff Only: Wednesday, January 15th from 1:00-3:00 at WSC
During the budget development window there will be additional open labs and regionally hosted feeder level training opportunities in addition to pre-scheduled one on one sessions with analysts. More information will be shared in early January.
No Budget Changes via Change Requests from Now until January 27
The hold on change requests until January 27th is due to the preparation of the Revised Budget for the Board of Education. In order to build the financial statements, we need to work with a stable/unchanging version of the budget in Questica and Workday. One for one position allocation change requests for name changes are always accepted. This hold applies to all costing centers.
25-26 Budget Development Open Labs
The Budget Office is hosting 2 hour open labs for anyone with budget responsibilities to come and get hands-on assistance with building their 25-26 budget. Both sessions will be located at the West Support Center. Sign up sheets will be available next week.
Monday, January 27 from 2:00-4:00
Tuesday, February 4 from 8:30-10:30
This will not be guaranteed time with a school’s specific analyst, but help from the Budget Office team to provide general support related to building a budget.
Budget Staff Update
Effective as of 12/18, Jackson Bartlett is no longer with the Budget Office. Drew Phelps will be temporarily supporting all of the Highlands Ranch feeders indefinitely with other team members providing support as necessary. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience while we navigate this sudden departure.
25-26 Budget Development Training
The Budget Office is offering three training sessions in the Questica Budget test environment prior to budget development launching at DLT on January 23rd. The purpose of these training sessions is to practice in the test environment to gain familiarity in the budget development processes only done once a year. These will not be early opportunities to build the 25-26 budget, but rather to practice with realistic examples to become more familiar with the process. Click here to sign up for the following sessions.
Department Staff Only: Thursday, January 9th from 1:00-2:30 at WSC
School Staff Only: Tuesday, January 14th from 8:30-10:30 at WSC
School Staff Only: Wednesday, January 15th from 1:00-3:00 at WSC
During the budget development window there will be additional open labs and regionally hosted feeder level training opportunities in addition to pre-scheduled one on one sessions with analysts. More information will be shared in early January.
No SBB Edits with Dollar Impact from Now Until January 27
All neighborhood school SBBs were updated for October Student Count and due back to the Budget Office balanced to $0 on December 11th through the submission of change requests. All schools will be fully reconciled between Workday and Questica by your budget analyst no later than December 31st. We ask that from now through January 27th that schools do not submit any change requests related to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services). One for one position allocation change requests for name changes are always accepted. The hold on change requests until January 27th is due to the preparation of the Revised Budget for the Board of Education. In order to build the financial statements, we need to work with a stable/unchanging version of the budget in Questica and Workday. Change requests that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, principal discretionary, capital projects and all department budgets) may be submitted up until December 31 as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process, but are affected by the Revised Budget.
Questica Budget Development Training
The Budget Office is offering three training sessions in the Questica Budget test environment prior to budget development launching at DLT on January 23rd. The purpose of these training sessions is to practice in the test environment to gain familiarity in the budget development processes only done once a year. These will not be early opportunities to build the 25-26 budget, but rather to practice with realistic examples to become more familiar with the process.
Department Staff Only: Thursday, January 9th from 1:00-2:30 at WSC
School Staff Only: Tuesday, January 14th from 8:30-10:30 at WSC
School Staff Only: Wednesday, January 15th from 1:00-3:00 at WSC
During the budget development window there will be additional open labs and regionally hosted feeder level training opportunities in addition to pre-scheduled one on one sessions with analysts. More information will be shared in early January.
2024-2025 October Count True Up for Neighborhood Schools
All neighborhood schools received their October Count true up from their financial analyst on Wednesday, November 27th and schools had until Wednesday, December 11th to rebalance SBBs through the submission of a change request within Questica Budget. Now that we are past December 11th, please do not submit change requests with a dollar impact to your SBB. We will pause approving and publishing change requests from all schools and departments (not just for SBB October Count purposes) on December 31st in order to prepare the Revised Budget for the Board of Education. We will reopen accepting edits to budgets in late January.
2024-2025 READ Act Allocation Update
All neighborhood elementary schools received an update on their READ Act per pupil non-discretionary allocation with their October Count true up. The allocation amount will be updated in Questica and then schools will receive their custom READ Act forms from their financial analyst to verify staffing eligibility and approved vendors in early January.
New Questica Budget shortcut added to DCSD Employee Dashboard
In an effort to make Questica Budget easier to find for users who don't have the site bookmarked on their laptop, the DCSD Employee Dashboard now features a Questica Budget tile for convenient access to Duo Single Sign On (SSO) and the Questica Budget Production URL. For users unfamiliar with the Employee Dashboard, this can be accessed by going to the District's website at dcsdk12.org, selecting the Employees drop down menu and then Employee Dashboard.
2024-2025 October Count True Up for Neighborhood Schools
All neighborhood schools received their October Count true up from their financial analyst on Wednesday, November 27th. Schools will have until Wednesday, December 11th to rebalance SBBs through the submission of a change request within Questica Budget. Please refer to the detailed individualized email sent to you from your financial analyst and/or Drew Phelps for more information. After December 11th please do not submit change requests with a dollar impact to your SBB. We will pause approving and publishing change requests from all schools and departments (not just for SBB October Count purposes) on December 31st in order to prepare the Revised Budget for the Board of Education. We will reopen accepting edits to budgets in late January.
2024-2025 READ Act Allocation Update
All neighborhood elementary schools received an update on their READ Act per pupil non-discretionary allocation with their October Count true up. The allocation amount will be updated in Questica and then schools will receive their custom READ Act forms from their financial analyst to verify staffing eligibility and approved vendors in early January.
FINAL Questica Budget Training Session for 2024: December 12 from 10-12 at WSC
Our last training session for the calendar year will cover budget development processes: creating/publishing positions and editing budget lines. This is in preparation for budget development which will begin in late January. All Questica users with budget development responsibilities are encouraged to attend a refresher class in December or January in order to be prepared for the process during the short budget development window. This session on December 12 is for school staff only. We will release training dates and times for January later this month, including times specific for department budget users. Sign up to reserve your spot HERE.
School Carry Over Conversations with Budget Office
All neighborhood school principals should receive a calendar invite to meet with their financial analyst, Drew Phelps and/or Colleen Doan, and their EDOS titled "school carry over conversation with budget". These meetings will occur between Thanksgiving and mid-January. As mentioned earlier this fall, we will be addressing the required Spending Plan on Awarded Carry Over in a different manner this year in preparation for budget development in the spring. Each school meeting will discuss key metrics such as historical and projected enrollment, historical and projected carry over, major planned expenditures, etc. as well as considerations for strategic budgeting to reflect school priorities. Part of the outcome of the meeting will be to work on the Spending Plan on Awarded Carry Over Google sheet together. This effort is part of the districtwide initiative to align carry over with the recommendations set within Board of Education policy. The templates for the spending plans were dropped into each school's respective SBB Google Drive folder in October. More individualized information will be emailed to each principal individually prior to the scheduled meetings. Please reach out to either Colleen or Drew if you have any scheduling conflicts or would like more information prior to receiving school specific information from your analyst shortly before your meeting.
2024-2025 October Count True Up for Neighborhood Schools
All neighborhood schools will receive their October Count true up from their financial analyst by Wednesday, November 27th. This will be done within Questica Budget this year. Schools will have until Wednesday, December 11th to rebalance their SBBs through the submission of a change request within Questica. Please refer to upcoming individual emails from your financial analyst and the change request training materials for more information. The Budget Office will communicate further updates associated with amending school and department budgets using our new process in preparation for the Revised Budget in early December.
The Budget Office released the first round of 2024-2025 Current Estimate Dashboards to schools this week. Current Estimate Dashboards are stored in each school's Budget Google Drive folder under the 2024-2025 sub folder. The data is through October 2024. Please download to Excel to view the full functionality of the dashboard. The SBB is prior to October Count true up but does include carry over awarded in September. All non-discretionary sections are updated to reflect allocations awarded this year and changes from the prior year. Please contact your financial analyst with any questions.
Building Modification and Other Capital Project Training in Questica
As a reminder, building modification forms should no longer be submitted by schools using Perfect Forms. With the upcoming license expiration for Perfect Forms, DCSD transitioned the building modification process to Questica Budget. All schools are encouraged to attend building modification and other capital project training to learn the new process before needing their next building modification. Our next training session will be virtual to accommodate more participants:
November 20th: 12:30-2:00 PM Virtual (see sign up for Google Meet link)
Building Modifications and Other Capital Projects (basic navigation prerequisite required and change request prerequisite suggested)
Sign up HERE to reserve your spot and receive the calendar invitation!
November Questica Budget Training Sessions - Sign Up Sheet
November 15th: 10:00-11:30 AM at WSC
Reporting and Basic Analytics (basic navigation prerequisite required)
November 20th: 12:30-2:00 PM Virtual (see sign up for Google Meet link)
Building Modifications and Other Capital Projects
Sign up HERE to reserve your spot and receive the calendar invitation!
Questica Training for all users of Questica (Reporting and Basic Analytics)
11/15/24 10am - 1130am in the Telluride Room at West Support
In this session, we will explore how to generate and interpret reports, along with using the tools provided by the budget department. We'll also cover how to create advanced searches and customize layouts to suit your preferences.
Sign up sheet will be available next week.
Correct Link to Questica Budget TEST Environment
The correct URL to the test environment (used for all training classes) for Questica Budget is https://dcsdk12-test.questica.com/. Please bookmark this link in your browser and do not use the old link to the test environment from spring 2024: https://dcsdk12-test.azurewebsites.net/. This change has zero impact on our production (live) environment for Questica Budget.
New Dashboard in Questica Budget: Links to Modules
The Budget Office has created a new dashboard for all Questica Budget users called "Links to Modules". This can be accessed from the Mega Menu by clicking on "Dashboard" and then in the upper left selecting "Links to Modules" as shown here. This new dashboard serves as a shortcut to three of the most popular modules for various tasks: Costing Center (to view individual school and department budgets), Change Requests (to request changes to position allocations or amendments) and Projects (to start the building modification process). Please contact your financial analyst with any questions.
Questica Basic Navigation Videos Available to View
We have six short videos no longer than 2 minutes each to overview different aspects of Questica Budget's basic navigation. Please share these videos with anyone with Questica Budget responsibilities as a reminder on the most effective ways to access your budget and actual data within Questica. We will release short videos on the change request processes after fall break.
Questica Budget Training
We have two more training sessions scheduled this month and attendance is highly encouraged for all budget owners. Please remember to sign up for a session in advance so that we can ensure correct access to the test environment and training materials are available for all participants.
New Content (advanced training, basic navigation prerequisite required): 10/23 from 12:00-1:30 at WSC Telluride Conference Room
Capital and Building Modifications: 10/25 from 9:00-11:00 at WSC Telluride Conference Room *Perfect Forms will be discontinued this fall with the process replaced by Questica Budget*
Spending Plan on Awarded Carry Over
Neighborhood school principals will receive their spending plan on awarded carry over to complete with their analyst and return to the Budget Office the week after fall break. The process will be different this year with individual budget meetings for each school principal with their analyst, EDOS and either Colleen Doan or Drew Phelps to discuss strategic budgeting and long range financial planning. More details will be shared later this month.
Questica Basic Navigation Videos Available to View
We have six short videos no longer than 2 minutes each to overview different aspects of Questica Budget's basic navigation. Please share these videos with anyone with Questica Budget responsibilities as a reminder on the most effective ways to access your budget and actual data within Questica. We will release short videos on the change request processes after fall break.
Questica
All Questica Budget users (including principals) are encouraged to attend one or more training sessions on Questica in October. We are offering training at a variety of times and locations to accommodate different schedules. Please sign up HERE.
Change Requests: 10/8 from 9:30-11:30 at HRHS Library Conference Room *all carry over, including projects, was awarded by September 30th. Users need to know the change request process in order to reallocate carry over to be spent*
New Content (advanced training, basic navigation prerequisite required): 10/23 from 12:00-1:30 at WSC Telluride Conference Room
Capital and Building Modifications: 10/25 from 9:00-11:00 at WSC Telluride Conference Room *Perfect Forms will be discontinued this fall with the process replaced by Questica Budget*
Full schedule of training is always available on the Budget Google Site.
Please share this link with your bookkeepers and IT technicians for 2024-2025 IT Refresh Next Steps and Instructions.
All Questica Budget users (including principals) are encouraged to attend one or more training sessions on Questica in October. We are offering training at a variety of times and locations to accommodate different schedules. Please sign up HERE.
Change Requests: 10/8 from 9:30-11:30 at HRHS Library Conference Room
New Content (advanced training, basic navigation prerequisite required): 10/23 from 12:00-1:30 at WSC Telluride Conference Room
Capital and Building Modifications: 10/25 from 9:00-11:00 at WSC Telluride Conference Room
Full schedule of training is always available on the Budget Google Site.
Questica Budget replacing Perfect Forms for Building Modifications
DCSD did not renew the license for Perfect Forms and the software will be going away in November. The Budget Office has been working with the Construction department on a replacement solution and we are transitioning the building modification process to Questica Budget.
The change request process that we use for position changes and budget amendments is capable of routing different approvals for capital projects based on configured security settings. This means we can replicate everything that is within Perfect Forms with routing of modifications to the appropriate individuals and emails and notifications on approval status, while also enhancing the process with broader access to dashboards, building the budget amendment process into the same process, and creating the project to start tracking a future approved project all in one stop.
Training on change requests and capital projects began earlier this school year and we encourage anyone with building modification related responsibilities to attend one of our training opportunities. More information to come on October training sessions, but you can always reference our Budget Google site for more information.
Questica Budget Training Opportunities for October
Next month the Budget Office will be hosting three optional, but highly encouraged, training sessions on Questica Budget for school and department end users:
October 23 from 12:00-1:30: New Content (basic navigation prerequisite required)
October 25 from 9-11: Capital Budgeting and Building Modifications
TBD: Change Requests (repeat of two September sessions)
We are looking for schools willing to host training sessions in order to regionalize our options and be more convenient for Highlands Ranch and Parker schools. If you have an interest in hosting in the future, please fill out this short survey. Our goal is to offer training opportunities convenient for our end users. Recorded videos on basic navigation and change requests are coming soon!
Capital Budget Training
Monday, Sept 9, 11-1 at WSC, Mt Evans Training Room
This class is designed for school and department staff with responsibilities associated with submitting building modifications and setting up budgets for capital projects. Basic Questica Navigation prior training required.
Our two additional change request sessions in September are at capacity and the sign up is CLOSED. We will offer additional change request live sessions in October and recorded videos are coming soon.
23-24 School Carry Over Scheduled for September 6
We are scheduled to award school carry over in Questica today on Friday, September 6. Schools will see their allocations increased in Questica Budget as well as published change requests placing the dollars into the schools' accounts. Carry over summaries will be sent to the School Leadership team at this time too. Department grant and/or fundraising/donation carry over will be awarded later in September. Please contact your financial analyst with any questions on your site's carry over after you receive it.
Capital Budget Training: Monday, Sept 9, 11-1 at WSC, Mt Evans Training Room
This class is designed for school staff with responsibilities associated with submitting building modifications and setting up budgets for capital projects. Basic Questica Navigation prior training required.
Monthly Questica Training: Friday, Sept 20, 10-12 at WSC, Telluride Conference Room
This class builds on the Basic Questica Navigation class in August and covers how to utilize change requests for operational and/or personnel changes as well as more financial resources within Questica.
Change Request Specific Training: Wednesday, Sept 25, 12-2 at WSC, Telluride Conference Room
This class is largely a repeat of the Sept 20 training as an opportunity for more users to get hands-on experience.
More information on training classes available HERE.
23-24 School Carry Over Scheduled for September 6
We are scheduled to award school carry over in Questica on Friday, September 6. Schools will see their allocations increased in Questica Budget as well as published change requests placing the dollars into the schools' accounts. Carry over summaries will be sent to the School Leadership team at this time too. Department grant and/or fundraising/donation carry over will be awarded later in September. Please contact your financial analyst with any questions on your site's carry over after you receive it.
The Budget Office recently updated its Google Site for all internal budget owners and Questica Budget users to reflect our new processes and technology. All outdated material has been removed and content is now organized into a Home page, Budgeting Principles and Guidance, Trainings, Questica Budget and other Guidance Documents pages. Please let us know if there are other resources that would be helpful for us to include on this site.
The Budget Office is hosting three separate Questica Budget training sessions in September for varied audiences: Sign up to reserve your spot HERE for 9/9 or HERE for 9/20 or 9/25.
Capital Budget Training: Monday, Sept 9, 11-1 at WSC, Mt Evans Training Room
This class is designed for school staff with responsibilities associated with submitting building modifications and setting up budgets for capital projects. Basic Questica Navigation prior training required.
Monthly Questica Training: Friday, Sept 20, 10-12 at WSC, Telluride Conference Room
This class builds on the Basic Questica Navigation class in August and covers how to utilize change requests for operational and/or personnel changes as well as more financial resources within Questica.
Change Request Specific Training: Wednesday, Sept 25, 12-2 at WSC, Telluride Conference Room
This class is largely a repeat of the Sept 20 training as an opportunity for more users to get hands-on experience.
More information on training classes available HERE.
The Budget Office finished working out the kinks on the integration between Questica and Workday for personnel. All positions and employees were updated in Questica's production environment on August 6 for schools and departments and should reflect the current staffing in Workday. Please contact your financial analyst if you notice any issues. We thank you for your patience this summer with this delay and moving forward will keep the staffing updated on a monthly basis.
The Budget Department will present a training session on the basic navigation of Questica, focusing on how to view budgets and personnel. The session will also cover change requests and how to use them to make edits to your budget and/or personnel.
For new Questica users, this is an excellent opportunity to learn the platform’s navigation and viewing features, as well as the process for completing change requests.
For users familiar with Questica, this session serves as a valuable refresher, reinforcing your knowledge and introducing the revised method for completing change requests.
Please sign up HERE.
We have allocated additional budget capacity to support ongoing tech needs in each of your schools as we move into the 24-25 school year. With this new funding, we will be adjusting the way that refresh funding is assigned to your building and how your school purchases technology. These additional funds will be added to your SBB as an additional non-discretionary line item placed in the following account in Questica Budget: 14-xxx-20-2892-0734. The allocation is per pupil based on projected enrollment used in your SBB.
The amounts by level are as follows:
Elementary = $52.50/pupil
Middle = $47.50/pupil
High = $42.50/pupil
While you will still work with your School Technology and Innovation Partners (STIPs) to make decisions about tech purchases, your bookkeepers will now order devices directly in Workday using their respective costing centers’ budget rather than putting in a help desk ticket.
Schools will be able to view their allocation and balance on their non-discretionary reports within Questica once the allocations become available no later than August 15th. Similar to other non-discretionary budgets, unspent funds on device refresh will not be carry over eligible. Rick Kendall will send additional information to principals this week and please contact Colleen Doan for financial questions.
We have allocated additional budget capacity to support ongoing tech needs in each of your schools as we move into the 24-25 school year. With this new funding, we will be adjusting the way that refresh funding is assigned to your building and how your school purchases technology. These additional funds will be added to your SBB as an additional non-discretionary line item placed in the following account in Questica Budget: 14-xxx-20-2892-0734. The per pupil amount and associated allocation per school will be shared next week and Questica will be updated no later than August 15th.
While you will still work with your School Technology and Innovation Partners (STIPs) to make decisions about tech purchases, your bookkeepers will now order devices directly in Workday using their respective costing centers’ budget rather than putting in a help desk ticket. These devices will be sent directly to your school in a state where your Computer Support Technician (CST) will be able to deploy them to your system. This new non-discretionary allocation should be used for purchasing staff and student laptops or desktops. If you have non-device purchases that you would like to explore (projectors, displays, Apple TVs, etc.), please contact your STIP for assistance.
Schools will be able to view their allocation and balance on their non-discretionary reports within Questica once the allocations become available. Similar to other non-discretionary budgets, unspent funds on device refresh will not be carry over eligible. Please contact Rick Kendall for technical questions or Colleen Doan for budget allocation and non-discretionary use questions.
The Budget Department will present a training session on the basic navigation of Questica, focusing on how to view budgets and personnel. The session will also cover change requests and how to use them to make edits to your budget and/or personnel.
For new Questica users, this is an excellent opportunity to learn the platform’s navigation and viewing features, as well as the process for completing change requests.
For users familiar with Questica, this session serves as a valuable refresher, reinforcing your knowledge and introducing the revised method for completing change requests.
Please sign up HERE.
The Budget Office updated our written training materials in order to provide shorter guides on basic navigation of Questica Budget and steps to complete change requests. As a reminder, all edits to your budget during budget management stages (once the fiscal year begins) will be done via change requests. Please contact your financial analyst with any questions. Questica Quick References
Questica Training for All End Users: August 19 at WSC
The Budget Department will present a training session on the basic navigation of Questica, focusing on how to view budgets and personnel. The session will also cover change requests and how to use them to make edits to your budget and/or personnel. For new Questica users, this is an excellent opportunity to learn the platform’s navigation and viewing features, as well as the process for completing change requests. For users familiar with Questica, this session serves as a valuable refresher, reinforcing your knowledge and introducing the revised method for completing change requests. Please sign up HERE to reserve your spot for 10-12 on August 19th at the West Support Center in the Mt. Evans Training Room (1st floor). Please bring your laptop to the training.
2023-2024 June Current Estimate Dashboards Available by Monday, July 29
Preliminary calculations on carry over based on June financials will be available for all schools saved out in their Budget Google Drive by Monday, July 29th. This is not the official carry over as we need to wait for year end accruals and journals to be posted by the end of August before we can calculate the actual, official carry over. However, please review your individual dashboards for any potential deficit issues and/or unspent or overspent non-discretionary budgets. Financial analysts will email principals with any specific concerns. Official school carry over for 2023-2024 is scheduled to be awarded on September 6th.
Questica Alerts
You may see Questica alerts in your inbox. No action is required on your part. The Budget Office is managing all necessary steps to prepare the budget for the new fiscal year starting on July 1st.
Location Change to the Introduction to Questica Budget Training and Open Lab
Please note: The location of the following training has changed to the Board Room at the Wilcox Building at 620 Wilcox St in Castle Rock.
The Budget Office is hosting a Questica Budget training session catered to new users at both schools and departments as well as an open lab on Questica Budget for any user with any level of experience to have a chance to sit down and ask the analysts any questions about the software. This joint session will be on Thursday, June 20th from 8:30-10:30. Please bring your laptop. Please fill out this short Google survey to indicate your planned attendance so we can plan accordingly. We will not host any training sessions in July and so this will be the last opportunity for formal training before the school year begins in August.
2024-2025 Budgets Promoted to Budget Management - Fall in Questica Budget
On Tuesday, June 18th the Board of Ed will vote to adopt the 2024-2025 Budget. Before the end of the week we will promote all active costing centers from the locked "Adopted Budget" stage to the "Budget Management - Fall" stage in Questica Budget. The Budget Management - Fall stage is Questica's equivalent of Workday's "working budget". At this point sites will be able to resume submitting change requests to edit their personnel or operating budgets. More information will be shared before the fiscal year begins on July 1 regarding updates to change request processes for personnel as well as training materials for capital budgeting.
Introduction to Questica Budget Training and Open Lab
The Budget Office is hosting a Questica Budget training session catered to new users at both schools and departments as well as an open lab on Questica Budget for any user with any level of experience to have a chance to sit down and ask the analysts any questions about the software. This joint session will be on Thursday, June 20th from 8:30-10:30 at the West Support Center in the Telluride conference room. Please bring your laptop and remember that the West Support Center is a locked facility and staff without building access will need to wait to be let into the building. Please fill out this short Google survey to indicate your planned attendance so we can plan accordingly. We will not host any training sessions in July and so this will be the last opportunity for formal training before the school year begins in August.
2024-2025 Employee Names updated in Questica Budget
The Budget Office is in the process of updating employee names in Questica Budget for 2024-2025 new hires to DCSD and terminations of employees who are leaving DCSD this year. We still need to attach the new employees to the budgeted vacant positions and are working to complete the process before the end of the week. However, you may still view your updated employee roster from the launching tab by clicking on Budgeting > Personnel > Employees to see all employees you have access to view. The new employees will also show up in the "Employee" drop down list on an opened individual positions accessed via the Positions Allocations screen. We thank you for your patience as we work through the implementation of Questica Budget and determine the best approach to pull data from Workday.
2024-2025 Employee Names updated in Questica Budget
The Budget Office is in the process of updating employee names in Questica Budget for 2024-2025 new hires to DCSD and terminations of employees who are leaving DCSD this year. We still need to attach the new employees to the budgeted vacant positions and are working to complete the process before the end of the month. However, you may still view your updated employee roster from the launching tab by clicking on Budgeting > Personnel > Employees to see all employees you have access to view. The new employees will also show up in the "Employee" drop down list on an opened individual positions accessed via the Positions Allocations screen. We thank you for your patience as we work through the implementation of Questica Budget and determine the best approach to pull data from Workday.
2023-2024 April Current Estimates in School Google Drive Folders
The Budget Office saved April updates of the 2023-2024 Current Estimate Dashboard in each schools' SBB Google Drive folder this week. Please take a look to review your school's carry over projection and use of non-discretionary accounts. Contact your budget analyst with any questions.
The Budget Office is cancelling the Questica Budget training scheduled for May 23rd. We will follow up with a rescheduled date for introductory training for new hires and/or new users in June and then will publish a monthly training schedule for 2024-2025. If users are in need of immediate basic training before the end of the school year please contact your budget analyst directly. We apologize for any inconvenience from the cancellation.
2023-2024 Budget Amendments and SBB/DBB Edits Closed
The Budget Office is no longer accepting budget amendments in Workday for 2023-2024 from schools or departments or edits to the Excel-based SBB or DBB. Considering this is the last year for both processes, schools and departments can consider Excel-based SBB or DBB use and Workday budget amendment business processes permanently closed. Any requests for budget amendments currently in queue with your budget analyst will be addressed by the end of the day on Friday, May 17th as the Budget Office prepares to shut down the budget for the current year in order to prepare Final Revised Budget reporting for the Board of Education. If there are any urgent needs after this week from department leaders, please direct your questions directly to Colleen Doan.
2024-2025 Budget Change Request Short Pause
The Budget Office is going to pause on publishing change requests to edit the 2024-2025 school and department budgets in Questica Budget for two weeks. This is in order for us to clean up some data and prepare for the presentation of the Proposed Budget to the Board of Education. Schools may still submit change requests for operations or personnel, but they will sit in draft (unpublished) mode until we are ready to resume review and approval. This will not hold up the ability for schools and departments to submit job requisitions through Workday as we have a short term process developed to track the differences between Workday and Questica. We thank you for your patience as we continue to work through the change request process and do not expect freezing the budget process for multiple consecutive weeks at a time in future years.
Special Education Classified EA Updates
Neighborhood and alternative schools received updated Special Education Classified EA allocations in Questica on Monday, April 22. Given the tight turnaround to either create job requisitions for new positions or work with HR to address reductions in staff, your budget analyst will make the changes to your Position Allocations directly in Questica. There is no need to submit a Position Allocation Change Request at this time to rebalance your budget. Moving forward with the monthly Special Education staffing updates beginning in July, the Budget Office will communicate the steps to rebalance your budget via SPED change requests for any changes in FTE allocations. If your budget analyst reached out to you this week asking which position(s) you would like to remove in order for your analyst to rebalance your budget, we ask that you please get back to them this week. All job requisitions need to be created in alignment with the FTE allocations provided by Special Education (increments of .5 of .94 FTE) and for any questions related to staffing reductions, please work with the SPED Directors along with your Employee Relations Director to address the reduction in staff.
The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year is Tuesday, April 30. The reason budget amendments cannot be posted through the end of the school year is because the Budget team must prepare the Final Revised Budget in May to present for vote to the Board of Education.
Please do not edit your 2023-2024 Site Based Budget (SBB), Department Based Budget (DBB) or request changes to Workday on the current school year after this date. As a reminder, the remaining of the current year's budget still utilizes the Excel-based forms and budget amendments in Workday. Change Requests within Questica Budget are for 2024-2025. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
Update on Questica Budget Change Requests
We understand that navigating the process to adjust your school's budget within Questica for position changes can be a bit tricky, especially when dealing with complex changes that don't neatly align with a one-for-one exchange due to turnover. We want to reassure you that we're actively addressing these challenges alongside the Questica implementation support team to ensure that the software processes change requests smoothly, just as we intended.
While we iron out these issues, please rest assured that operational changes, such as supplies and services, are functioning as expected. We also recently installed a customization update to automatically add account codes to positions which should also improve the ability to view the positions under review. In the meantime, if you encounter any difficulties with your job requisitions due to inaccuracies in the change request calculations, please don't hesitate to reach out. Your budget analyst is here to assist you directly, particularly with any complex staffing changes like FTE adjustments, calendar modifications, or promotions/demotions.
As a follow up to the Questica Budget training this week, the HR Staffing team confirmed that Schools need to use the "replacement for" when creating the requisitions for replacement positions, this includes coaching positions. What the guidance has been is to not use "Copy Details From Existing Requisition" or "For Existing Position" in the initial page of the requisition creation form. We always want to create a new position number during the requisition process but you have the ability to indicate during the requisition process that you are replacing an existing employee. The Staffing team is going to go over each of these and the differences in terminology at the athletics secretaries training in May.
2023-2024 Budget Amendment Deadline - April 30
The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year is Tuesday, April 30. The reason budget amendments cannot be posted through the end of the school year is because the Budget team must prepare the Final Revised Budget in May to present for vote to the Board of Education.
Please do not edit your 2023-2024 Site Based Budget (SBB), Department Based Budget (DBB) or request changes to Workday on the current school year after this date. As a reminder, the remaining of the current year's budget still utilizes the Excel-based forms and budget amendments in Workday. Change Requests within Questica Budget are for 2024-2025. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
Update on Questica Budget Change Requests
We understand that navigating the process to adjust your school's budget within Questica for position changes can be a bit tricky, especially when dealing with complex changes that don't neatly align with a one-for-one exchange due to turnover. We want to reassure you that we're actively addressing these challenges alongside the Questica and DCSD teams to ensure that the software processes change requests smoothly, just as we intended.
While we iron out these issues, please rest assured that operational changes, such as supplies and services, are functioning as expected. In the meantime, if you encounter any difficulties with your job requisitions due to inaccuracies in the change request calculations, please don't hesitate to reach out. Your budget analyst is here to assist you directly, particularly with any complex staffing changes like FTE adjustments, calendar modifications, or promotions/demotions.
For any general questions or feedback regarding Questica Budget, please feel free to contact Colleen Doan. We appreciate your patience and collaboration as we work to enhance our processes for everyone's benefit.
2023-2024 Budget Amendment Deadline - April 30
The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year is Tuesday, April 30. The reason budget amendments cannot be posted through the end of the school year is because the Budget team must prepare the Final Revised Budget in May to present for vote to the Board of Education. Please do not edit your 2023-2024 Site Based Budget (SBB), Department Based Budget (DBB) or request changes to Workday on the current school year after this date. As a reminder, the remaining of the current year's budget still utilized the Excel-based forms and budget amendments in Workday. Change Requests within Questica Budget are for 2024-2025. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
Quick Reference Guides for Questica Budget Change Requests
The Budget Office released additional training resources for Questica Budget Change Requests today. As a reminder, Change Requests are the process to edit your SBB and amend the budget that will flow through to Workday in one combined process. All of the Questica Budget training content is available on the Budget Office Google Site and the three new quick reference guides for the three different types of Change Requests are at the bottom of the page. The direct links to the new quick reference guides are also linked below:
2024-2025 Questica Change Requests (Operations to Operations)
2024-2025 Questica Change Requests (Operations to Position)
2024-2025 Questica Change Requests (Position to Position)
Revised versions of the Questica Budget User Guide for Budget Development and Questica Change Requests User Guide are coming soon. Please contact your budget analyst with any questions on Change Requests.
Update on Change Requests in Questica
Change Request training was offered virtually and in person this week with practice opportunities in Questica’s test environment. We understand that the two options may not have worked for all school staff who need training on Change Requests in order to complete the process of editing your school’s budget in Questica. We will offer more training throughout the spring, but in the short term we ask that you please review the Change Request User Guide and watch the Change Requests specific videos PRIOR to submitting a Change Request in Questica’s production environment. Your budget analyst is available to assist you with your specific questions AFTER you take these first steps to review the short guide and watch these short videos. The Budget Office appreciates your understanding as our limited staff cannot offer individualized training sessions to teach the process from end to end at this time.
Recording of 3/26 virtual change request overview training
Operational Change Request Example
Position Allocation Change Request Balanced with Operations
Position Allocation Change Request to Replace Existing Position Example
Users are welcome to practice examples of Change Requests in Questica Test immediately and as frequently as possible, but we will follow up over the next few days once the process is ready to go in Production.
Virtual Training via Google Meet: Monday, March 25th from 11:00-12:00 (all users) CANVAS LINK
In Person Training at Wilcox in Board Room: Wednesday, March 27th from 1:00-2:30 CANVAS LINK
Virtual Training via Google Meet: Monday, March 25th from 11:00-12:00 (all users) CANVAS LINK
In Person Training at Wilcox in Board Room: Wednesday, March 27th from 1:00-2:30 CANVAS LINK
Questica Change Requests Training
DCSD is implementing the Questica change request process for schools and departments to have the ability to edit their approved budgets within Questica. The Change Request process will be available beginning the week after spring break. In preparation for the launch, the Budget Office is providing hands on basic end-user training. Canvas Course sign ups will be available next week and will also be posted HERE on the Budget Google site.
Virtual Training (all users): Monday, March 25th from 11:00-12:00 (Google Meets link coming soon)
In Person Training (schools only due to space): Wednesday, March 27th from 1:00-2:30 Location: Wilcox Board Room 620 Wilcox St, Castle Rock, CO 80104, USA
Additional in person training for department staff will be available in April and May.
24-25 Process for Staffing Changes to SBB in Questica
As a reminder for school budgets in Questica, once the budget is submitted and approved first by a school’s analyst and then by the school’s EDOS it is locked from editing. This includes edits to positions for personnel changes not reflected in the staffing sheets and submitted budgets. When schools return from spring break in late March the Budget Office will be releasing information regarding Change Requests in Questica. The Change Request process will be the way for schools to submit requests to modify previously approved budgets before the fiscal year begins on July 1st to reflect staffing changes. The Budget Office is still building out this process and associated training which is why the functionality is not yet available. In the short term prior to spring break please just contact your budget analyst directly if you find that your approved budget no longer meets your staffing needs and you need it to be modified in order to post a job requisition. More information on Change Requests will be shared in early March.
Athletics and Activities Budgets Due February 23
Middle and High schools need to re-promote their costing centers within Questica by Friday, February 23rd to submit their Athletics & Activities budgets for 2024-2025. Your budget analyst will review for accuracy and completion and contact schools directly if changes are needed. Please contact your budget analyst directly if you need assistance completing your budget before the deadline. Please see this link for a step-by-step guide to assist with creating Athletics and Activities within Questica.
24-25 Athletics and Activities budget due Friday, February 23
The deadline for middle and high schools to submit their Fund 26 budget via promotion of your costing center is Friday, February 23. Refer to these training slides for more information specific to athletics and activities. There is one more open lab for users building athletics and activities budgets on Wednesday, February 21 from 10-12 at the WSC.
24-25 SBBs for Neighborhood Schools due Tuesday, February 13
The completed SBBs for all neighborhood schools are due to your budget analyst via promotion of your costing center on Tuesday, February 13th. The Budget Office will begin its comprehensive review and upon successful completion promote the budget to schools' EDOS for review and approval. Please reference this FAQ sent to principals on February 8th for additional information related to completing your SBB.
24-25 DBB for departments due Friday, February 16
The deadline for all departments to submit their completed DBB via promotion of your costing center in Questica is Friday, February 16th. We still have one more open lab for department budget owners on Thursday, February 15th from 11-1 at the WSC.
24-25 Athletics and Activities budget due Friday, February 23
The deadline for middle and high schools to submit their Fund 26 budget via promotion of your costing center is Friday, February 23. Refer to these training slides for more information specific to athletics and activities. There are two more open labs for users building athletics and activities budgets on Thursday, February 15th from 11-1 and Wednesday, February 21 from 10-12 both at the WSC.
Reminders on 24-25 Budget Deadlines and Open Lab Sessions
Budget owners submit their budget via Questica Budget by clicking the “Promote” button on their costing center and moving their budget to the Budget Office Review stage. See below for the deadlines for each type of budget:
Elementary/Middle/High SBB: February 13 (extension due to correction to discretionary formula)
Alternative SBB: February 9
Departments/Districtwide: February 16
Athletics & Activities: February 23
The Budget Office is hosting open labs to work on any of the budgets referenced above. No registration is required and all are located at the West Support Center:
Thur, February 1 from 10:00-12:00 (all budgets)
Fri, February 2 from 9:00-11:00 (all budgets)
Tue, February 6 from 11:00-1:00 (all budgets)
Fri, February 9 from 8:30-10:00 (all budgets)
Thu, February 15 from 11:00-1:00 (departments and athletics/activities only)
Wed, February 21 from 10:00-12:00 (athletics/activities only)
Additional SBB Reminder: Requests for Highly Impacted funds are due Friday, February 2nd. Please contact your budget analyst if you require assistance filling out the application.
Budget Development begins for 2024-2025 on Thursday, January 25th. Completed SBBs (in Questica Budget) will be due Friday, February 9th. Completed DBBs (in Questica Budget) will be due Friday, February 16th.
The Budget Office will also host two virtual sessions for school support staff to learn more about the SBB formula changes for 2024-2025. This is the same content delivered at DLT on January 25th. These virtual sessions are not Questica Budget training sessions and will focus on changes to allocations, average salaries and resources provided to schools for the year. Virtual sessions do not require sign up and are on Friday, January 26th and Monday, January 29th. Check the Budget Google Site for the Google Meet links.
Sign up HERE for drop in support with your budget analyst.
Schools and Departments | West Support Center
Fri, January 26 from 10:00-12:00
Thur, February 1 from 10:00-12:00
Fri, February 2 from 9:00-11:00
Tue, February 6 from 11:00-1:00
Fri, February 9 from 8:30-10:00
Departments and Athletics/Activities | West Support Center
Thu, February 15 from 11:00-1:00
Athletics/Activities | West Support Center
Wed, February 21 from 10:00-12:00
Budget Development Open Labs
Sign up HERE for drop in support with your budget analyst.
Schools and Departments | West Support Center
Fri, January 26 from 10:00-12:00
Thur, February 1 from 10:00-12:00
Fri, February 2 from 9:00-11:00
Tue, February 6 from 11:00-1:00
Fri, February 9 from 8:30-10:00
Departments and Athletics/Activities | West Support Center
Thu, February 15 from 11:00-1:00
Athletics/Activities | West Support Center
Wed, February 21 from 10:00-12:00
Questica Budget open labs/work sessions
School and department budgets for 2024-2025 will be released in Questica Budget on Thursday, January 25. The Budget Office will host a series of open labs/work sessions in order to assist budget owners in building their 2024-2025 budgets in Questica. These will not be structured training sessions, but rather hands on time with your budget analyst to work through any real questions/situations. Sessions will all be at the West Support Center in the Telluride Conference Room.
Friday, January 26 from 10-12
Thursday, February 1 from 10-12
Friday, February 2 from 9-11
Tuesday, February 6 from 11-1
Wednesday, February 7 from 9-11
Thursday, February 15 from 11-1
Wednesday, February 21 from 10-12
Check the Budget Google Site for any changes.
Additional Questica Training
The Budget Office is adding another Questica Budget School Training Class on Monday, January 8th. We understand this is incredibly late notice, but wanted to take the opportunity when conference room space was available to provide another beginner session for school staff. This will cover the same material presented in the December 8th and December 12th in person and December 18th virtual sessions with additional time set aside to work on practice scenarios. If your only exposure to Questica Budget was at the DLT session on December 7th then we encourage you to attend to get some hands-on beginner training. Anyone is welcome to attend for more practice though even if you attended the previously hosted in person sessions. The class will be held in the Telluride Conference Room of the West Support Center from 11-1. Please register in Canvas to reserve your spot. The full list of all January courses is available on the Budget Google Site.
No SBB Edits with Dollar Impact from Now Until January 22
All neighborhood school SBBs were updated for October Student Count and due back to the Budget Office balanced to $0 on December 12th. Schools should not submit budget amendments associated with the student count changes or any of the other SBB allocation changes. All schools will be fully reconciled between Workday and all SBB lines by your budget analyst no later than December 31st. We ask that from now through January 22nd that schools do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services). Name changes are always accepted. The hold on budget amendments until January 22nd is due to the preparation of the Revised Budget for the Board of Education. In order to build the financial statements, we need to work with a stable/unchanging version of the budget in Workday. Budget amendments that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, principal discretionary, capital projects and all department budgets) may be submitted up until December 31 as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process, but are affected by the Revised Budget.
READ Act Budget Revisions - due January 10th
Budget Analysts sent all neighborhood elementary principals with a READ Act allocation their annual READ Act Budget form. Please carefully review the emailed instructions from your analyst and send back revised and completed forms by January 10th. This will assist in the CDE reporting on the grant.
Questica Budget Training in January
The Budget Office will continue to offer training courses on Questica Budget throughout January. If users signed up for a January class did not attend one of the sessions in December, we ask that they first watch the recorded demonstration from their respective school or department virtual training session in December. A virtual training session (1 hour video) will be posted on the Budget Google Site later this month. This will allow users to have a basic level of understanding before getting a more in depth training and learning new enhancements in the January courses. Registration for training is required through Canvas as space is limited.
Questica Training | School Principals | Virtual 1/9/24
Questica Training | School Support Staff | Virtual 1/10/24
Questica Training | Department Directors and Support Staff | Virtual 1/10/24
Questica Training | Department Directors and Support Staff | WSC 1/12/24
Questica Training | School Support Staff | WSC 1/16/24
Questica Training | School Principals | WSC 1/19/24
No SBB Edits with Dollar Impact from Now Until January 22
All neighborhood school SBBs were updated for October Student Count and due back to the Budget Office balanced to $0 on December 12th. Schools should not submit budget amendments associated with the student count changes or any of the other SBB allocation changes. All schools will be fully reconciled between Workday and all SBB lines by your budget analyst no later than December 31st. We ask that from now through January 22nd that schools do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services). Name changes are always accepted. The hold on budget amendments until January 22nd is due to the preparation of the Revised Budget for the Board of Education. In order to build the financial statements, we need to work with a stable/unchanging version of the budget in Workday. Budget amendments that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, principal discretionary, capital projects and all department budgets) may be submitted up until December 31 as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process, but are affected by the Revised Budget.
Questica Budget Training in January
The Budget Office will continue to offer training courses on Questica Budget throughout January. If users signed up for a January class did not attend one of the sessions in December, we ask that they first watch the recorded demonstration from their respective school or department virtual training session in December. The two virtual training sessions (1 hour videos) will be posted on the Budget Google Site later this month. This will allow users to have a basic level of understanding before getting a more in depth training and learning new enhancements in the January courses. Registration for training is required through Canvas as space is limited.
Questica Training | School Principals | Virtual 1/9/24
Questica Training | School Support Staff | Virtual 1/10/24
Questica Training | Department Directors and Support Staff | Virtual 1/10/24
Questica Training | Department Directors and Support Staff | WSC 1/12/24
Questica Training | School Support Staff | WSC 1/16/24
Questica Training | School Principals | WSC 1/19/24
23-24 READ Act Allocation Update
All neighborhood elementary schools will receive an update on their READ Act per pupil non-discretionary allocation by early next week. The allocation amount will be updated on the SBB and schools will receive their custom READ Act form from their budget analyst to update the staffing and use of approved vendors. Please keep an eye out for more information from your budget analyst with the specific instructions for your school.
Additional Questica Budget Training Sessions in January
Due to high demand, the Budget Office added additional Questica Budget training sessions in January. If you were unable to sign up for a slot in December then please sign up for a slot in January. You may sign up for more than one training session, but preference will be given when sessions are full to users who haven't attended a training session yet. Please make sure that each individual planning to attend an in person session signs up individually so that we can ensure there will be sufficient seating in each of the rooms. All training sessions in December and January are also listed on the Budget Google Site.
Questica Training | School Principals | Virtual 1/9/24
Questica Training | School Support Staff | Virtual 1/10/24
Questica Training | Department Directors and Support Staff | Virtual 1/10/24
Questica Training | Department Directors and Support Staff | WSC 1/12/24
Questica Training | School Support Staff | WSC 1/16/24
Questica Training | School Principals | WSC 1/19/24
October Count True Up for Neighborhood Schools
All neighborhood schools received their October Count true up from their budget analyst by Tuesday, November 28th. Schools have until Tuesday, December 12th to rebalance their SBBs and resubmit to their budget analyst. Please refer to the individual emails from your budget analyst for more information. After December 12th please do not edit your SBB for any dollar changes (name changes for staffing still allowed) until it is reopened in January after the Revised Budget.
23-24 READ Act Allocation Update
All neighborhood elementary schools will receive an update on their READ Act per pupil non-discretionary allocation by early next week. The allocation amount will be updated on the SBB and schools will receive their custom READ Act form from their budget analyst to update the staffing and use of approved vendors. Please keep an eye out for more information from your budget analyst with the specific instructions for your school.
Questica Budget Training Sessions
All budget end-users will be required to attend training on Questica Budget before budget development begins for 2024-2025. Sessions in December are now available for registration. in Canvas. More sessions will be offered in January. Please bring a laptop with access to your current SBB and/or DBB to the training. Individual, one on one training sessions will not be offered. Please contact Colleen Doan at cadoan@dcsdk12.org with any questions.ien
Questica Training | Principals | December 12 from 10:00-12:00 West Support Center
Questica Training | District Directors | December 13 from 2:00-4:00 West Support Center
Questica Training | School Support Staff |December 8 from 10:00-12:00 West Support Center
Questica Training | Department Support Staff | December 13 from 9:30-11:30 West Support Center
Questica Training | School Principals and Support Staff | December 18 from 10:00-11:00 Virtual - make up session only
Questica Training | Department Directors and Support Staff | December 20 from 9:00-10:00 Virtual - make up session only
Additional Questica Budget Training Sessions in January
Due to high demand, the Budget Office added additional Questica Budget training sessions in January. If you were unable to sign up for a slot in December then please sign up for a slot in January. You may sign up for more than one training session, but preference will be given when sessions are full to users who haven't attended a training session yet. Please make sure that each individual planning to attend an in person session signs up individually so that we can ensure there will be sufficient seating in each of the rooms. All training sessions in December and January are also listed on the Budget Google Site.
Questica Training | School Principals | Virtual 1/9/24
Questica Training | School Support Staff | Virtual 1/10/24
Questica Training | Department Directors and Support Staff | Virtual 1/10/24
Questica Training | Department Directors and Support Staff | WSC 1/12/24
Questica Training | School Support Staff | WSC 1/16/24
Questica Training | School Principals | WSC 1/19/24
Additional Questica Budget Training Sessions in January
Due to high demand, the Budget Office added additional Questica Budget training sessions in January. If you were unable to sign up for a slot in December then please sign up for a slot in January. You may sign up for more than one training session, but preference will be given when sessions are full to users who haven't attended a training session yet. Please make sure that each individual planning to attend an in person session signs up individually so that we can ensure there will be sufficient seating in each of the rooms. All training sessions in December and January are also listed on the Budget Google Site.
Questica Training | School Principals | Virtual 1/9/24
Questica Training | School Support Staff | Virtual 1/10/24
Questica Training | Department Directors and Support Staff | Virtual 1/10/24
Questica Training | Department Directors and Support Staff | WSC 1/12/24
Questica Training | School Support Staff | WSC 1/16/24
Questica Training | School Principals | WSC 1/19/24
Step-by-Step Videos for Budget Amendments
The Budget Office updated videos recording the two processes to create budget amendments in Excel and in Workday for bookkeepers. The step-by-step videos walk through the edits to the SBB in addition to the business processes to create the amendments. The current process will be applicable for the duration of the 2023-2024 school year. The videos are available to view HERE under 2023-2024 Bookkeeper Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Dashboard Training.
Questica Budget Training Sessions
All budget end-users will be required to attend training on Questica Budget before budget development begins for 2024-2025. Sessions in December are now available for registration. in Canvas. More sessions will be offered in January. Please bring a laptop with access to your current SBB and/or DBB to the training. Individual, one on one training sessions will not be offered. Please contact Colleen Doan at cadoan@dcsdk12.org with any questions.ience
Date and Time (Link to Canvas)
Principals
West Support Center
District Directors
West Support Center
School Support Staff
West Support Center
Department Support Staff
West Support Center
School Principals and Support Staff
Virtual - make up session only
Department Directors and Support Staff
Virtual - make up session only
All neighborhood schools should have received a customized worksheet from their budget analyst to complete their Spending Plan on Awarded Carry Over. Board of Education Policy DB-R states that all schools must develop a spending plan on the use of carry over money for any amount over 1% of the provided discretionary budget. Principals should complete this worksheet reflecting on the planned use of the carry over received in September 2023. Completed plans will be reviewed first by your budget analyst and then a summary report will be sent to the School Leadership department. Please email your completed worksheet to your budget analyst by Friday, November 10th.
23-24 Current Estimate Dashboards released to schools this week
The Current Estimate Dashboard provides a projection of carry over as well as the current available balance on all SBB non-discretionary dollar-based allocations. It is updated monthly beginning in October based on the prior month’s financials. All neighborhood schools will receive their first iteration of the dashboard for the year by Friday, October 27th. New this year is improved conditional formatting of the status indicators for all levels, the inclusion of miscellaneous programs (fund 10, budget source 21) for elementary schools, and the inclusion of Schedule A district-paid Athletics and Activities for secondary schools. Please contact your budget analyst to set up some time to walk through your custom dashboard together.
Spending Plan on 22-23 Carry Over - due Nov 10
All neighborhood schools should have received a customized worksheet from their budget analyst to complete their Spending Plan on Awarded Carry Over. Board of Education Policy DB-R states that all schools must develop a spending plan on the use of carry over money for any amount over 1% of the provided discretionary budget. Principals should complete this worksheet reflecting on the planned use of the carry over received in September 2023. Completed plans will be reviewed first by your budget analyst and then a summary report will be sent to the School Leadership department. Please email your completed worksheet to your budget analyst by Friday, November 10th.
Workday Notifications for Approved Journal Entries and Budget Amendments
Business Services will be adding a new feature in Workday next week to assist initiators of journal entries and budget amendments with approval notifications. Please read this LINK to find out more about the system and email notifications that will be coming next week.
Announcing Questica Budget Software for 2024-2025
The Budget Office is excited to announce the implementation of software capable of automating workflows, generating much needed budget reporting, and integration with Workday to replace the Site-Based Budget (SBB) and Department Based Budget (DBB). Questica Budget (QB) will be implemented for 2024-2025 budget development. Click HERE to read more about the implementation plan and timeline and contact Colleen Doan with any questions.
Reminder: Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training
All neighborhood and alternative schools received 2022-2023 carry over on Friday, September 8th and schools may now request to move the carry over budget via budget amendments. The Budget Office will host two training sessions on budget amendments and the current estimate dashboard on Tuesday, September 19 at 9:30 and Tuesday, September 26 at noon. Register in Canvas for either session. Please bring a computer with Microsoft Excel installed on the device to the training.
Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Dashboard Training
After schools receive their 2022-2023 carry over on Friday, September 8th they are welcome to submit budget amendments to reallocate their carry over and spend it in 2023-2024. Budget Analysts will send individual emails to principals once their carry over is awarded and loaded into the SBB. The Budget Office will host two training sessions on budget amendments and the current estimate dashboard on Tuesday, September 19 at 9:30 and Tuesday, September 26 at noon. Register in Canvas for either session. Please bring a computer with Microsoft Excel installed on the device to the training.
School Carry Over for 2022-2023 to be awarded September 8th
All neighborhood schools and eligible alternative schools will receive their SBB, principal discretionary and other carry over on Friday, September 8th. The carry over amounts will be loaded into each school’s SBB and within Workday on this date. Schools with questions on the amounts should contact their budget analyst. Once carry over is awarded, schools have the opportunity to move it within their budgets to spend. The Budget Office will host two training sessions on carry over and budget amendments on Tuesday, September 19 at 9:30 and on Tuesday, September 26 at noon. Both courses will be held at the WSC. The Canvas registration information follows:
Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training for Bookkeepers 9/19/23
Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training for Bookkeepers 9/26/23
New Release: Updated 2023-2024 Budget Guidance Manual
The Budget Office recently updated the 2023-2024 Budget Guidance Manual to reflect SBB allocation and budget/compensation practice changes since the initial release of the guide in January 2023. Schools should reference this guide for any questions on SBB allocations, October Count processes or carry over eligibility.
Transition of Budget Analyst Support for Ponderosa Feeder
For the last year Patti Grams has supported the Ponderosa feeder in addition to her other responsibilities supporting East Highlands Ranch region. Effective in September after Ponderosa Feeder schools receive their 2022-2023 carry over from Patti, their new budget analyst will be Pascal Federici. Pascal joined DCSD last December when he began supporting the Chaparral and Legend feeders. This change will allow for budget support of the Parker region to all be under one analyst again. Please see the Budget Google site with any questions on roles and responsibilities of the Budget Office.
Building Modification Guidance when seeking estimate from Construction
When a school completes a Building Modification Form in order to seek a quote for a potential project from the Construction department, the school must still submit reasonable budget information and provide a proposed funding source. When the school does not have its own estimate available, the school can reach out to the Construction department to obtain a quick budget/estimate or they should list the maximum amount it would be willing to contribute toward the project out of the respective funding source. For example, if a PTO has donated $10,000 toward a project but the school isn’t certain how much a project will cost then it should enter $10,000 on the building modification. If a school is funding a project from its SBB and has available carry over of $100,000 and would be willing to only spend half of that amount on a project then it should list $50,000 on the building modification.
Guidance for Short Term FTE Overages and Additional Pay for General Education Staff
The new guidelines on short term FTE overages and additional pay were prepared by Compensation, Budget and Payroll leadership with implementation in 2023-2024 school year. This provides information on when it is acceptable to pay FTE, additional pay, interim pay, extended days or create a new position. It additionally provides guidance for vacancies or additional assignments happening less than a semester or full school year. Compensation, Budget and Payroll staff will be available to answer questions virtually in two separate sessions on:
Q&A on guidance for short term FTE and additional pay
Tuesday, August 15 · 4:00 – 4:30pm
Time zone: America/Denver
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/egf-fwnx-sgt
Or dial: (US) +1 929-269-2078 PIN: 375 862 100#
More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/egf-fwnx-sgt?pin=4814917048767
and
Q&A on Guidance on Short Term FTE Overages and Additional Pay
Thursday, August 17 · 12:30 – 1:00pm
Time zone: America/Denver
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/rrj-wmid-gbz
Or dial: (US) +1 669-220-6386 PIN: 849 085 773#
More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/rrj-wmid-gbz?pin=5580424604200
Budget Office will begin accepting budget amendments on July 3
With the fiscal year beginning on a Saturday, the Budget Office will begin accepting budget amendments from schools and departments on Monday, July 3. Please note that the 2023-2024 Working Budget will need to be opened in Workday that morning so please check back later in the day if you do not see the Working Budget or the Budget Amendment task immediately. The Budget Amendment task is disabled currently. We have new Excel tools available to assist with budget amendments. The forms are posted on the Budget Google Site with separate forms for school budgets vs department budgets. Please do not submit budget amendments to your analyst using the 2022-2023 forms as you will be asked to redo them using the forms for the appropriate fiscal year. We will offer budget amendment training to new bookkeepers after the school year begins. More information will be shared in August.
Budget Office will begin accepting budget amendments on July 3
With the fiscal year beginning on a Saturday, the Budget Office will begin accepting budget amendments from schools and departments on Monday, July 3. Please note that the 2023-2024 Working Budget will need to be opened in Workday that morning so please check back later in the day if you do not see the Working Budget or the Budget Amendment task immediately. The Working Budget is not yet available to view and the Budget Amendment task is disabled currently. We will have new Excel tools available to assist with budget amendments. The forms will be posted on the Budget Google Site by June 30. Please do not submit budget amendments to your analyst using the 2022-2023 forms as you will be asked to redo them using the forms for the appropriate fiscal year. We will offer budget amendment training to new bookkeepers after the school year begins. More information will be shared in August.
Increase to SBB for Certified Substitutes
The Superintendent's Cabinet approved an increase to the certified substitute non-discretionary SBB allocation for all neighborhood and alternative schools. Beginning in August, any use of classroom coverage for sick/personal day licensed absences in place of paying for a short term substitute will be non-discretionary for all schools. Additionally, elementary schools will receive 1 additional day of substitute coverage to increase from 7 days at $170/day per qualifying licensed employee to 8 days at $170/day per qualifying licensed employee. Secondary and alternative schools will still receive 7 days at $170/day per qualifying licensed employee but will also have an additional component added to the allocation for classroom coverage at 6 hours at $30/hour per qualifying licensed employee. The reason for the difference in the allocation methodology is that secondary schools are more likely to use classroom coverage than elementary schools. This change to the non-discretionary substitute allocation is an increase of over $750,000 into the SBB formula. Thank you to the principals on our Budget Steering Committee for providing their input and feedback this spring as we presented options to them to increase this allocation.
Increase to SBB for Certified Substitutes
The Superintendent's Cabinet approved an increase to the certified substitute non-discretionary SBB allocation for all neighborhood and alternative schools. Beginning in August, any use of classroom coverage for sick/personal day licensed absences in place of paying for a short term substitute will be non-discretionary for all schools. Additionally, elementary schools will receive 1 additional day of substitute coverage to increase from 7 days at $170/day per qualifying licensed employee to 8 days at $170/day per qualifying licensed employee. Secondary and alternative schools will still receive 7 days at $170/day per qualifying licensed employee but will also have an additional component added to the allocation for classroom coverage at 6 hours at $30/hour per qualifying licensed employee. The reason for the difference in the allocation methodology is that secondary schools are more likely to use classroom coverage than elementary schools. This change to the non-discretionary substitute allocation is an increase of over $750,000 into the SBB formula. Thank you to the principals on our Budget Steering Committee for providing their input and feedback this spring as we presented options to them to increase this allocation.
April Current Estimate of Carry Over released to schools this week
All neighborhood schools had their April Current Estimate Dashboard dropped into their SBB folders this week. This gives schools a preliminary estimate of carry over prior to summer break. We encourage schools to look at the non-discretionary allocation section of the Current Estimate Dashboard and work with their budget analyst to clean up any issues prior to the end of the fiscal year as any overspent non-discretionary allocations will deduct from the discretionary carry over. Budget analysts will refresh the dashboards in June and July while schools are out of session and clean up any necessary items prior to the start of school. Please contact your budget analyst if you need assistance reviewing your Current Estimate Dashboard.
Revisions Required to 23-24 Athletics and Activities Budget Forms
The Budget Office will send back 2023-2024 Athletics and Activities Budget Forms to ADs and Bookkeepers by Friday, May 12th to make revisions by Friday, May 19th. Revisions to budget forms are needed because the Superintendent's Cabinet approved increasing the rates of Schedule A coach and activity sponsor pay. As the school-paid stipends are tied to the same amounts as the district-paid stipends on Schedule A, all schools will need to reevaluate their budgets and rebalance for any increased cost to stipends. Your budget analyst may also ask you to make modifications to your student fees revenue budget if the numbers are low compared to prior years and there isn't supporting documentation for reduced participation. Please let your budget analyst know if you have any questions.
Revisions Required to 23-24 Athletics and Activities Budget Forms
The Budget Office will send back 2023-2024 Athletics and Activities Budget Forms to ADs and Bookkeepers by Friday, May 12th to make revisions by Friday, May 19th. Revisions to budget forms are needed because the Superintendent's Cabinet approved increasing the rates of Schedule A coach and activity sponsor pay. As the school-paid stipends are tied to the same amounts as the district-paid stipends on Schedule A, all schools will need to reevaluate their budgets and rebalance for any increased cost to stipends. Your budget analyst may also ask you to make modifications to your student fees revenue budget if the numbers are low compared to prior years and there isn't supporting documentation for reduced participation. Please let your budget analyst know if you have any questions.
Certified Substitute and Classroom Coverage 22-23 Budget
The Budget Office will monitor high usage of daily substitutes as we close out the school year and provide financial assistance on a case by case basis for schools exceeding their non-discretionary substitute allocation. Additionally, if schools have not been able to fill their substitute positions using daily subs and have had high use of classroom coverage in place of daily subs then we will reclassify classroom coverage expenses out of the discretionary budget and into the non-discretionary budget up to the amount of the school’s non-discretionary substitute allocation. This will be done on a case by case basis and initiated by the school’s budget analyst. No action is needed from the schools. The Budget Steering Committee will be meeting in early May to discuss revisions to the non-discretionary substitute allocation for 23-24. Please contact Colleen Doan if you have any questions.
REMINDER: April 30th is Last Day to Edit SBB before July 1
The last day to update and balance your Site-Based Budget (SBB) for next year (to be reflected in Workday on July 1st) is Sunday, April 30. For updates to your 2023-2024 SBB, you may continue to change staff names on the SBB as staffing changes throughout the summer. We request that all movement of operational instructional and support dollars wait until July 1 when you may begin creating amendments for the year. If staffing changes after April 30 require you to adjust FTE on the SBB which would have a dollar impact on your budget, please know that the budget updates will not be reflected in Workday until after July 1.
2022-2023 Budget Amendment Deadline - April 30
The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year is Sunday, April 30. The reason budget amendments cannot be posted through the end of the school year is because the Budget team must prepare the Final Revised Budget in May to present for vote to the Board of Education. Please do not edit your 2022-2023 Site Based Budget (SBB), Department Based Budget (DBB) or request changes to Workday on the current school year after this date. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
The Budget Office identifies inactive accounts on a yearly basis that either have positive or negative balances. An inactive account is one that has shown no activity for 3 consecutive years. Once that has been determined, depending on whether the inactive account has a positive or negative balance, we will then use an active account following budgeting guidelines for amendments and reclasses to zero out the inactive accounts. The Budget Office sent out the forms by March 24th and they be returned with feedback by April 7th. We will take care of any budget amendments and your accounting partner will help with any reclasses.
2022-2023 Budget Amendment Deadline - April 30
The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year is Sunday, April 30. The reason budget amendments cannot be posted through the end of the school year is because the Budget team must prepare the Final Revised Budget in May to present for vote to the Board of Education. Please do not edit your 2022-2023 Site Based Budget (SBB), Department Based Budget (DBB) or request changes to Workday on the current school year after this date. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
The Budget Office identifies inactive accounts on a yearly basis that either have positive or negative balances. An inactive account is one that has shown no activity for 3 consecutive years. Once that has been determined, depending on whether the inactive account has a positive or negative balance, we will then use an active account following budgeting guidelines for amendments and reclasses to zero out the inactive accounts. We will send out the forms by March 24th and ask that they be returned with feedback by April 7th. We will take care of any budget amendments and your accounting partner will help with any reclasses.
Athletics and Activities 23-24 Budget Forms due March 10th
The completed budget forms for 2023-2024 Athletics and Activities are due back to schools' budget analysts on Friday, March 10th. The Budget Office will offer another training opportunity on Tuesday, March 7th at the WSC. Sign up in Canvas to reserve your spot.
Athletics and Activities 23-24 Budget Forms
The budget forms for 2023-2024 Athletics and Activities were released to high school athletics and activities directors and bookkeepers on Wednesday, February 22nd and to middle school athletics and activities directors and bookkeepers on Friday, February 24th. All completed budgets are due back to schools' budget analysts on Friday, March 10th. The Budget Office will offer training opportunities on Thursday, March 2nd and Tuesday, March 7th at the WSC. Sign up in Canvas for either class and please bring a laptop with Microsoft Excel installed to the class.
Athletics and Activities 23-24 Budget Forms
The budget forms for 2023-2024 Athletics and Activities will be released to high school athletics and activities directors and bookkeepers on Wednesday, February 22nd and to middle school athletics and activities directors and bookkeepers on Friday, February 24th. All completed budgets are due back to schools' budget analysts on Friday, March 10th. The Budget Office will offer a training opportunity on Thursday, March 2nd and Tuesday, March 7th at the WSC. More details will be available next week.
23-24 SBBs Due Friday, February 10
The completed SBBs for all neighborhood and alternative schools is due to your budget analyst on Friday, February 10th. As a reminder, SBBs must be saved in Google Drive as Excel files and schools should not save their budgets locally on their devices. Please contact your budget analyst if you require assistance building your SBB.
2023-2024 DBB Deadline
The deadline for all departments to submit their completed Department Based Budget (DBB) for 2023-2024 is Friday, February 17th. If you are a department budget owner and were unable to attend a training session last month, a recorded presentation will be released. Please reach out to your budget analyst if you require one on one assistance.
23-24 SBB Applications for Highly Impacted due Friday, February 3rd
The deadline for neighborhood schools to apply for Highly Impacted is Friday, February 3rd. The application will be shut off after the deadline. All decisions will be made and awarded dollars communicated to schools and updated on SBBs by Wednesday, February 8th. The completed SBBs for all neighborhood and alternative schools is due to your budget analyst on Friday, February 10th. As a reminder, SBBs must be saved in Google Drive as Excel files and schools should not save their budgets locally on their devices. Please contact your budget analyst if you require assistance building your SBB.
2023-2024 DBB Deadline
The deadline for all departments to submit their completed Department Based Budget (DBB) for 2023-2024 is Friday, February 17th. If you are a department budget owner and were unable to attend a training session last month, a recorded presentation will be released. Please reach out to your budget analyst if you require one on one assistance.
2023-2024 DBB Deadlines
The deadline for all departments to submit their completed Department Based Budget (DBB) for 2023-2024 is Friday, February 17th. If you are a department budget owner and were unable to attend a training session earlier this month we will release a recorded presentation next week. Please reach out to your budget analyst if you require one on one assistance.
2023-2024 SBB Training and Deadlines
All neighborhood and alternative school principals should have received their 2023-2024 SBB template from their budget analyst the evening of January 25th. Please refer to the presentation from Colleen Doan at the January 26th DLT meeting for an overview of the formula and template changes for next year. All completed, balanced, SBBs are due back to Budget by saving the Excel file in your SBB Google Drive folder by Friday, February 10th. If you would like additional assistance building your SBB, please consider attending one of the SBB training sessions:
Annual Site Based Budget Training on 1/30/23
Annual Site Based Budget Training on 2/10/23
https://dcsdk12.catalog.instructure.com/courses/annual-site-based-budget-training-on-21023
The purpose of the SBB Training is to outline changes to the calculation of some of the 2023-24 allocations to reflect improvements to the Weighted Student Funding model, changes to non-discretionary allocations, to educate schools on the proper method to complete the SBB, and walk through scenarios applicable to all schools. In addition, there will be time to work on the schools’ individual SBB and ask school specific questions of the budget analyst team. Please bring a laptop computer with Microsoft Excel installed on the computer.
2023-2024 Site Based Budget (SBB) Training
The purpose of the SBB Training is to outline changes to the calculation of some of the 2023-24 allocations to reflect improvements to the Weighted Student Funding model, changes to non-discretionary allocations, to educate schools on the proper method to complete the SBB, and walk through scenarios applicable to all schools. In addition, there will be time to work on the schools’ individual SBB and ask school specific questions of the budget analyst team. Please bring a laptop computer with Microsoft Excel installed on the computer.
Annual Site Based Budget Training on 1/30/23
Annual Site Based Budget Training on 2/10/23
https://dcsdk12.catalog.instructure.com/courses/annual-site-based-budget-training-on-21023
2023-2024 Site Based Budget (SBB) Training
The purpose of the SBB Training is to outline changes to the calculation of some of the 2023-24 allocations to reflect improvements to the Weighted Student Funding model, changes to non-discretionary allocations, to educate schools on the proper method to complete the SBB, and walk through scenarios applicable to all schools. In addition, there will be time to work on the schools’ individual SBB and ask school specific questions of the budget analyst team. Please bring a laptop computer with Microsoft Excel installed on the computer.
Annual Site Based Budget Training on 1/30/23
Annual Site Based Budget Training on 2/10/23
https://dcsdk12.catalog.instructure.com/courses/annual-site-based-budget-training-on-21023
2022-2023 READ Act Budget Revisions
All neighborhood elementary school principals with a READ Act allocation received a custom report from their budget analyst last week. All principals will need to review and confirm the staff coded to READ Act meet the qualifications indicated within the report and then select the applicable vendors for non-salary purchases anticipated to be made using READ Act dollars this year. Refer to the email from your analyst with your custom report for more information. Please return your reviewed report to your budget analyst by Friday, January 20th.
2022-2023 DBB Training
The 2022-2023 DBB will be distributed to departments via upload to Google Drive on January 18. The Budget Office will host two in person training sessions for anyone involved with the creation of the DBB at the West Support Center. The sessions will be Friday, January 20 and Monday, January 23. We will record a video for those unable to attend either date who would like additional information. The department budget analyst team will be in attendance at both trainings, but we ask that you please register through clicking on one of the links to Canvas to attend as space is limited. Departments are encouraged to schedule additional one on one sessions with their analyst for assistance building their budget. All department budgets are due back to the Budget Office on Friday, February 17.
Upcoming Site Based Budget (SBB) and Department Based Budget (DBB) Training
Please enroll now for either the SBB (school) or DBB (department) training. Thank you!
The purpose of the SBB Training is to outline changes to the calculation of some of the 2023-24 allocations to reflect improvements to the Weighted Student Funding model, changes to non-discretionary allocations, to educate schools on the proper method to complete the SBB, and walk through scenarios applicable to all schools. In addition, there will be time to work on the schools’ individual SBB and ask school specific questions of the budget analyst team. Please bring a laptop computer with Microsoft Excel installed on the computer.
Annual Site Based Budget Training on 1/30/23
Annual Site Based Budget Training on 2/10/23
https://dcsdk12.catalog.instructure.com/courses/annual-site-based-budget-training-on-21023
The following course is designed for department staff with Department Based Budget (DBB) responsibilities, primarily department directors and bookkeepers, to learn more about the changes to the DBB template to reflect Priorities Based Budgeting. This class will cover: the fundamentals of editing a DBB, features and tools within the DBB, and time for budget owners to ask one on one questions of their budget analyst. Participants will leave the course with an understanding of the DBB changes and next steps for completing their budget request before the February 17th deadline. Please bring a laptop with Microsoft Excel installed.
2023-2024 Department Budget Training 1/20/23
2023-2024 Department Budget Training 1/23/23
Additional SBB Allocation for Schools with High Certified Substitute Costs in 2021-2022
After completing the calculation for October Count SBB true up, there were additional dollars remaining in the budget set aside for a student count reserve. The Budget Office is allocating those remaining dollars back to schools who spent a greater amount than in a typical school year on licensed substitutes in 2021-2022 (last school year). The amount back to each school was calculated by taking the total cost of short term certified substitutes and subtracting the formula for non-discretionary certified substitutes (daily sub rate x substitute eligible certified FTE x 6 days). The remaining balance will be reimbursed to schools this year in 2022-2023 SBB as a discretionary allocation. As SBBs are already balanced for the Revised Budget and we ask schools not to be editing them over winter break, we will be loading the additional resources directly to general supplies in each of the impacted schools. Budget Analysts will email principals their school’s additional allocation amount and will update the SBB before the end of winter break. Schools are welcome to request budget amendments to move the additional allocation to another line item after the budget is reopened and accepting amendments January 23. If you have any questions on the additional allocation please contact Colleen Doan.
No SBB Edits with Dollar Impact from Now Until January 23
As a reminder, all neighborhood schools' SBB are now balanced and the budget analysts are reconciling each line in the SBB with Workday for the Student October Count and Revised Budget. Please do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services) until January 23. Name changes are always accepted. Budget amendments that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, principal discretionary, capital projects) may be submitted up until December 31 as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process, but are affected by the Revised Budget.
Neighborhood School Site-Based Budgets Updated for October Student Count
All neighborhood school SBBs were updated for October Student Count on Monday, November 28th. Your budget analyst left your SBB out of balance (over/under allocation line will not equal zero) depending on the variance in official student enrollment compared to projected enrollment. At this point in time neighborhood schools also received updates to their certified substitute allocation and READ Act allocation if applicable. Please make all necessary changes to your SBB and balance back to $0 by Monday, December 12th. If you need help balancing your SBB please work with your budget analyst. Schools should not submit budget amendments associated with the student count changes or any of the other SBB allocation changes. All schools will be fully reconciled between Workday and all SBB lines by your budget analyst no later than December 31st. We ask that between December 12th and January 23rd that schools do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services). Name changes are always accepted. The hold on budget amendments until January 23rd is due to the preparation of the Revised Budget for the Board of Education. In order to build the financial statements, we need to work with a stable/unchanging version of the budget in Workday.
Revisions to 2022-2023 Current Estimate Dashboard
All neighborhood schools will see their October Current Estimate Dashboards updated in their school’s SBB Google Drive folder by Friday, December 2nd. The Budget Office revised the carry over estimate methodology to now include a range of estimated carry over instead of a specific dollar amount. This should help schools as they plan their 2023-2024 budget and the amount that is estimated to carry over from the current year. Please review this guide for more information on the changes to the current estimate dashboard or reach out to your budget analyst with any questions.
Neighborhood School Site-Based Budgets Updated for October Student Count
All neighborhood school sBBs will be updated for October Student Count by Monday, November 28th. Your budget analyst will leave your SBB out of balance (over/under allocation line will not equal zero) depending on the variance in official student enrollment compared to projected enrollment. At this point in time neighborhood schools will also receive updates to their certified substitute allocation and READ Act allocation if applicable. Please make all necessary changes to your SBB and balance back to $0 by Monday, December 12th. If you need help balancing your SBB please work with your budget analyst.
Schools should not submit budget amendments associated with the student count changes or any of the other SBB allocation changes. All schools will be fully reconciled between Workday and all SBB lines by your budget analyst no later than December 31st. We ask that between December 12th and January 23rd that schools do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services). Name changes are always accepted. Budget amendments that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, capital projects or principal discretionary) may be made up until December 31st as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process. The hold on budget amendments until January 23rd is due to the preparation of the Revised Budget for the Board of Education. In order to build the financial statements, we need to work with a stable/unchanging version of the budget in Workday.
Spending Plan on 21-22 Carry Over - due Nov 4
All neighborhood schools should have received a customized worksheet from their budget analyst to complete their Spending Plan on Awarded Carry Over. Board of Education Policy DB-R states that all schools must develop a spending plan on the use of carry over money for any amount over 1% of the provided discretionary budget. Principals should complete this worksheet reflecting on the planned use of the carry over received in September 2022. Completed plans will be reviewed first by your budget analyst and then a summary report will be sent to the School Leadership department. Please email your completed worksheet to your budget analyst by Friday, November 4th.
2022-2023 Current Estimates Released to Schools This Week
The first monthly edition of the 2022-2023 Current Estimate Dashboard was placed into each school's budget folder this week. If you are a new bookkeeper and did not attend the Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training in September then please reach out to your budget analyst for training on the tool. Please review the tool as you make decisions regarding the need to rebalance your SBB after October Count later this month.
REMINDER: Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training for Bookkeepers
The Budget Office is hosting Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training for Bookkeepers. This course is designed for new bookkeepers and secretaries with budget responsibilities to learn how to amend budgets. This class will start with the fundamentals of editing a SBB (schools) or DBB (departments), building a budget amendment in both Workday and in Excel and wrap up with an overview of the Current Estimate Dashboard for monitoring non-discretionary spending. Participants will leave the course with practice using real-world examples and the opportunity to ask one-on-one questions of their budget analyst. Please bring a laptop with excel! Please sign up below.
September 28 Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the West Support Center
REMINDER: Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training for Bookkeepers
The Budget Office is hosting Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training for Bookkeepers. This course is designed for new bookkeepers and secretaries with budget responsibilities to learn how to amend budgets. This class will start with the fundamentals of editing a SBB (schools) or DBB (departments), building a budget amendment in both Workday and in Excel and wrap up with an overview of the Current Estimate Dashboard for monitoring non-discretionary spending. Participants will leave the course with practice using real world examples and the opportunity to ask one-on-one questions of their budget analyst. Please bring a laptop with excel! Please sign up for either the September 21 or the September 28 training.
September 21 Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the West Support Center
September 28 Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the West Support Center
Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training for Bookkeepers
The Budget Office is hosting Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training for Bookkeepers. This course is designed for new bookkeepers and secretaries with budget responsibilities to learn how to amend budgets. This class will start with the fundamentals of editing a SBB (schools) or DBB (departments), building a budget amendment in both Workday and in Excel and wrap up with an overview of the Current Estimate Dashboard for monitoring non-discretionary spending. Participants will leave the course with practice using real world examples and the opportunity to ask one-on-one questions of their budget analyst. Please bring a laptop with excel! Please sign up for either the September 21 or the September 28 training.
September 21 Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the West Support Center
September 28 Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the West Support Center
2021-2022 Current Estimate Dashboards updated for preliminary June financials
The Budget Office will place all schools' June current estimate dashboards in their school folders by the end of the day on Monday, July 18th. This is a very preliminary view of 2021-2022 school carry over. The Budget Office still needs to wait for obligations to post as actuals and any year end journal entries to be completed before we start the official carry over calculation process. School carry over will be shared with schools on September 9th. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions after reviewing your June current estimate dashboard.
Budget Office is now accepting 2022-2023 budget amendments
Now that the 2022-2023 fiscal year has officially started, the Budget Office will accept valid budget amendments from schools and departments. Amendments can be submitted either directly in Workday or using the budget amendment Excel tools on the Budget Google Site. We encourage bookkeepers to use the Excel tools for larger entries and any entries involving FTE. Budget amendment training will be available to new bookkeepers after school starts and more information will be shared in August.
Budget Office will begin accepting budget amendments on July 1
With the fiscal year beginning on July 1, the Budget Office will begin accepting budget amendments from schools and departments next Friday, July 1. Please note that the 2022-2023 Working Budget will need to be opened in Workday that morning so please check back later in the day if you do not see the Working Budget or the Budget Amendment task immediately. The Working Budget is not yet available to view and the Budget Amendment task is disabled currently. We will have new Excel tools available to assist with budget amendments. The forms will be posted on the Budget Google Site by June 30. Please do not submit budget amendments to your analyst using the 2021-2022 forms as you will be asked to redo them using the forms for the appropriate fiscal year. We will offer budget amendment training to new bookkeepers after the school year begins. More information will be shared in August.
2022-2023 Athletics and Activities Budget Forms
All secondary neighborhood schools received their 2022-2023 athletics and activities budget forms back from their budget analysts earlier this week. Athletic/activity directors and/or bookkeepers will need to review their staffing and resubmit to their budget analyst by Friday, May 27. The reason the forms need to be updated is due to the increases to Schedule A by adding additional district-funded positions and increasing the stipend rate of both district and school-funded positions. Please contact your budget analyst with any questions.
2021-2022 Budget No Longer Accepting Budget Amendments
Now that the April 30th deadline has passed, the Budget Office is no longer accepting budget amendments from schools and departments on the 2021-2022 budget. If your school or department submitted an amendment via Workday or email to your analyst then it will be processed by the end of this week. If you have questions on your current year budget please reach out to your analyst as soon as possible as the fiscal year is coming to a close with the end of the school year.
Budget Analyst to Support Parker Region
Effective immediately, Drew Bishop will support all feeders within the Parker region. Please contact him directly at dbishop1@dcsdk12.org for your budget needs. We still have not filled the position to support the East Highlands Ranch region and ask that you contact budget-department@dcsdk12.org if you are in either the HRHS or RCHS feeder and any of our team can support you.
Reminder: April 30 is the last day to edit the current 2021-2022 SBB/amend budget and update 2022-2023 SBB
The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year is Saturday, April 30. Please do not edit your 2021-2022 Site Based Budget (SBB), Department Based Budget (DBB) or request changes to Workday on the current school year after this date. The last day to update and balance your Site-Based Budget (SBB) for next year (to be reflected in Workday on July 1st) is also Saturday, April 30. For updates to your 2022-2023 SBB, you may continue to change staff names on the SBB as staffing changes throughout the summer. We request that all movement of operational instructional and support dollars wait until July 1 when you may begin creating amendments for the year. If staffing changes after April 30 require you to adjust FTE on the SBB which would have a dollar impact on your budget, please know that the budget updates will not be reflected in Workday until after July 1.
Reminder: April 30 is the last day to edit the current 2021-2022 SBB/amend budget and update 2022-2023 SBB
The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year is Saturday, April 30. The reason budget amendments cannot be posted through the end of the school year is because the Budget team must prepare the Final Revised Budget in May to present for vote to the Board of Education. Please do not edit your 2021-2022 Site Based Budget (SBB), Department Based Budget (DBB) or request changes to Workday on the current school year after this date.
The last day to update and balance your Site-Based Budget (SBB) for next year (to be reflected in Workday on July 1st) is also Saturday, April 30. The reason updates to next year's SBB cannot be made continuously is because the Budget team must load each SBB into Workday to prepare the Adopted Budget to present for vote to the Board of Education. After the Board of Education votes on the Adopted Budget, edits cannot be made until the fiscal year begins on July 1. For updates to your 2022-2023 SBB, you may continue to change staff names on the SBB as staffing changes throughout the summer. We request that all movement of operational instructional and support dollars wait until July 1 when you may begin creating amendments for the year. If staffing changes after April 30 require you to adjust FTE on the SBB which would have a dollar impact on your budget, please know that the budget updates will not be reflected in Workday until after July 1.
Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
Inactive Accounts Annual Review by April 15
Neighborhood schools will receive their annual reports of inactive accounts from the Budget Office the week of March 28th. Accounts are considered inactive if they have a positive or negative balance in carry over but have had no actual activity (revenue or expense) for at least two complete fiscal years plus the current year. The reports will detail inactive accounts by Fund 10 Miscellaneous Programs, Fund 26 and Fund 23. Please respond to the recommendations on the provided reports no later than Friday, April 15th so that the Budget Office can process all necessary budget amendments by April 30th.
2022-2023 Adopted SBB Deadline - April 30
The last day to update and balance your Site-Based Budget (SBB) for next year (to be reflected in Workday on July 1st) is Saturday, April 30.
Why do we have this deadline?
The reason updates to next year's SBB cannot be made continuously is because the Budget team must load each SBB into Workday to prepare the Adopted Budget to present for vote to the Board of Education. After the Board of Education votes on the Adopted Budget, edits cannot be made until the fiscal year begins on July 1.
What does this mean for your school?
For updates to your 2022-2023 SBB, you may continue to change staff names on the SBB as staffing changes throughout the summer. We request that all movement of operational instructional and support dollars wait until July 1 when you may begin creating amendments for the year. If staffing changes after April 30 require you to adjust FTE on the SBB which would have a dollar impact on your budget, please know that the budget updates will not be reflected in Workday until after July 1.
If additional funding is available for schools due to more favorable state funding than currently planned, deadlines will adjust accordingly. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
2022-2023 Athletics and Activities Budget Training
All middle and high school athletics and activities budget forms for 2022-2023 were released to athletic and activity directors between March 1-3. The Budget Office will host training sessions to assist schools with building their budgets. Please sign up for either the March 10 training here or the March 21 training here. Both training sessions will be at the West Support Center (WSC). All completed athletics and activities budget forms are due back to their analyst in Excel by Friday, March 25th.
2021-2022 Budget Amendment Deadline - April 30
The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year is Saturday, April 30. The reason budget amendments cannot be posted through the end of the school year is because the Budget team must prepare the Final Revised Budget in May to present for vote to the Board of Education. Please do not edit your 2021-2022 Site Based Budget (SBB), Department Based Budget (DBB) or request changes to Workday on the current school year after this date. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
Temporary Budget Support for East Highlands Ranch (EHR) and Parker Regions
With Ryan Carter's departure this week, we will have temporary budget support from the rest of the team for the remainder of March. Schools will find out from Colleen Doan once the budget analyst position has been filled or in early April of a more permanent contact. Your temporary contacts will process all Workday inbox items (job requisitions, data changes, budget amendments), but please reach out to Colleen if you need further support this month or you may always email budget-department@dcsdk12.org and anyone can assist you.
Chaparral Feeder - Drew Phelps, aphelps1@dcsdk12.org
Highlands Ranch Feeder - Zachariah Pate, zpate@dcsdk12.org
Legend Feeder - Drew Bishop, dbishop1@dcsdk12.org
Ponderosa Feeder - Amanda Faber, afaber@dcsdk12.org
Rock Canyon Feeder - David Beswick, dbeswick@dcsdk12.org
22-23 Athletics and Activities Budget Forms
The middle and high school athletics and activities budget forms for 2022-2023 will be released to athletic and activity directors between March 1-3. The Budget Office will host training sessions to assist schools with building their budgets. Please sign up for either the March 10 training here or the March 21 training here. All completed athletics and activities budget forms are due back to their analyst in Excel by Friday, March 25th.
22-23 Campus Security Specialists Athletics Overtime Budget added to Secondary School SBBs
Beginning July 1, 2022, campus security specialists will no longer have a secondary position for their time supporting middle or high school athletics events. All hours beginning in 2022-2023 will be tracked in one position through the SBB non-discretionary budget. Your budget analyst will add the dollar amount, based on level, to your SBB by February 25 and principals will be notified of the new SBB with the added allocation once it is available. There is no impact to school SBB or athletics carry over with this change.
Change in Budget Analyst Support for Parker and East Highlands Ranch Regions
Ryan Carter will be leaving DCSD on March 2nd for an opportunity in the private sector. He will be missed and we wish him well in his new career. In the immediate short term future schools can contact the Budget Office by emailing budget-department@dcsdk12.org while we go through the hiring process for a new budget analyst. We intend to have the position filled, or any internal support restructure completed, by early April at which point Colleen Doan will communicate the contact information of the new analyst to the impacted schools.
SBB/DBB Deadline Reminders
All Site-Based Budgets (SBB) for neighborhood and alternative schools are due today, February 11th. All Department-Based Budgets (DBB) for central departments are due next Friday, February 18th. For both types of budget owners, a completed budget means that it is balanced (schools) or inclusive of all requests (departments) and saved back in your school or department budget folder in Google Drive. Position requests from schools for 2022-2023 will not be processed by the Budget Office until the SBB has been reviewed and approved for accurate completion by your budget analyst. All reviews will be completed by February 25th.
Campus Security Specialists Athletics Overtime Changes for 2022-2023
Beginning July 1, 2022, campus security specialists will no longer have a secondary position for their time supporting middle or high school athletics events. All hours beginning in 2022-2023 will be tracked in one position. Middle and high school athletics budgets were provided non-discretionary allocations historically based on the default compensation hourly rate of a campus security specialist multiplied by 20 hours for each middle school or 120 hours for each high school. The allocation will still use the same methodology but will now be part of the SBB non-discretionary tab. Your budget analyst will add the dollar amount, based on level, to your SBB during the review period from February 14-25. No action is needed by the school related to the budget. This change will alleviate complications with the Kronos reconciliation process and annual calculation of pay increases. There is no impact to school SBB or athletics carry over with this change.
Highly Impacted Requests for 22-23 SBB (Site Based Budget) Due Today
If schools would like to apply for Highly Impacted Funding in 2022-2023, please apply by the end of day today, Friday, February 4th. Applications will not be considered next week as School Leadership and the Budget Office will be reviewing requests and awarding approved dollars. Click HERE to apply. As a reminder, the SBB deadline for all schools is next Friday, February 11th.
22-23 DBB (Department Based Budget) Training Video
We now have a recorded video available for department budget owners who were unable to attend the in person training last month. Please review this short video if you would like more information regarding the change to Priority Based Budgeting. As a reminder, the DBB deadline for departments is Friday, February 18th.
Reminder on 2022-2023 SBB Training Opportunities and Deadline
The 2022-2023 Site Based Budget (SBB) was shared with schools via upload to Google Drive on January 26. The Budget Office will host two in person training sessions in addition to the DLT (District Leadership Team) breakout sessions for anyone involved with the creation of the SBB (principals, bookkeepers, secretaries) at the West Support Center. The sessions will be Monday, January 31 from 8:30-10:30 and Wednesday, February 9 from 8:30-10:30. Sign up in Canvas for January 31 or February 9. We will record a video for those unable to attend either date who would like additional information. The video will not be a live broadcast of the training session given the nature and format of the training. Completed, balanced SBBs are due back in your school's budget folder by Friday, February 11.
2022-2023 SBB Training
The 2022-2023 Site Based Budget (SBB) will officially be shared with schools via upload to Google Drive the evening of January 26. Formal SBB launch will take place at DLT (District Leadership Team) on January 27 for principals. The Budget Office will host two additional in person training sessions for anyone involved with the creation of the SBB (principals, bookkeepers, secretaries) at the West Support Center. The sessions will be Monday, January 31 from 8:30-10:30 and Wednesday, February 9 from 8:30-10:30. Sign up in Canvas for January 31 or February 9. We will record a video for those unable to attend either date who would like additional information. The video will not be a live broadcast of the training session given the nature and format of the training.
Reminder on 2022-2023 DBB Training and Due Date
All departments received their Department Based Budget (DBB) the week of January 17-21. The Budget Office will host a training session on Friday, January 28 at the West Support Center for staff interested in learning more about the changes to the budget template to reflect the new Priorities Based Budgeting methodology. We will record a video for those unable to attend the training who would like additional information. The video will not be a live broadcast of the training session given the nature and format of the training. Departments are encouraged to schedule additional one on one sessions with their analyst for assistance building their budget. All department budgets are due back to the Budget Office on Friday, February 18.
Reminder: No Budget Amendments from Now Until January 24
As a reminder, all neighborhood schools' SBB are now balanced and the budget analysts completed reconciling each line in the SBB with Workday for the Student October Count and Revised Budget. Please do not submit any budget amendments or make any changes to the SBB or DBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services) until January 24. Name changes are always accepted.
Reminder: READ Act Budget Reporting Due January 14
As a reminder, all neighborhood elementary schools with a READ Act allocation received a custom report from their budget analyst in December. Please review and confirm the staff coded to READ Act meet the qualifications and select the applicable vendors for non-salary purchases anticipated to be made using READ Act dollars this year. Your reviewed report is due back to your budget analyst via email on Friday, January 14.
2022-2023 DBB Training
The 2022-2023 DBB will be distributed to departments via upload to Google Drive the evening of January 18. The Budget Office will host two in person training sessions for anyone involved with the creation of the DBB at the West Support Center. The sessions will be Wednesday, January 19 from 9-11 and Friday, January 28 from 8:30-10:30. We will record a video for those unable to attend either date who would like additional information. The department budget analyst team will be in attendance at both trainings, but we ask that you please register through clicking on one of the links to Canvas to attend as space is limited.
2022-2023 SBB Training
The 2022-2023 SBB will officially be shared with schools via upload to Google Drive the evening of January 26. Formal SBB launch will take place at DLT on January 27 for principals. The Budget Office will host two additional in person training sessions for anyone involved with the creation of the SBB (principals, bookkeepers, secretaries) at the West Support Center. The sessions will be Monday, January 31 from 8:30-10:30 and Wednesday, February 9 from 8:30-10:30. We will record a video for those unable to attend either date who would like additional information. More information and a link to register in Canvas will be shared through Principal Notes and the Business Office Bulletin at a later date.
READ Act Budget Reporting for Neighborhood Elementary Schools
All neighborhood elementary school principals with a READ Act allocation will receive a custom report from their budget analyst by the end of the week. All principals will need to review and confirm the staff coded to READ Act meet the qualifications indicated within the report and then select the applicable vendors for non-salary purchases anticipated to be made using READ Act dollars this year. More information will be in the email from your analyst with your custom report. Please return your reviewed report to your budget analyst by Friday, January 14.
No SBB Edits with Dollar Impact from Now Until January 24
As a reminder, all neighborhood schools' SBB are now balanced and the budget analysts are reconciling each line in the SBB with Workday for the Student October Count and Revised Budget. Please do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services) until January 24. Name changes are always accepted. Budget amendments that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, principal discretionary, capital projects) may be submitted up until December 31 as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process, but are affected by the Revised Budget.
2022-2023 Department Budget Development Timeline
District departments will receive their DBB templates on January 18. The Budget Office will host training between January 19-February 11 and completed DBBs that have already been reviewed by your budget analyst will be due back to the Budget Office on February 18. The template and the review process with the Budget Director will be different this year than in past years and more information will be shared in early January.
October Current Estimate Dashboards released to schools by December 10th
Neighborhood schools will receive an updated current estimate dashboard with actual data updated through October by Friday, December 10th. The current estimate dashboards will be saved in each school’s SBB folder. The reports do not yet reflect October Count enrollment. Please contact your budget analyst if you would like to walk through the report together. As a reminder, December 10th is also the deadline for schools to balance their SBB for October Count. Please see last week's BOB update for more information.
Reminder: Balance SBB for Student October Count True Up by December 10th
Before Thanksgiving, all neighborhood schools' SBB allocations were updated to reflect official student enrollment (October Count). Your budget analyst left the SBB out of balance (over/under allocation line will not equal zero) for each school to decide the changes they would like to make associated with the increase or decrease in funding. Please make all changes to your SBB and balance back to $0 by Friday, December 10th. If you need help balancing your SBB please work with your budget analyst.
Schools should not submit budget amendments associated with the student count changes. All schools will be fully reconciled between Workday and all SBB lines by your budget analyst no later than December 31st. We ask that between December 10th and January 24th that schools do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services). Name changes are always accepted. Budget amendments that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, principal discretionary, FDK) may be made up until December 31st as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process. The hold on budget amendments until January 24th is due to the preparation of the Revised Budget for the Board of Education. In order to build the presentation, we need to work with a stable/unchanging version of the budget in Workday.
Neighborhood School Site-Based Budgets Updated for October Student Count
All neighborhood school SBBs will be updated for October Student Count by Monday, November 22nd. Your budget analyst will leave your SBB out of balance (over/under allocation line will not equal zero) depending on the variance in official student enrollment compared to projected enrollment. At this point in time all neighborhood and alternative schools will also receive their certified substitute allocation (see more information from September 29 on 2021-2022 Discretionary SBB increase to offset Licensed Substitute Pay Rate Increase). Elementary schools will also receive an update to their READ Act allocation based on the actual SRD and per pupil allocation for 2021-2022 (the current SBB is based on the 2020-2021 allocation). Please make all necessary changes to your SBB and balance back to $0 by Friday, December 10th. If you need help balancing your SBB please work with your budget analyst.
The 2021-2022 Adopted Budget included a Student Count Reserve of approximately $1.4 million to partially offset enrollment loss given the enrollment unpredictability due to COVID. After completing the process of waiving a portion of the deficit for a few schools with unique situations that prevented them from being able to balance their budget, there is approximately $700,000 remaining within the reserve. This reserve balance will be reallocated to all neighborhood schools with an enrollment loss greater than 15 students compared to projected enrollment for every student above the 15 student threshold. The amount will be on an equal per pupil basis and added into the respective schools’ budgets as discretionary funds to partially offset the October Count true up. Please contact Colleen Doan if you have any questions on the Student Count Reserve and your school’s eligibility for receiving funds.
Schools should not submit budget amendments associated with the student count changes or any of the other SBB allocation changes. All schools will be fully reconciled between Workday and all SBB lines by your budget analyst no later than December 31st. We ask that between December 10th and January 24th that schools do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services). Name changes are always accepted. Budget amendments that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, capital projects or principal discretionary) may be made up until December 31st as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process. The hold on budget amendments until January 24th is due to the preparation of the Revised Budget for the Board of Education. In order to build the presentation, we need to work with a stable/unchanging version of the budget in Workday.
2021-2022 Current Estimates Released to Schools This Week
The first monthly edition of the 2021-2022 Current Estimate Dashboard was placed into each school's budget folder this week. If you are a new bookkeeper and did not attend the Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training in September then please reach out to your budget analyst for training on the tool. Please review the tool as you make decisions regarding the need to rebalance your SBB after October Count later this month.
Reminder: Spending Plan on 20-21 Carry Over - due Nov 5
All neighborhood schools received a customized worksheet from their budget analyst to complete their Spending Plan on Awarded Carry Over this week. Board of Education Policy DB-R states that all schools must develop a spending plan on the use of carry over money for any amount over 1% of the provided discretionary budget. Principals should complete this worksheet reflecting on the planned use of the carry over received in September 2021. Please see the examples in the email from your budget analyst on how to fill out the worksheet with detailed plans. Completed plans will be reviewed first by your budget analyst and then a summary report will be sent to the School Leadership department. Please email your completed worksheet to your budget analyst by Friday, November 5.
Spending Plan on 20-21 Carry Over - due Nov 5
By Monday, October 25 all neighborhood schools will receive a customized worksheet from their budget analyst to complete their Spending Plan on Awarded Carry Over. Board of Education Policy DB-R states that all schools must develop a spending plan on the use of carry over money for any amount over 1% of the provided discretionary budget. Principals should complete this worksheet reflecting on the planned use of the carry over received in September 2021. Please see the examples in the email from your budget analyst on how to fill out the worksheet with detailed plans. Completed plans will be reviewed first by your budget analyst and then a summary report will be sent to the School Leadership department. Please email your completed worksheet to your budget analyst by Friday, November 5.
Student October Count Reminders from Budget
The Budget Office will not true-up neighborhood school Site-Based Budgets (SBB) until the Student October Count window is fully closed and the SDIS team has finalized the submission to the Colorado Department of Education. We will continue to monitor enrollment throughout the month of October, but will not update schools’ SBBs until mid-November. More information on true-up deadlines will be shared in early November. As a reminder, the hold harmless for schools under their projected enrollment did change for 2021-2022. For schools with an enrollment of fewer than 500 students, schools are held harmless for the first four students under projection. For schools with an enrollment greater than or equal to 500 students, schools are held harmless for the first two students under projections. Schools receive funding for every student enrolled above the school’s projected enrollment. The information provided on the slides to bookkeepers on October 1st was accurate. For more information please refer to page 9 of the Budget Guidance Manual.
Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Dashboard Video for Bookkeepers
The Budget Office recorded a video to overview last month's Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Dashboard Training for bookkeepers. Please review this 20 minute video if you would like more information on either subject. Please contact your budget analyst for additional training requests.
Discretionary SBB increase to offset Licensed Substitute Pay Rate Increase
With the increase to Licensed Substitute Pay Rates effective September 20th, the Budget Office will be providing an increase in discretionary budget within the SBB for all neighborhood and alternative schools. The increase will be added to the SBB discretionary tab with October Count true up in mid/late November. Review the guidance on the increase to the allocation here.
School Carry Over Awarded on September 10th
All neighborhood and alternative schools will receive their qualifying school carry over by the end of the day on Friday, September 10th. Carry over amounts will be communicated via email, updated within the most recent version of the SBB and uploaded in Workday. Please review the Budget Guidance Manual for a review of the carry over calculation and eligibility. Contact your budget analyst with any specific questions regarding your carry over. District departments with grant and/or principal discretionary carry over will receive their carry over by the end of September.
Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training for Bookkeepers
The Budget Office will be hosting annual budget training for bookkeepers and secretaries with budget responsibilities in September. This course is designed for new bookkeepers and secretaries with budget responsibilities to learn how to amend budgets. This class will start with the fundamentals of editing a SBB (schools) or DBB (departments), building a budget amendment in both Workday and in Excel and wrap up with an overview of the Current Estimate Dashboard for monitoring non-discretionary spending. Participants will leave the course with practice using real world examples and the opportunity to ask one-on-one questions of their budget analyst. Register in Canvas to get course credit and complete the quiz at the end of the training session.
-September 16th from 8:30-10:30 AM (see Budget Google site to add the event to your calendar)
West Support Center, Telluride A&B
Course Link: Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training for Bookkeepers 9/16/2021
-September 23th from 8:30-10:30 AM (see Budget Google site to add the event to your calendar)
West Support Center, Telluride A&B
Course Link: Budget Amendment and Current Estimate Training for Bookkeepers 9/23/21
Installing Google Drive File Share (Stream) to Access SBB and DBB
All SBBs migrated to Google Drive in January 2021 and all DBBs migrated to Google Drive in July 2021. We are finding a lot of data integrity issues with the files when they are accessed through the web browser and edited as a Google sheet instead of downloading as an Excel file. All users should install the Google Drive File Share (Stream) on their computers as the best way to access the SBBs and DBBs. PC users should use these Google File Share Install for Windows instructions in order to access the SBBs or DBBs. If Mac users do not have Google File Share installed on their devices please go to the Self Service App and choose Google Drive to install. If this does not work then please email budget-department@dcsdk12.org and we will submit a Help Desk ticket on behalf of all the Mac users to get the correct access. Please email us by August 27th so that we can get access issues corrected before carry over is awarded in September.
2020-2021 School Carry Over
With the conclusion of the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the Budget team is actively working on the calculation of school carry over. We will have an updated version of the Current Estimate Dashboards available in each school's budget folder by the end of next week to account for salary accruals, journal entries completed in July, and other expenses booked back to June. This will give schools a very close approximation of their carry over in each category. We will have official school financial carry over awarded to schools and loaded in Workday by September 10th. The reason for the delay is that 2020-2021 will remain open for additional adjustments completed by Business Services staff through August 31st and analysts need to manually adjust for any overspend in non-discretionary accounts. Please see page 25 of the Budget Guidance Manual for more information on the calculation of school carry over. Project carry over and department grant carry over will be awarded by the end of September.
Reminders on Budget Workday Business Processes and Training Opportunities
Welcome back to a new school year! As you can imagine this time of year brings a slew of requests into the Budget Office (job requisitions, purchase requisitions, data changes, budget amendments) and we recognize the need to get these processed as soon as possible to ensure the school year is off to a good start.
As a reminder, business processes submitted to the Budget Office (job requisitions, purchase requisitions, data changes, budget amendments) all have a 2 business day turnaround. Our goal is to turn these requests around as quickly as possible, so here are some helpful tips to ensure the process goes smoothly.
Wait 48 hours after your request through Workday for general inquiries/follow up
If the request is truly urgent, please email your assigned analyst with the specific information such as the requisition number or employee name and reason for urgency. In the event your receive an out of office reply that is longer than 48 hours from your analyst, please redirect your request to the Budget Department general inbox (budget-department@dcsdk12.org)
If you ever have any general questions and are uncertain who to contact, utilize the group email account (budget-department@dcsdk12.org), so that the appropriate team members can field your question
We will be hosting annual training for bookkeepers, secretaries and other staff with budget responsibilities in Workday in September. Please fill out this optional survey indicating the areas in which you would like additional training so that we can plan accordingly based on your needs. Please share this information with your principals or department directors if they do not get the BOB announcements.
DBB Folders Migrated to Google Drive July 14
Department directors, bookkeepers and other staff with department cost center or accounting specialist roles in Workday received access to department specific Shared Google Drives last week. On Wednesday, July 14 we migrated all files from the pdc-deptdata server to Google Drive. Effective immediately, please start editing your DBB (as a downloaded Excel file, not a Google sheet) using the Google Drive location. If you made changes on the server on July 15 or 16 please contact your budget analyst so we can move the correct files over. Please confirm you can access the new location and successfully open the DBB in Excel and then please contact budget-department@dcsdk12.org so that we can work with IT to lock the folders on the pdc-deptdata server at the end of July. We ask that users do not convert the files to Google Sheets. We recommend that budget owners install the Google Drive File Stream on their computers as the best way to access the DBBs in the future. For the Google Drive File Stream, on a PC, go to the Company Portal App or on a MAC, go to the Self Service App and choose Google Drive File Stream to install. Please contact budget-department@dcsdk12.org if you need assistance accessing your DBB. Please watch this training video regarding Google Drive File Stream.
Budget Office now accepting 21-22 budget amendments
Now that the 2021-2022 fiscal year has officially started, the Budget Office will accept valid budget amendments from schools and departments. Amendments can be submitted either directly in Workday or using the budget amendment Excel tools on the Budget Google Site. We encourage bookkeepers to use the Excel tools for larger entries and any entries involving FTE. Budget amendment training will be available to new bookkeepers after school starts and more information will be shared in August.
DBB Folders Migrating to Google Drive in July
Department directors, bookkeepers and other staff with department cost center or accounting specialist roles in Workday will receive access to department specific Shared Google Drives by Friday, July 9. During the month of July the Budget Office will migrate all current and prior year DBB folders from their current location on the pdc-deptdata server to the new Shared Google Drives. The DBB folders will be locked on the pdc-deptdata server at the end of July. We will only be changing the file location for DBBs. The files will still be in Excel and we ask that users do not convert the files to Google Sheets. We recommend that budget owners install the Google Drive File Stream on their computers as the best way to access the DBBs in the future. For the Google Drive File Stream, on a PC, go to the Company Portal App or on a MAC, go to the Self Service App and choose Google Drive File Stream to install. Please contact budget-department@dcsdk12.org if you do not receive an invitation to your department specific Shared Google Drive by Friday, July 9 and believe you should have access to your department's DBB.
Budget Office will begin accepting budget amendments on July 1
With the fiscal year beginning on July 1, the Budget Office will begin accepting budget amendments from schools and departments next Thursday, July 1. Please note that the 2021-2022 Working Budget will need to be opened in Workday that morning so please check back later in the day if you do not see the Working Budget or the Budget Amendment task immediately. We will have new Excel tools available to assist with budget amendments. The forms will be posted on the Budget Google Site HERE by July 1. Please do not submit budget amendments to your analyst using the 2020-2021 forms. We will offer budget amendment training to new bookkeepers after school starts. More information will be shared in August.
Reminder: Seeking Feedback on Additional SBB Dollars in 21-22
The 2021-2022 Adopted Budget will include an additional $3.5M for neighborhood and alternative schools to restore the funding cut during the 2020-2021 budget development due to COVID-19. These dollars will be distributed to neighborhood schools through the new discretionary weighted student funding formula as an adjustment to the base and associated weights. As you plan for these additional resources, you are encouraged to evaluate your needs, specifically those that could not be afforded while building your 21-22 budgets in February. Principals received notification from their budget analyst regarding their dollar amount last week. We are collecting feedback from schools on their planned use of these additional dollars. Complete this optional Google form to submit feedback to the Budget Office. Please note you are not committing yourself to this plan at this time, but we would like to provide feedback to the Board of Education on some of the schools' planned uses of the additional funds. Please contact Colleen Doan with any questions. The Google form will close down on Wednesday, June 16th.
Seeking Feedback on Additional SBB Dollars in 21-22
The 2021-2022 Adopted Budget will include an additional $3.5M for neighborhood and alternative schools to restore the funding cut during the 2020-2021 budget development due to COVID-19. These dollars will be distributed to neighborhood schools through the new discretionary weighted student funding formula as an adjustment to the base and associated weights. As you plan for these additional resources, you are encouraged to evaluate your needs, specifically those that could not be afforded while building your 21-22 budgets in February. Principals received notification from their budget analyst regarding their dollar amount this week. We are collecting feedback from schools on their planned use of these additional dollars. Complete this optional Google form to submit feedback to the Budget Office. Please note you are not committing yourself to this plan at this time, but we would like to provide feedback to the Board of Education on some of the schools' planned uses of the additional funds. Please contact Colleen Doan with any questions.
Professional Memberships for Administrators
The 2021-2022 Proposed Budget includes the reinstatement of the $1,000 allocation per administrator (principal, assistant principal, department director) for professional memberships. However, rather than the allocation being in the form of a stipend to the eligible employees, DCSD will pay qualifying professional organizations directly next school year. All principals should submit their professional membership requests (such as CASE) to their EDOS for review and if the organization is approved then please send Eileen Santolaya the invoice for the associated dues renewal and it will be paid out of the School Leadership budget. Department directors should send their professional membership requests to their supervisor on Cabinet for review and approved memberships will then be paid out of each director's department budget. The maximum amount per eligible employee is $1,000 per school year beginning in 2021-2022. More information will be shared with principals at a later date once the submission process is set up within the School Leadership budget.
2021-2022 SBBs Locked (No Edits)
The Budget Office has completed its final review of all SBBs for 2021-2022 for upload into Workday. We ask that you please refrain from changing your SBB until the year begins on July 1st. Name changes for position turnover are always accepted, but please do not add or delete any FTE or operational line items. If unique circumstances cannot wait until July, please email your budget analyst first before adjusting your SBB and then note that your bookkeeper will need to complete the associated budget amendments in Workday in July. Budget analysts will share with principals via email their additional SBB discretionary dollars, but the SBB will not be updated to reflect the increased funding until July.
Additional SBB Dollars for 21-22
The 21-22 Adopted Budget will include an additional $3.5M for neighborhood and alternative schools to restore the funding cut during 20-21 budget development due to COVID-19. These dollars will be distributed to neighborhood schools through the new discretionary weighted student funding formula as an adjustment to the base and associated weights. It equates to an average increase of $65 per student in discretionary dollars. The average elementary school will receive an additional $35,000, the average middle school an additional $70,000, and the average high school an additional $140,000. Alternative schools will receive increased funding as 1.5% of their approved alternative school subsidy allocation. As you plan for these additional resources, you are encouraged to evaluate your needs, specifically those that could not be afforded while building your 21-22 budgets in February. Individual schools will be notified via email of their exact proposed increase to their SBB before the end of May and the dollar amounts will be added to the SBB to a general supplies account before the year begins on July 1st. Schools will have the opportunity to move their dollars through a budget amendment to reflect their intended spend after July 1st. Please contact Colleen Doan if you have any questions on the intended use of the funds, calculation methodology, or if you need to adjust staffing with these funds.
Job Postings
The Budget Department currently has 3 job openings. If you are interested or know someone who would be interested in joining our team, we are hiring a Senior Budget Analyst and two Budget Analysts. For the Senior Budget Analyst position, we are looking for candidates with 3 years of financial analyst experience with school/district experience preferred and a 4-year degree. For the Budget Analyst positions, we are looking for candidates with 1 year of experience in finance, accounting or data analysis and a 4-year degree. Applications may be submitted through the DCSD Career Site.
2020-2021 READ Act Budget
We have received some inquiries in the last few weeks from elementary schools requesting to change their READ Act non-discretionary budget. Unfortunately it is too late to make a budget change to move from staffing to materials and vice versa. Not only is this a non-discretionary allocation that doesn't permit budget amendments, the READ Act budget report was due to CDE on March 1st and has already been reviewed and approved by CDE. If schools have questions regarding their budget then the questions should be directed to their budget analyst. If schools have questions regarding the literacy materials they are planning to purchase then the questions should be directed to Matt Reynolds or Renee Vanhorn.
Reminder: April 30 Deadline for 21-22 SBB Changes and 20-21 Budget Amendments
The last day to update and balance your SBB for next year (to be reflected in Workday on July 1st) is Friday, April 30. This date is also the same deadline for submitting budget amendments on the current year. For updates to your 2021-2022 SBB, you may continue to change staff names on the SBB as staffing changes throughout the summer. We request that all movement of operational instructional and support dollars wait until July 1 when you may begin creating amendments for the year. If staffing changes after April 30 require you to adjust FTE on the SBB which would have a dollar impact on your budget, please know that the budget updates will not be reflected in Workday until after July 1. The reason budget amendments cannot be posted through the end of the school year is because the Budget team must prepare the Final Revised Budget in May to present for vote to the Board of Education. Please do not edit your 2020-2021 SBB or request changes in Workday after this Friday. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
Changes in Budget Analyst Support
Yoli Contreras has accepted a career opportunity outside DCSD and her last day is Friday, May 7th. She will be missed and we wish her well with her new opportunity. With the recent staffing changes in the Budget Office we are restructuring our support of schools and departments. Two analysts, Drew Phelps and Ryan Carter, will support all schools exclusively plus a few departments they are already supporting. All other departments not currently supported by Drew or Ryan have a temporary point of contact as emailed to respective department directors this month. Departments can always reach out to budget-department@dcsdk12.org or to Colleen Doan for assistance as well. Once we are fully staffed for 2021-2022 we will share an updated organizational chart with schools and departments.
Changes in Budget Analyst Support for Parker Region
The new budget analyst to support the Parker Region is Ryan Carter. Ryan joined the DCSD team this week and has over a decade of experience in financial analysis within the investment banking industry. His support of the Parker region will begin immediately and can be reached at rcarter@dcsdk12.org.
Changes in Budget Analyst Support for RCHS, HRHS and DCHS Feeders
Cody Iglesias' last day with DCSD will be Friday, April 16th. The schools he supported will be temporarily supported by Bobby Tech while we determine the long term budget support for the feeders. Schools may also email budget-department@dcsdk12.org for support while we fill the position.
Historical SBB Folders Migrate to Google Drive
From April 7-9, budget analysts will be migrating the historical SBB folders from 2018-2019 and prior from the shared network drive (pdc-deptdata) to each school's shared budget Google drive. All permissions on the folders will remain the same and no data will be deleted. Schools will not be able to edit any files within the SBB folders on the shared network drive after the migration is complete.
Reminder: April 30 Deadline for 21-22 SBB Changes and 20-21 Budget Amendments
The last day to update and balance your SBB for next year (to be reflected in Workday on July 1st) is Friday, April 30. This date is also the same deadline for submitting budget amendments on the current year. For updates to your 2021-2022 SBB, you may continue to change staff names on the SBB as staffing changes throughout the summer. We request that all movement of operational instructional and support dollars wait until July 1 when you may begin creating amendments for the year. If staffing changes after April 30 require you to adjust FTE on the SBB which would have a dollar impact on your budget, please know that the budget updates will not be reflected in Workday until after July 1. The reason budget amendments cannot be posted through the end of the school year is because the Budget team must prepare the Final Revised Budget in May to present for vote to the Board of Education. Please do not edit your 2020-2021 SBB or request changes in Workday after this date. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
2021-2022 Classified SPED EA FTE Allocations
Special Education EA IV and EA V allocations will be shared with the Budget team from Personalized Learning on Friday, April 2nd. Budget Analysts will update all schools' SPED classified SBB allocations by Tuesday, April 6th. We ask that schools please hold on submitting 2021-2022 job requisitions for EA IV or EA V positions until after their SBB has been updated by their budget analyst.
2021-2022 Adopted SBB Deadline - April 30: The last day to update and balance your SBB for next year (to be reflected in Workday on July 1st) is Friday, April 30.
Why do we have this deadline?
The reason updates to next year's SBB cannot be made continuously is because the Budget team must load each SBB into Workday to prepare the Adopted Budget to present for vote to the Board of Education. After the Board of Education votes on the Adopted Budget, edits cannot be made until the fiscal year begins on July 1.
What does this mean for your school?
For updates to your 2021-2022 SBB, you may continue to change staff names on the SBB as staffing changes throughout the summer. We request that all movement of operational instructional and support dollars wait until July 1 when you may begin creating amendments for the year. If staffing changes after April 30 require you to adjust FTE on the SBB which would have a dollar impact on your budget, please know that the budget updates will not be reflected in Workday until after July 1.
If additional funding is available for schools due to more favorable state funding than currently planned, deadlines will adjust accordingly. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
2021-2022 Athletics and Activities Budget Training
The Budget Office will be hosting one final budget training this spring on athletics and activities on Tuesday, March 9 from 10-12. Please visit the Budget Google Site and look at the Budget Trainings calendar under the Home tab for the Google Meets links for these virtual sessions. We do not have a Canvas link to register, so if you will be attending one of the sessions please RSVP by emailing Bobby Tech at btech@dcsdk12.org. Completed athletics and activities budget forms are due back to your school's budget analyst on Wednesday, March 24th.
2020-2021 Budget Amendment Deadline - April 30
The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year is Friday, April 30. The reason budget amendments cannot be posted through the end of the school year is because the Budget team must prepare the Final Revised Budget in May to present for vote to the Board of Education. Please do not edit your 2020-2021 SBB or request changes in Workday after this date. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
2021-2022 Athletics and Activities Budget Forms and Training
The 2021-2022 Athletics and Activities Budget Forms will be released to athletic and activity directors at all middle and high schools on Monday, March 1st. The Budget Office will host two virtual training sessions in order to assist schools with their Athletics and Activities budgets. Please visit the Budget Google Site and look at the Budget Trainings calendar under the Home tab for the Google Meets links for these virtual sessions. We do not have a Canvas link to register, so if you will be attending one of the sessions please RSVP by emailing Bobby Tech at btech@dcsdk12.org. The virtual training sessions are:
Wednesday, March 3 from 1-3 PM
Tuesday, March 9 from 10 AM-12 PM
Completed athletics and activities budget forms are due back to your school's budget analyst on Wednesday, March 24th.
21-22 DBB Training Opportunity: The Budget Team will host one final DBB training session on Wednesday, February 24th from 1-3. This is a great opportunity to get your questions answered by your budget analyst and to learn about the changes to the template. Please sign up in Canvas. The Google Meets link is on the Budget training calendar on the Budget Google Site.
21-22 Athletics and Activities Budget Forms: The middle and high school athletics and activities budget forms for 2021-2022 will be released to athletic and activity directors no later than Monday, March 1st. The Budget Office will host a series of training sessions to assist schools with building their budgets and will share more information next week. All completed athletics and activities budget forms are due back to their analyst by Wednesday, March 24th.
Changes in Budget Analyst Support for Parker Region: Sonya Hernandez will be relocating out of state this spring with her family and her last day with DCSD is Friday, February 26th. She will be missed and we wish her will with her move. Parker schools can contact any of the budget analysts by emailing budget-department@dcsdk12.org while we go through the hiring process for a new budget analyst. We intend to have the position filled in March.
SBB Allocations Overview: This Allocations: Before & After handout can be shared with your school staff or SAC to help visualize the change in the SBB methodology from the old formula (2020-2021 and prior) to the new formula (2021-2022 and beyond). Please let Colleen Doan know if you have any questions on the handout. Budget analysts will begin reviewing completed SBBs after the February 12th deadline and will reach out to principals to let them know when their DBBs have been reviewed, approved for accurate completion and ready to begin processing job postings in Workday in preparation for Stage 1 hiring.
DBB Release and Training Opportunities: 2021-2022 DBB will be released to all departments on Tuesday, February 16th. Departments will receive a customized email notifying them when their DBB is uploaded to their budget folder on the server. The completed DBB is due Friday, February 26th and Colleen Doan will reach out to department directors beginning today to start scheduling review and approval meetings beginning March 1st. In order to assist departments with building their DBB, the budget analysts will host two virtual training sessions on the 21-22 DBB:
Wednesday, February 17 from 1-3 and sign up in Canvas here: https://dcsdk12.catalog.instructure.com/browse/professionallearning/pdss/courses/dbb-annual-training
Wednesday, February 24 from 1-3 and sign up in Canvas here: https://dcsdk12.catalog.instructure.com/browse/professionallearning/pdss/courses/dbb-annual-training-224
The Google Meets links are available on the training calendar on the Budget Google Site.
SCHOOLS: Budget Deadline Reminders
The deadline to submit requests for highly impacted funding for 21-22 using this Google Form is today, Friday, February 5th. All balanced SBBs are due back from all schools by Friday, February 12th by uploading the completed Excel workbook into your school's SBB folder. Schools may not submit position requisitions for new staff for 21-22 until after their budget analyst has reviewed and approved their completed SBB. Friday, February 12th is also the due date to submit feedback to your budget analyst on the 20-21 READ Act report sent to elementary school bookkeepers this week. Please contact your budget analyst with any questions on the SBB or READ Act report.
DEPARTMENTS: DBB Release Delay and Training Opportunities
Given the Presidents Day holiday on Monday, February 15th, the DBB will now be released to all departments on Tuesday, February 16th. The completed DBB is due Friday, February 26th and Colleen Doan will reach out to department directors beginning next week to start scheduling review and approval meetings beginning March 1st. In order to assist departments with building their DBB, the budget analysts will host two virtual training sessions on the 21-22 DBB:
Wednesday, February 17 from 1-3
Wednesday, February 24 from 1-3
The Google Meets links are available on the training calendar on the Budget Google Site. Course registration will be available in Canvas soon.
Training Opportunities for 21-22 SBB: The SBB for 2021-2022 was shared with all neighborhood and alternative schools this week. With the significant number of changes to the Site Based Budgets for 2021-2022 for the new weighted student funding formula, we encourage all principals, bookkeepers and other school staff with SBB responsibilities to attend one or more virtual training sessions hosted by the Budget Office. Links are now live in Canvas in order to reserve your spot. All training sessions will use Google Meets.
Monday, February 1st from 10-12-https://dcsdk12.catalog.instructure.com/browse/professionallearning/pdss/courses/annual-site-based-budget-training-on-21
Thursday, February 4th 9-11 -https://dcsdk12.catalog.instructure.com/browse/professionallearning/pdss/courses/annual-site-based-budget-training-on-24
Thursday, February 4th from 1-3 (Open Lab)-https://dcsdk12.catalog.instructure.com/browse/professionallearning/pdss/courses/site-based-budget-open-lab
Please refer to the training calendar on the Budget Google Site for more information
READ Act Reporting Due February 12: Elementary schools with a non-discretionary READ Act allocation will receive a report on Monday from their budget analyst outlining their current use of their READ Act allocation. Please review your form and select from the list of permitted activities to describe how you plan to spend any non-FTE based READ Act budget. This will be a quick turnaround as the report is due to CDE on March 1. More instructions will be shared with schools via email on Monday.
2021-2022 SBB Training Opportunities
With the significant number of changes to the Site Based Budgets for 2021-2022 for the new weighted student funding formula, we encourage all principals, bookkeepers and other school staff with SBB responsibilities to attend one or more virtual training sessions hosted by the Budget Office. In addition to the SBB All Level Principal Meeting and regional SBB meetings on Thursday, January 28th, the Budget Office will host the following virtual training sessions using Google Meets:
Monday, February 1st from 10-12
Thursday, February 4th from 9-11
Thursday, February 4th from 1-3 (open lab only, no presentation)
Please refer to the training calendar on the Budget Google Site for more information.
If you or your school staff are not available for any of these training opportunities and would like some additional support please reach out to your budget analyst as all completed SBBs are due back to your budget analyst by Friday, February 12th.
2021-2022 Budget Development Deadlines and Reminders
SCHOOL BUDGETS: Next school year's budget development season will officially begin on Wednesday, January 27 when all principals will receive their 21-22 SBB. In the all day SBB workshop on Thursday, January 28 we will go through the SBB redesign using the new weighted student funding formula as well as any template changes for process improvement. The final redesigned SBB allocations will be very similar to the mock SBB shared with principals in November. If you would like to discuss your school's allocations or the methodology any further in preparation for the release of the official SBB please contact Colleen Doan. Completed SBBs will be due back to your budget analyst on Friday, February 12. The budget analysts will host additional virtual training between January 29 and February 5 with more details to come in upcoming weeks.
DEPARTMENT BUDGETS: DBBs will be released after SBBs on February 15. Departments will then have from February 15 to February 26 to complete their DBB and return it to their budget analysts for review. Colleen Doan will schedule budget review and approval meetings for each department between March 1 and March 19. The goal of this change is to focus first on school budgets with the launch of the SBB redesign and then hopefully have more information on School Finance Act funding from the State in order to review departments in March. The budget analysts will host virtual training in February for department budget owners with more details to come in the upcoming weeks.
No Budget Amendments from Now Until January 19: As a reminder, all neighborhood schools' SBB are now balanced and the budget analysts completed reconciling each line in the SBB with Workday for the Student October Count and Revised Budget. Please do not submit any budget amendments or make any changes to the SBB or DBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services) until January 19. Name changes are always accepted.
2021-2022 Budget Development Deadlines and Reminders: SCHOOL BUDGETS: Next school year's budget development season will officially begin on Wednesday, January 27 when all principals will receive their 21-22 SBB. In the all day SBB workshop on Thursday, January 28 we will go through the SBB redesign using the new weighted student funding formula as well as any template changes for process improvement. The final redesigned SBB allocations will be very similar to the mock SBB shared with principals in November. If you would like to discuss your school's allocations or the methodology any further in preparation for the release of the official SBB please contact Colleen Doan. Completed SBBs will be due back to your budget analyst on Friday, February 12. The budget analysts will host additional virtual training between January 29 and February 5 with more details to come in upcoming weeks.
DEPARTMENT BUDGETS: DBBs will be released after SBBs on February 15. Departments will then have from February 15 to February 26 to complete their DBB and return it to their budget analysts for review. Colleen Doan will schedule budget review and approval meetings for each department between March 1 and March 19. The goal of this change is to focus first on school budgets with the launch of the SBB redesign and then hopefully have more information on School Finance Act funding from the State in order to review departments in March. The budget analysts will host virtual training in February for department budget owners with more details to come in the upcoming weeks.
No SBB Edits with Dollar Impact from Now Until January 19: As a reminder, all neighborhood schools' SBB are now balanced and the budget analysts are reconciling each line in the SBB with Workday for the Student October Count and Revised Budget. Please do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services) until January 19. Name changes are always accepted. Budget amendments that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, principal discretionary, capital projects) may be submitted up until December 31 as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process, but are affected by the Revised Budget.
Budget Development for Department Based Budgets (DBB) Delayed Until February 15: For 2021-2022 budget development this spring, DBBs will be released after SBBs on February 15. Departments will then have from February 15 to February 26 to complete their DBB and return it to their budget analysts for review. Colleen Doan will schedule budget review and approval meetings for each department between March 1 and March 19. The goal of this change is to focus first on school budgets with the launch of the site-based budget redesign and then hopefully have more information on School Finance Act funding from the State in order to review departments in March. Please contact Colleen if you have any questions on the DBB process. Information will be shared on DBB training in January.
Reminder: Balance SBB for Student Count True Up by December 7th: Before Thanksgiving, all neighborhood schools' SBB allocations were updated to reflect official student enrollment (October Count). Your budget analyst left the SBB out of balance (over/under allocation line will not equal zero) for each school to decide the changes they would like to make associated with the increase or decrease in funding. Please make all changes to your SBB and balance back to $0 by Monday, December 7th. If you need help balancing your SBB please work with your budget analyst.
Schools should not submit budget amendments associated with the student count changes. All schools will be fully reconciled between Workday and all SBB lines by your budget analyst no later than December 31st. We ask that between December 7th and January 19th that schools do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services). Name changes are always accepted. Budget amendments that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, principal discretionary, FDK) may be made up until December 31st as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process. The hold on budget amendments until January 19th is due to the preparation of the Revised Budget for the Board of Education. In order to build the presentation, we need to work with a stable/unchanging version of the budget in Workday.
Welcome to New Budget Office Staff: We have two new analysts who joined the Budget Office team on December 1st. Please welcome Cody Iglesias (ciglesias@dcsdk12.org) as our new budget analyst to support the HRHS, RCHS and DCHS feeder schools and Bobby Tech (btech@dcsdk12.org) as our new junior budget analyst.
SBB to eLearning Savings and October Count: The Budget Office will move forward with reimbursing elementary and middle schools for the SBB to eLearning savings from the first semester less the backfilled positions. This process will take place with the October Count true up beginning on Monday, November 23rd once we finalize the clean up of all the budgeted eLearning backfill positions for the first semester. The additional budget capacity for eLearning savings is only for the first semester salary savings as we do not have a grant to fund eLearning in the second semester and any second semester eLearning staff will be paid out of the General Fund.
Changes in Budget Analyst Support for HRHS, RCHS and DCHS Feeders: Amsale Kassa has accepted a career opportunity outside DCSD and her last day is Monday, November 16th. She will be missed and we wish her well with her new opportunity. The schools she supported will be temporarily supported by Yoli Contreras while we go through the hiring process for a new budget analyst.
Clarifying FTE from the perspective of Budget and Pay: With many teachers taking on additional classes this year, Business Services staff have received a lot of questions about appropriate additional FTE. Please review this communication originally shared in spring 2019 to clarify FTE calculations from the perspective of Budget and Pay. The process and calculation remains the same.
Mock Budget Templates for SBB Redesign: All neighborhood school principals received their mock budget templates using the new weighted student funding formula for the SBB redesign earlier this week from their budget analyst. This template uses 2020-2021 pre-COVID enrollment projections and should be compared to your 2020-2021 budget prior to receiving carry over in September. The Budget Steering Committee is still finalizing the formula redesign and welcomes feedback so that we can successfully implement the new SBB for budget development for 2021-2022 in January. Please use this Google survey to submit feedback and questions by November 12th. We will follow up with a FAQ based on the questions submitted through the survey.
Clarifying FTE from the perspective of Budget and Pay: With many teachers taking on additional classes this year, Business Services staff have received a lot of questions about appropriate additional FTE. Please review this communication originally shared in spring 2019 to clarify FTE calculations from the perspective of Budget and Pay. The process and calculation remains the same.
Budget Office Support Structure: With staff changes within the Budget Office, school, department and fund support by the budget analysts has recently changed. Please see this chart for the current budget analyst support structure. Please contact Colleen Doan if you have any questions.
Reminder on Substitute Budget Guidance: The Budget Office's guidance on substitute costing has not changed for 2020-2021. Please review this guidance if you have any questions on which budget to use for substitutes. If you have any questions or are experiencing unique situations due to COVID-19 please contact your budget analyst.
Changes in Budget Analyst Support for Parker Region: Karlee Suhanyi has accepted a career opportunity outside DCSD and her last day is Friday, October 9th. She will be missed and we wish her well with her new opportunity. I'm excited to announce that Sonya Hernandez has accepted a promotion to the budget analyst role and will start to support the Parker region effective Monday, October 12th. If you have any questions on budget analyst support with this transition please contact me.
Colleen Doan
cadoan@dcsdk12.org
720-433-1107
Licensed Substitute Coverage - COVID Scenerios and Pay Accounts: Below are guidelines on what to do in Aesop or Workday if a Licensed Teacher is absent due to COVID-19 or needs to quarantine at home and a Substitute Teacher is needed.
Scenario #1 - A Licensed Teacher is out due to contracting COVID-19.
Please use the Sick Time Absence Reason for the teacher in Aesop. Please contact Tiffany Scott at leaveofabsence@dcsdk12.org and let her know of the situation. The sub pay will be charged to the CARES Grant and the teachers Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) or Extended Family Medical Leave (EFML) time off plan will be decremented in Workday.
Scenario #2 - A Licensed Teacher needs to quarantine at home and a substitute teacher is needed.
In Aesop select COVID-Classroom Mgr Absence Reason. This will be charged to your SBB Non-Discretionary Licensed Sub Allocation. No time off balance will be reduced in Workday for the teacher.
Scenario #3 - A Licensed Teacher needs to quarantine at home and you are unable to fill the vacancy through Aesop.
If another Licensed teacher or other staff member will be covering the class please use the 3500 Classroom Coverage - COVID Classroom Manager Period Activity in Workday. The rate is $30/hour. If a Classified staff member is covering the class they must clock out of Kronos. This will be charged to your SBB Non-Discretionary Licensed Sub Allocation.
If you are unsure about anything or have any questions please contact the Sub Office at SubOffice@dcsdk12.org or email workday_help@dcsdk12.org.
**The Budget Team will be monitoring any COVID related overages for the year to your SBB Non-Discretionary Licensed Sub allocation and address as needed**
A 'No Mileage Reimbursement' policy has been implemented district-wide for the 20-21 school year. Your Budget Analyst made changes to remove any mileage budget from SBBs and DBBs. Please contact your Budget Analyst for any questions regarding the changes made.
The Budget Office is currently working on Staffing Reconciliations between your SBB and Workday. Please make sure that all staffing changes, including FTE and Scheduled Days for 20-21 have been updated on your SBB. Your Analyst will reach out to you with any questions.
19-20 June Current Estimate has been saved in your school's folder. This will give you an early estimate of your 19-20 carry over. Please note that there are still expenses that are continually getting booked back to the 19-20 school year. We will update the 19-20 June Current Estimate again in August to reflect these changes. If you have concerns with any other the estimates please reach out to your Analyst.
Budget Amendment Form: The Budget Office is now accepting budget amendments to the 2020-2021 budget from schools and departments. Please use the new budget amendment forms in Excel updated for 2020-2021 changes. The 2019-2020 forms will no longer be accepted. As a reminder, there are separate forms for school and department budget amendments. Please download the appropriate form HERE on the Budget Google Site and email the completed form to your budget analyst.
Additional Pay Calculator: If you would like to only calculate the cost of PERA and Medicare associated with additional pay, overtime or substitutes and are not planning on submitting a budget amendment, you can use the updated "2020-2021 Additional Pay Calculator" to assist with the calculations. The calculator is available on the same Google Site at the bottom of the page.
When submitting Head and Assistant Head Coach Job Requisitions into Workday please be sure to specify in the requisition who this position is replacing. Also, if you could please provide in the Comments section if this position is funded by the School or the District. Having this information ahead of time will help get these Job Requisitions approved in a timely manner.
Requests for Highly Impacted Funds: Due Monday, July 13: Neighborhood and alternative schools can use this LINK to fill out a request for additional highly impacted dollars. DCSD has $385,000 available to reallocate to schools as part of the budget reduction process due to COVID-19. Principals have until July 13 to submit their request for consideration. Budget analysts will fund approved requests as soon as decisions are made by School Leadership.
Requests for Highly Impacted Funds: Neighborhood schools can use this LINK to fill out a request for additional highly impacted dollars. DCSD has $385,000 available to reallocate to schools as part of the budget reduction process due to COVID-19. Principals have until July 13 to submit their request for consideration. If your principal does not check the Business Office Bulletin please forward him/her this information.
Neighborhood School Budget Cut Scenarios: Please see this letter from Colleen Doan to all neighborhood principals sent earlier this week for weighted student funding budget cut scenarios. Each neighborhood school principal was emailed a version of their school's 20-21 SBB modeling the three scenarios as well in order to prepare for budget cuts. Alternative schools should plan on ~2% discretionary budget cuts as they do not have a Site-Based Budget Pupil Allocation for the weighted student funding model. Please contact Colleen if you have any questions on the content of the letter or your budget analyst if you need help with the new model shared earlier this week.
Hypothetical SBB to Model Budget Cuts: All neighborhood principals received new versions of their 2020-2021 SBB this week using three hypothetical scenarios to model budget cuts. The three scenarios are reducing the Site-Based Budget Pupil Allocation (SBBPA) by $25/pupil, $50/pupil and $100/pupil. As a percentage of discretionary SBB dollars, these reductions equate to 0.5% of discretionary SBB, 1.0% of discretionary SBB and 2.0% of discretionary SBB respectively. These are simply hypothetical scenarios in order to assist principals with planning for potential budget cuts. The Board of Education will ultimately decide on which budget cuts to implement in order to balance the 2020-2021 budget. This tool is available for your optional use and does not need to be submitted back to your budget analyst.
2020-2021 Read Act Budget: While the State will be using Significant Reading Deficiency (SRD) counts from 2019 in the 2020-2021 allocation to school districts, the total allocation within the State's budget is subject to annual appropriation. This means that total amount of funding in 2020-2021 may not be the same as the $26 million distributed statewide in 2019-2020. School districts, including DCSD, will not know their specific per pupil distribution until the budget is set by the State. For these reasons, schools must continue to build their Site Based Budgets (SBB) without the inclusion of Read Act. When Read Act is added to your school's budget after it is received from the State you may then go and reallocate your SBB with the assistance of your budget analyst. This is in alignment with past practice on Read Act. Please see the Budget Guidance Manual (p. 15) for more information on budgeting for the Read Act within your SBB.
Spending from 2020-2021 Budget: Given the current financial state of DCSD caused by COVID-19, the DCSD budget is still about a month out from being fully presented to the Board of Education. While we await funding information from the State, we recommend schools and departments minimize the amount of advanced purchases and placing orders for the 2020-2021 school year as much as possible. Budgets are subject to be reduced based upon funding received from the State. Please reach out to your budget analyst if you would like to discuss your budget situation and funding availability for next school year before placing orders.
2019-2020 Budget No Longer Accepting Budget Amendments: Now that the April 30th deadline has passed, the Budget Office is no longer accepting budget amendments from schools and departments on the 2019-2020 budget. If your school or department submitted an amendment via Workday or email then it will be processed by the end of next week. If you have any questions on your current year budget please reach out to your analyst as soon as possible as the fiscal year is coming to a close with the end of the school year.
April 30: Deadline for 19-20 Budget Amendments and 20-21 SBB Changes: Thursday, April 30 is the last day to submit a budget amendment either via email or through Workday to your budget analyst for the current 2019-2020 school year. This deadline applies to budget amendments in all funding sources (SBB, athletics, FDK, clubs, etc). If you need any assistance finalizing your budget amendments for the year please contact your analyst. April 30 is also the deadline for schools to edit their SBB for next year (2020-2021) in order to have the updates reflected when the fiscal year begins on July 1. This deadline allows time for your budget analyst to do one final, thorough review for accuracy and completion and then load the SBB into Workday in order for the budget to be presented to the Board of Education for adoption. If the Board of Education asks for budget reductions to schools due to COVID-19, we will come back to you all with a process and timeline to implement budget reductions
Business Services Year End Process: Please review the Business Services Year End Process for the 19/20 SY. Principals will also be receiving this document through Principal Notes. In addition, virtual open labs have been scheduled for the opportunity to ask any questions. Feel free to pop on anytime. See the schedule below:
High School/Middle School Virtual Open Lab
Wednesday, April 22 from 9:30 - 11am
Meeting ID
Phone Numbers
(US)+1 260-702-9449
PIN: 839 573 983#
Elementary School/Departments Virtual Open Lab
Wednesday, April 22 from 2:00 - 3:30pm
Meeting ID
Phone Numbers
(US)+1 260-702-9449
PIN: 839 573 983#
2019-2020 Budget Amendment Deadline and 2020-2021 Adopted SBB Deadline - April 30: The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year and the last day to update and balance your SBB for next year (to be reflected in Workday on July 1st) is Thursday, April 30. These deadlines will not change with the extended district closure unless the Board of Education meetings to vote on the 2019-2020 Final Revised Budget and 2020-2021 Adopted Budget are postponed. All budget analysts are working remotely full time and are available to assist schools via email, phone or Google Hangout video chat during the district closure. If the Board of Education meetings are postponed or presentation dates changed we will adjust budget deadlines accordingly. If you have any extenuating circumstances at your school preventing you from meeting these deadlines please contact Colleen Doan directly.
Short Video on How to Access 2020-2021 SBB Folders: The Budget Office created a short video tutorial to assist schools with accessing their 2020-2021 SBB. The new folders set up on Google Drive for 2020-2021 are accessible anywhere you have an internet connection. This means that staff can still access their 2020-2021 SBB while they work remotely during the District closure for COVID-19. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions and please see these step-by-step instructions on accessing your prior years' SBB on the shared network if you need to make changes to the current year budget and have VPN installed.
Athletics and Activities 20-21 Budget due March 13: All completed athletics and activities budget forms are due back to your budget analysts by Friday, March 13th. Athletic Directors should contact their budget analyst if they have any questions about the budget forms. Please note the Schedule A section of the budget form has changed from prior years.
2019-2020 Budget Amendment Deadline and 2020-2021 Adopted SBB Deadline - April 30: The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year and the last day to update and balance your SBB for next year (to be reflected in Workday on July 1st) is Thursday, April 30.
Why do we have this deadline?
The reason budget amendments cannot be posted through the end of the school year is because the Budget team must prepare the Final Revised Budget in May to present for vote to the Board of Education. The reason updates to next year's SBB cannot be made continuously is because the Budget team also must load each SBB into Workday to prepare the Adopted Budget to present for vote to the Board of Education.
What does this mean for your school?
For the current year amendments, please create the amendment in Workday or submit the amendment via the Excel form to your budget analyst by April 30. Your budget analyst will confirm with you shortly thereafter that all amendments have been posted and available to view. Please do not edit your 2019-2020 SBB or request changes in Workday after this date. For updates to your 2019-2020 SBB, you may continue to change staff names on the SBB as staffing changes throughout the summer. Budget requests that all movement of operational instructional and support dollars wait until July 1 when you may begin creating amendments for the year. If staffing changes after April 30 require you to adjust FTE on the SBB which would have a dollar impact on your budget, please know that the budget updates will not be reflected in Workday until after July 1.
Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
One Final Athletics and Activities Budget Training Session - March 6: The Budget Office will host one final training session for athletics and activities budgets on March 6th from 8:30-10:30 at the West Support Center. Register HERE to reserve your spot. We strongly encourage any new secondary school bookkeepers or athletic directors to attend as completion of the athletics and activities budget is a required step in the budget process for all secondary schools. The completed budget is due back to your analyst by March 13th
Hiring associated with 20-21 SBB: Before neighborhood schools can post for school openings for 2020-2021, your budget analyst needs to complete his or her review of your SBB and confirm that it is complete. Your analyst will complete this process by Friday, February 21st when your certified substitutes non-discretionary allocation will be added to your SBB. In order to assist us with this process, please refrain from making changes to your SBB this week or taking the balanced version out of your school's budget folder in the new shared Google Drive. If your staffing plan changes between now and March 20th and you need to make adjustments to your SBB, please speak with your budget analyst and save a new version of the SBB. After March 20th the budget analysts will begin to load SBB data into Workday for 2020-2021.
Athletics and Activities Budget Updates for 19-20 and 20-21
2019-2020 - The Athletics & Activities Budget forms have been updated with a column for Transportation and another for Current Workday Budget which accounts for Transportation and Carryover. The Current Workday Budget column will be updated monthly to coincide with Current Estimate Dashboard updates. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the changes, please reach out to your Budget Analyst. The current version has been saved into your school folders in the pdc-deptdata server along with other 2019-2020 budgets.
2020-2021 - The athletics and activities budget forms for 2020-2021 will be released to athletic and activity directors on Tuesday, February 18th. The Budget Office is hosting a series of training sessions to assist schools with building their budgets. Please register in InspirED for one or more of the classes listed on the budget calendar HERE. All completed athletics and activities budget forms are due by Friday, March 13th.
SBB Deadline - February 14: All Site Based Budgets for neighborhood and alternative schools are due on Friday, February 14th. Please upload your SBB to the new Google Drive folder when it is complete. If you are having trouble uploading or need any other assistance please contact your budget analyst. All budget analysts will be conducting a thorough review of all completed budgets by Friday, February 21st and will add in the non-discretionary budget allocations for certified substitutes. Budget will not begin approving job requisitions until your SBB is complete. If you have any questions on what it means to have a complete SBB, please refer to the completion guidance HERE that was shared during the January DLT meeting.
20-21 Athletics and Activities Budget Forms: The athletics and activities budget forms for 2020-2021 will be released to athletic and activity directors on Tuesday, February 18th. The Budget Office is hosting a series of training sessions to assist schools with building their budgets. Please register in InspirED for one or more of the classes listed on the budget calendar HERE. All completed athletics and activities budget forms are due by Friday, March 13th.
DBB Deadline - February 21: All Department Based Budgets for district departments are due on Friday, February 21st. Please save your completed DBB in your department's folder on the budget shared drive pdc-deptdata server. Your budget analyst will review your DBB for completion prior to the scheduled review and approval meetings with Colleen Doan. If you have not had a chance to meet with your budget analyst yet or provide them a draft of your budget, please reach out to your analyst as soon as possible.
SBB Deadline Reminders for 2020-2021
All neighborhood and alternative school principals received their 2020-2021 SBB via email on January 29th. Highly Impacted requests are due on February 7th. Please submit your request using the Google Form provided in your SBB. All completed SBB forms are due back to your budget analyst on February 14th. Budget staff encourage you to attend one of the following training sessions to learn more information about the changes for 2020-2021 and to have an opportunity to work on your budget one-on-one with your budget analyst. You do not need to attend for the full duration of the session and can drop in at any time.
Please register for one or more of the following work sessions in InspirEd to reserve your spot:
Friday, January 31
WSC - Telluride A & B
2:00 - 4:00
Monday, February 3
CHS - Library Reference Room
1:30 - 3:30
Wednesday, February 5
TRHS - Post Grad Room
1:30 - 3:30
Thursday, February 6
WSC - Telluride A & B
12:30 - 2:30
Monday, February 10
HRHS - Library Conference Room
1:30 - 3:30
2020-2021 SBB Training and Work Sessions: The 2020-2021 SBB will be released to all neighborhood and alternative schools the evening of January 29th via email. The majority of the District Leadership Team meeting on January 30th at the PACE Center will be dedicated to the SBB. In addition to a formal presentation of changes to the SBB, all budget analysts will be onsite all day to assist principals with their SBB.
The Budget Office will host five additional SBB work sessions in February before the SBB due date on February 14th for principals, bookkeepers, administrative assistants and any other school-based personnel with SBB responsibilities. The work sessions will each be divided into two sections: beginner training for staff new to the SBB and a working session for experienced staff. We encourage all schools to attend a work session if they would like assistance from their analyst building their SBB.
Please register for one or more of the following work sessions in InspirEd to reserve your spot:
Friday, January 31
WSC - Telluride A & B
2:00 - 4:00
Monday, February 3
CHS - Library Reference Room
1:30 - 3:30
Wednesday, February 5
TRHS - Post Grad Room
1:30 - 3:30
Thursday, February 6
WSC - Telluride A & B
12:30 - 2:30
Monday, February 10
HRHS - Library Conference Room
1:30 - 3:30
2020-2021 SBB Training and Work Sessions: The 2020-2021 SBB will be released to all neighborhood and alternative schools the evening of January 29th via email. The majority of the District Leadership Team meeting on January 30th at the PACE Center will be dedicated to the SBB. In addition to a formal presentation of changes to the SBB, all budget analysts will be onsite all day to assist principals with their SBB.
The Budget Office will host five additional SBB work sessions in February before the SBB due date on February 14th for principals, bookkeepers, administrative assistants and any other school-based personnel with SBB responsibilities. The work sessions will each be divided into two sections: beginner training for staff new to the SBB and a working session for experienced staff. We encourage all schools to attend a work session if they would like assistance from their analyst building their SBB.
Please register for one or more of the following work sessions in InspirEd to reserve your spot:
Friday, January 31
WSC - Telluride A & B
2:00 - 4:00
Monday, February 3
CHS - Library Reference Room
1:30 - 3:30
Wednesday, February 5
TRHS - Post Grad Room
1:30 - 3:30
Thursday, February 6
WSC - Telluride A & B
12:30 - 2:30
Monday, February 10
HRHS - Library Conference Room
1:30 - 3:30
Hold All Budget Amendment Requests until January 20: The Budget Office is actively finalizing the 2019-2020 Revised Budget and cannot process any budget amendments during this time that would change the Revised Budget. Schools may resume requesting budget amendments in Workday or via email on January 20th. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
2020-2021 SBB Timelines: The 2020-2021 SBB will be released to all neighborhood and alternative schools the evening of January 29th. The majority of the District Leadership Team meeting on January 30th at the PACE Center will be dedicated to the SBB. In addition to a formal presentation of changes to the SBB, all budget analysts will be onsite all day to assist principals with their SBB. The Budget Office will host five additional SBB work sessions in February before the SBB due date on February 14th. More information on the work sessions will be shared in next week's Principal Notes.
2020-2021 DBB Training Opportunities: The 2020-2021 DBB templates were released to department budget owners earlier this week. Completed DBBs are due back to each department's budget analyst on February 21st. It is not too late to sign up to attend the second training! Please note these trainings are designed for department staff, not school staff.
Wednesday, January 15 from 1-4
WSC - Telluride A & B
Session ID: 939-5
Course Link: https://pd.dcsdk12.org/course/view.php?id=14444
No SBB Edits with Dollar Impact from Now Until January 20: As a reminder, all neighborhood schools' SBB are now balanced and the budget analysts are reconciling each line in the SBB with Workday for the Student Count and Revised Budget. Please do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services) until January 20. Name changes are always accepted.
20-21 Kindergarten Budget in SBB: Based on the feedback from the 20-21 Kindergarten Budget Options survey, we will be implementing Proposal A to fund FDK through the SBB. This is the proposal with a separate SBBPA for kinder vs grades 1-6. For the example SBB created for the survey, this was a Kinder SBBPA of $7,000 and a Grade 1-6 SBBPA of $4,432. Please note that these SBBPA amounts are subject to change as we calculate the increase to SBBPA necessary to hold purchasing power for staffing harmless for salary/benefit increases. This will be finalized in time for the release of the 20-21 SBB on January 29th. Please contact Colleen Doan if you have any questions on FDK budget.
20-21 DBB Training Opportunities: The 20-21 DBB templates will be released to department budget owners January 6th. We encourage department leaders and bookkeepers to attend one of the following work sessions to learn about changes to the template and work on their DBB with their analyst. Please note these trainings are designed for department staff, not school staff.
Friday, January 10 from 9-12
WSC - Telluride A & B
Session ID: 939-4
Course Link: https://pd.dcsdk12.org/course/view.php?id=14443
Wednesday, January 15 from 1-4
WSC - Telluride A & B
Session ID: 939-5
Course Link: https://pd.dcsdk12.org/course/view.php?id=14444
No SBB Edits with Dollar Impact from Now Until January 20: As a reminder, all neighborhood schools' SBB are now balanced and the budget analysts are reconciling each line in the SBB with Workday for the Student Count and Revised Budget. Please do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services) until January 20. Name changes are always accepted. Budget amendments that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, principal discretionary, FDK) may be submitted up until December 31 as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process, but are affected by the Revised Budget.
Best Practices on Running Fund 26 Funds Available Reports in Workday: Please see the following link for best practices on running Fund 26 (Athletics and Activities) Funds Available reports in order to view available balances in carry over eligible accounts. This information does not apply to elementary schools.
2020-2021 DBB Timeline and Training Opportunities: The 2020-2021 Department Based Budget (DBB) templates will be released to department budget owners on January 6. The Budget Office has scheduled two work sessions for department leaders and bookkeepers to learn about the changes to the template this year and work on their DBB with their analyst. All completed DBB forms will be due back to the Budget Office by February 21. Colleen Doan will schedule review meetings with each department and their analyst between February 24 and March 13 to review budget requests. Please register in InspirED for one or both of the DBB work sessions:
Friday, January 10 from 9-12
WSC - Telluride A & B
Session ID: 939-4
Course Link: https://pd.dcsdk12.org/course/view.php?id=14443
Wednesday, January 15 from 1-4
WSC - Telluride A & B
Session ID: 939-5
Course Link: https://pd.dcsdk12.org/course/view.php?id=14444
Reminder: Balance SBB for Student Count True Up by December 6th: Before Thanksgiving, all neighborhood schools' SBB allocations were updated to reflect official student enrollment (October Count). Your budget analyst left the SBB out of balance (over/under allocation line will not equal zero) for each school to decide the changes they would like to make associated with the increase or decrease in funding. Please make all changes to your SBB and balance back to $0 by Friday, December 6. If you need help balancing your SBB please work with your budget analyst. Any schools left out of balance after December 6 will be manually adjusted by your budget analyst.
Schools should not submit budget amendments associated with the student count changes. All schools will be fully reconciled between Workday and all SBB lines by your budget analyst no later than December 31. We ask that between December 6 and January 20 that schools do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services). Name changes are always accepted. Budget amendments that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, principal discretionary, FDK) may be made up until December 31 as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process. The hold on budget amendments until January 20 is due to the preparation of the Revised Budget for the Board of Education. In order to build the presentation, we need to work with a stable/unchanging version of the budget in Workday.
Neighborhood Elementary Principals Only: Feedback on Full Day Kindergarten Budget Sample Options for 20-21 due December 9th: Please complete the survey shared by Colleen Doan on your preferred FDK Budget option for 2020-2021 by Monday, December 9. Please refer to the original email shared with all elementary principals on November 22 for more information. After December 9 we will analyze all the survey data and the preferred option will be presented to leadership for approval. The new FDK budget methodology will be implemented during budget development so elementary principals will have the full amount of time to plan for kindergarten staffing as they do for grades 1-6. Please note the survey responses are anonymous so if you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Colleen directly.
Student Count Update to Neighborhood Schools' SBB for Official Student Count: All neighborhood schools' SBB allocations were updated to reflect official student enrollment (October Count) by Wednesday, November 20. If your enrollment increased or decreased from projections, your budget analyst left the SBB out of balance (over/under allocation line will not equal zero) for your school to decide the changes you would like to make to your discretionary budget associated with the increase or decrease in funding. Please make all changes to your SBB and balance back to $0 by Friday, December 6th. Schools should not submit budget amendments associated with the student count changes. All schools will be fully reconciled between Workday and all SBB lines by your budget analyst no later than December 31st after schools balance the SBB back to $0. In addition to the student count update, certain non-discretionary allocations were updated associated with the official Student Count. Elementary and middle schools received an update to their Gifted and Talented funding and high schools received their testing per pupil and Career Tech per completer funding. Please see the Budget Guidance Manual for more information regarding the non-discretionary allocations.
Reminder about Highly Impacted Allocations in SBB: As we prepare for school budget development to begin in January, I wanted to remind everyone that the Highly Impacted Allocations are one time allocations (not part of the ongoing budget). The total amount available for Highly Impacted increased ~$3 million from 2018-2019 to 2019-2020 based on the increase in funding available from the 5A Mill Levy Override. As we make changes to the SBB Allocations in order to improve the equitable distribution of resources, those dollars will be reallocated from Highly Impacted into the formula. The funding available for Highly Impacted will not be as high as it was in 2019-2020 moving forward. Please keep this in mind as you prepare for budget development. More information on proposed SBB changes for 2020-2021 was shared with principals at level meetings and focus groups earlier this month. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Colleen Doan.
Current Estimate Dashboard Updated for October: The 2019-2020 Current Estimate Dashboard was updated for October actual revenue and expense and released to all neighborhood schools earlier this week. Principals and Bookkeepers will be able to find their copy in their school's SBB folder alongside the September edition. The October edition does not account for official Student Count updated budgets as the Student Count updates to budget occurred in November. Please contact your budget analyst if you would like additional training on the Current Estimate Dashboard.
Reminder about Highly Impacted Allocations in SBB: As we prepare for school budget development to begin in January, I wanted to remind everyone that the Highly Impacted Allocations are one time allocations (not part of the ongoing budget). The total amount available for Highly Impacted increased ~$3 million from 2018-2019 to 2019-2020 based on the increase in funding available from the 5A Mill Levy Override. As we make changes to the SBB Allocations in order to improve the equitable distribution of resources, those dollars will be reallocated from Highly Impacted into the formula. The funding available for Highly Impacted will not be as high as it was in 2019-2020 moving forward. Please keep this in mind as you prepare for budget development. More information on proposed SBB changes for 2020-2021 will be shared with principals at level meetings and focus groups this month. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Colleen Doan.
2019-2020 Budget Guidance Manual Updated: The Budget Office updated the 2019-2020 Budget Guidance Manual (BGM) to reflect necessary changes from the initial version released during budget development in January 2019. The BGM is a great resource for tips on balancing your SBB, rules on use of non-discretionary allocations and calculation of October Count student true up plus many additional topics. Please see the Budget Office Google Site HERE for the most current version as well as the BGM for previous school years.
2019-2020 Current Estimate Dashboard Released to Schools this Week: The Current Estimate Dashboard will be released to all neighborhood schools by the end of this week. Principals and Bookkeepers will be able to find their copy in their school's SBB folder similar to previous years. The first iteration of the Current Estimate Dashboard will include data through September 2019. Please see this LINK for a quick outline of the changes implemented for 2019-2020 in order to improve the dashboard. As a reminder, carry over calculation annually begins with the Current Estimate Dashboard as the base calculation and then adjustments are made based upon use of non-discretionary allocations. Schools should be reviewing their Current Estimate Dashboard monthly and bringing any questions or concerns to their budget analyst.
NEW Monthly Work Sessions Hosted by Business Services for Bookkeepers: The Business Services department is implementing a new training series where we will host monthly work sessions for school and department bookkeepers on all Business Services related topics. These monthly, two hour sessions will be a one stop shop for Accounting, Strategic Sourcing, Budget and Payroll. Please register in InspirED (session 2280 1-9) so we can prepare the room for enough attendees and bring any questions for any of the Business Services staff. These sessions will not have a scheduled agenda and bookkeepers can stop by at any time during the two hour window for assistance. The first session is listed below:
Course: Business Services: Bookkeeper Work Session
Session: 2280-1,
Start Date: 10/17/2019
Course Link: https://pd.dcsdk12.org/course/view.php?id=13947
All scheduled sessions can be found on the Budget Google site HERE.
Elementary School SBB Updated for READ Act Funding: When adding carry over to the elementary schools' SBB, your budget analyst also added READ Act funding as a separate allocation. The READ Act funding is approximately 22% less this year than it was last year. This is due to the new law passed by the legislature last spring (SB19-199) to redesign READ Act and set aside funding for the Colorado Department of Education to implement changes to the early literacy program. Additionally, DCSD had fewer students identified with a Significant Reading Deficiency (SRD) as we are not identifying as many students and/or we are providing the interventions needed for them to grow and not fall below the cut scores for SRD. New this year, your budget analyst left your SBB non-discretionary tab out of balance for the READ Act funding. This is in order for you to decide now how you would like to use your READ Act dollars in your school (based on eligible uses - see Budget Guidance Manual, p. 15) and not need to do a budget amendment later. Please rebalance your SBB by allocating your READ Act and respond to the personalized email sent to you from your budget analyst this week regarding READ Act so your analyst can transfer the funds to the desired account to support your students.
18-19 Carry Over Finalized Friday, September 6th: All neighborhood school carry over will be finalized and available to view on the DCSD website and in Workday on Friday, September 6. All budget analysts will update individual SBB files with the awarded carry over as well make any September changes for Special Education staffing and allocate READ Act funds no later than Friday, September 13. More information on READ Act funds will be shared next week in the BOB and Principal Notes.
Budget Amendment/Carry Over Training for Schools: The Budget Office will be hosting a series of training sessions for school bookkeepers on creating budget amendments and understanding awarded school carry over. Each two hour training session will be divided into one hour of formal training and one hour of working session so please bring your laptop. Please register in InspirED for one of the following classes and check the calendar on the Budget Google Site for all training classes. This is a great opportunity to review and reallocate the carry over you will receive on September 6.
Course Link: # 2245-1
Monday, September 9 from 2:00-4:00 PM
West Support Center
Course Link: # 2245-2
Wednesday, September 11 from 9:00-11:00 AM
Chaparral HS
Course Link: # 2245-3
Wednesday, September 18 from 8:00-10:00 AM
Highlands Ranch HS
Changes to Budget Source for Athletics and Activities Budget: Based on feedback received from school bookkeepers regarding ease of viewing available funding in athletics and activities accounts and overall process improvements, we have moved the budget built by schools using the athletics and activities budget form from budget source 10 to budget source 11 in Workday. As these budgets built by Athletic Directors do not directly affect carry over, we believe this is a more appropriate budget source for these accounts. When running a funds available for your coaches in fund 26, budget source 10, you will now no longer need to exclude the budget as the only budget included will be carry over eligible budget (prior year carry over, security OT, transportation for high schools). Running your accounts for both budget source 10 and 11 will still allow you to track individual line items according to your original plan and post budget amendments as necessary when your plans need to change. If you have any questions, please contact your budget analyst.
Special Education School FTE Allocation Updates: In order to streamline processes, the Budget Office will be receiving SBB Special Education allocation changes from the Personalized Learning department once a month by the 10th of every month if staffing changes are needed. At this point, the Budget Office will review changes and update the respective schools' budgets within a week of receiving the allocation changes. Allocation changes and corresponding SBB updates outside of the once a month update will be avoided except in special urgent circumstances. The timing of the September Special Education allocation updates will align with the allocation of school carry over and this once a month update timeline will resume with October updates.
Budget Amendment/Carry Over Training for Schools: The Budget Office will be hosting a series of training sessions for school bookkeepers on creating budget amendments and understanding awarded school carry over. Each two hour training session will be divided into one hour of formal training and one hour of working session so please bring your laptop. Please register in InspirED for one of the following classes and check the calendar on the Budget Google Site for all training classes.
Course Link: # 2245-1
Monday, September 9 from 2:00-4:00 PM
West Support Center
Course Link: # 2245-2
Wednesday, September 11 from 9:00-11:00 AM
Chaparral HS
Course Link: # 2245-3
Wednesday, September 18 from 8:00-10:00 AM
Highlands Ranch HS
Substitute Budget Guidance: As we start the new school year, the Budget Office would like to provide some written guidance regarding classified and certified substitutes. Please note these guidelines are not new, but rather a consolidation of substitute related budget policies into one central document. Please contact your Budget Analyst if you have any questions.
Current Estimate Dashboard Updated for Preliminary June Data: All neighborhood schools' current estimate dashboards were updated earlier this month with preliminary June actual data. Please review your schools' current estimate saved in your SBB folder for most up to date information on carry over projections and use of non-discretionary allocations. Any school with a projected negative SBB carry over should contact their budget analyst for guidance on reclassifying journal entries and strategies to end the year with a positive balance. Budget Analysts are actively reviewing all schools in order to maximize purchasing power and minimize deficits. Current estimates will be updated one final time before carry over calculation after year and journal entries and accruals are complete.
Now Accepting 2019-2020 Budget Amendments: The Budget Office is now accepting budget amendments to the 2019-2020 budget from schools and departments. Please use the new budget amendment forms in Excel updated for 2019-2020 changes. The 2018-2019 forms will no longer be accepted. As a reminder, there are separate forms for school and department budget amendments. Please download the appropriate form based on the cost center of the amendment HERE on the Budget Google Site and email the completed form to your budget analyst. Amendments that do not include salaries may be done directly in Workday using the "Create Budget Amendment" task, but we request that all amendments to FTE accounts use the amendment form. If you would like to only calculate the cost of PERA and Medicare associated with additional pay, overtime or substitutes and are not planning on submitting a budget amendment, you can use the updated "2019-2020 Additional Pay Calculator" to assist with the calculations. The calculator is available on the same Google Site at the bottom of the page. The Budget Office will host annual budget amendment training sessions in August and September for bookkeepers. More information will be shared later this summer.
Current Estimate Dashboard Updated for May Data: All neighborhood schools' current estimate dashboards were updated earlier this month with May actual data. Please review your schools' current estimate saved in your SBB folder for most up to date information on carry over projections and use of non-discretionary allocations. Any school with a projected negative SBB carry over should contact their budget analyst for guidance on reclassifying journal entries and strategies to end the year with a positive balance. Please see the following links for more information on understanding the current estimate dashboard:
The 2018-2019 current estimate will be updated two more times: once in early July and once in late August after all journal entries and year end clean up is complete. 2019-2020 current estimate dashboards will be released in September or October.
Charter Bus Reimbursements Now in 18-19 Budget: This week the Budget Office reimbursed neighborhood schools for use of charter buses this school year when district buses through the Transportation department were not available. Neighborhood schools were reimbursed for the difference between the actual amount paid for the charter bus and the cost if the Transportation department were to provide the transportation for eligible trips between 7/1/18 and 3/31/19 only. The reimbursements were added into the 2018-2019 budget in the following account this week: 10-xxx-10-2710-0510. Your Budget Analyst will update your schools' SBB by next Tuesday, May 21st with the amount that will contribute to increasing your school's SBB carry over. Eligible charter bus expenses between 4/1/19 and 6/30/19 will be reimbursed next year in your 2019-2020 SBB. Schools should not expect to see a reimbursement of their 2019-2020 use of charter buses and should anticipate absorbing the cost within their budgets. A decision has not been made yet by District leadership with regard to reimbursement of future use of charter buses.
Classified Librarian Pay Reimbursement for Bibliostaffers Training: This week the Budget Office reimbursed neighborhood schools for the compensation of classified librarians who attended the Bibliostaffers training earlier this year that may have contributed to overtime for these staff. The reimbursement amount is based on the actual compensation of the participating classified librarians. If your school was eligible for a reimbursement, the amount was added into the 2018-2019 budget in the following account this week: 10-xxx-10-2222-0130-400. Your Budget Analyst will update your schools' SBB by next Tuesday, May 21st with the amount that will contribute to increasing your school's SBB carry over.
Full Day Kindergarten Budget: Please click on this LINK to view additional information on FDK budget for 2019-2020. Contact Colleen Doan if you have any questions on the FAQ.
Charter Bus Transportation Reimbursements: Business Services is finalizing calculations for reimbursing neighborhood schools for use of charter buses when district buses through the Transportation department were not available this school year. Neighborhood schools will be reimbursed for the difference between the actual amount paid for the charter bus and the cost if the Transportation department were to provide the transportation for eligible trips only. The reimbursements will be in the form of a budget allocation added into the 2018-2019 SBB and will contribute to schools' SBB carry over. Due to the large number of reimbursements, we cannot accommodate requests for reimbursements to unique accounts. These reimbursements will occur next week and will only be for charter buses from 7/1/18 to 3/31/19. Charter bus expenses from 4/1/19 to 6/30/19 will be reimbursed after year end in your 2019-2020 budget. Your budget analyst will contact you with the dollar amount and account code where the budget exists once the transfers are made.
New Additional Pay Calculator: Based on feedback from schools, we have updated the Additional Pay Calculator on the Budget Google Site HERE in order to assist with the calculation of Pera and Medicare on additional pays. Please download the file into Excel and use the top box when you know the total amount you wish to pay out and need to break the total out between salary, Pera and Medicare. Use the bottom box when you know the salary amount you wish to pay and need to add on the Pera and Medicare to get the total amount to pay out. The Budget team will release a new calculator in July for 2019-2020 Budget based on updated 2019-2020 Pera rates.
2018-2019 Budget No Longer Accepting Budget Amendments: Now that the April 30th deadline has passed, the Budget Office is no longer accepting budget amendments from schools and departments on the 2018-2019 budget. If your school or department submitted an amendment via Workday then it will be processed by the end of the week. If you have any questions on your current year budget please reach out to your analyst as soon as possible as the fiscal year is coming to a close with the end of the school year. The 2019-2020 budget will be available to view and change via requested budget amendments on July 1st.
State Funded Full Day Kindergarten: For 2019-2020, if the State funds Full Day Kindergarten then neighborhood elementary schools will be funded through the General Fund at the amount budgeted in their full day kindergarten tab of their SBB. This will be in place of collecting tuition. For example, if a school's full day kindergarten tab of the SBB totals $76,000 based on 20 students at $3,800 each then the school will receive $76,000 in additional funding through the General Fund. Neighborhood schools should not reduce staff previously funded using tuition and will not need to use carry over to staff kindergarten programs. EVERYTHING YOUR SCHOOL BUDGETED FOR IN FDK TUITION WILL BE FUNDED BY THE DISTRICT FOR 2019-2020. For 2019-2020 only, Full Day Kindergarten staff will continue to be budgeted using actual salaries and will not be budgeted out of the SBB discretionary allocations.
If schools add full day kindergarten classrooms beyond the number of classrooms and students included in projected enrollment for 2019-2020, then additional dollars will be allocated to schools for incremental increases in staffing to support the additional students. For every additional 10 full day kindergarten students, neighborhood elementary schools will receive funding for an additional 0.25 FTE kindergarten teacher and 0.22 FTE educational/instructional assistant. For example, if a school's budget was built on one full day kindergarten classroom of 20 students and the demand for full day kindergarten required opening another classroom of 20 students, the school would receive an additional 0.50 FTE kindergarten teacher and an additional 0.44 FTE educational/instructional assistant. The reason why schools receive an additional 0.50 FTE for 20 students is because the other half (0.5 FTE) of the teacher is already budgeted on the SBB as a half day kindergarten teacher. The same rationale applies with educational/instructional assistants because their position in support of half day kindergarten is already budgeted on the SBB. If your school has additional costs associated with running additional full day kindergarten classrooms beyond this increase to the FTE allocation in kindergarten, the Budget Office will work with your school on a case by case basis.
Throughout 2019-2020 schools will continue to manage their full day kindergarten budget and carry over separate from the SBB budget and carry over. At the conclusion of the 2019-2020 school year, full day kindergarten carry over will be moved to principal discretionary and all full day kindergarten staff will be budgeted within the SBB discretionary budget. The mechanics of how this will be worked out through the SBB discretionary allocations in 2020-2021 are still being finalized.
Schools should proceed as if nothing has changed. Tuition is being replaced by state funding but your staffing will not be affected. If you plan to add FDK classes, please contact your Budget Analyst immediately so your budget can be updated.
One Session Remaining on April 30th for the Basic Budget Training :This basic budget training is for bookkeepers and other school support staff with bookkeeping responsibilities. The course will focus on changing your SBB and creating budget amendments based on the changes to your SBB. Course participants will also learn best practices on reviewing their current estimate dashboard to forecast school carry over.
This course is not designed for department bookkeepers or other school support staff who do not have access to the SBB. Course participants should bring their own laptop.
Register in InspirED for Tuesday, April 30 (8:00-9:30) - Session ID 2184-2
Bookkeeper Budget Training
Registration is open in InspirED for the two Bookkeeper Budget Training classes this month. Please click on the following links to register for one class. The same content will be covered in both classes. These classes are designed for school bookkeepers. Please bring your own laptop computer.
Monday, April 15 - Session ID 2184-1
9:00-10:30
Tuesday, April 30 - Session ID 2184-2
8:00-9:30
2019-2020 Special Education SBB Allocation Updates
Your 2019-2020 SBB will be updated by end of day Monday, April 15 for your new Special Education staffing allocations. Please balance your SBB to $0 by adding or subtracting any relevant positions based on your school's increase or decrease to total allocations. As a reminder, all EA IV positions should be budgeted as 180 calendar days for 2019-2020.
2018-2019 Budget Amendment Deadline and 2019-2020 Adopted SBB Deadline - April 30
The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year and the last day to update and balance your SBB for next year (to be reflected in Workday on July 1) is Tuesday, April 30. Budget amendments are required whenever SBB or DBB updates move dollars between line items. The Excel file (SBB and DBB) does not automatically update Workday. The budget amendment deadline applies to all DCSD budgets (schools and departments). For updates to your 2019-2020 SBB, you may continue to change staff names on the SBB as staffing changes throughout the summer. All 2019-2020 department budgets (DBB) are approved, pending Board of Education approval, and finalized already. Please do not edit your DBB until July 1 with the exception of name changes unless otherwise notified by your budget analyst.
Update on Full Day Kindergarten: Please refer to the following link for an update on full day kindergarten: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dr2_agSeDSb6tRY7F9XXWbZuJBv5uTSbxKBvrRRku_4/edit?usp=sharing
Bookkeeper Budget Training: The Budget Office will be hosting year end budget training for school bookkeepers. This training will cover identifying the need for and creating budget amendments, reviewing the current estimate dashboard, and accounting for non-discretionary budget allocations. The training sessions below will be available to register in InspirED in early April.
Monday, April 15
9:00-10:30 AM
WSC - Mt. Evans Training Room
Tuesday, April 30
8:00-9:30 AM
WSC - Mt. Evans training Room
2018-2019 Budget Amendment Deadline and 2019-2020 Adopted SBB Deadline - April 30: The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year and the last day to update and balance your SBB for next year (to be reflected in Workday on July 1st) is Tuesday, April 30. Budget amendments are required whenever SBB updates move dollars between line items. The SBB does not automatically update Workday. The budget amendment deadline applies to all DCSD budgets. For updates to your 2019-2020 SBB, you may continue to change staff names on the SBB as staffing changes throughout the summer.
Bookkeeper Budget Training
The Budget Office will be hosting year end budget training for school bookkeepers. This training will cover identifying the need for and creating budget amendments, reviewing the current estimate dashboard, and accounting for non-discretionary budget allocations. The training sessions below will be available to register in InspirED in early April.
Monday, April 15
9:00-10:30 AM
WSC - Mt. Evans Training Room
Tuesday, April 30
8:00-9:30 AM
WSC - Mt. Evans training Room
2018-2019 Budget Amendment Deadline and 2019-2020 Adopted SBB Deadline - April 30: The last day to submit a budget amendment for the current school year and the last day to update and balance your SBB for next year (to be reflected in Workday on July 1st) is Tuesday, April 30.
Why do we have this deadline?
The reason budget amendments cannot be posted through the end of the school year is because the Budget team must prepare the Final Revised Budget in May to present for vote to the Board of Education. The reason updates to next year's SBB cannot be made continuously is because the Budget team also must load each SBB into Workday to prepare the Adopted Budget to present for vote to the Board of Education.
What does this mean for your school?
For the current year amendments, please create the amendment in Workday or submit the amendment via the Excel form to your budget analyst by April 30. Your budget analyst will confirm with you shortly thereafter that all amendments have been posted and available to view. Please do not edit your 2018-2019 SBB or request changes in Workday after this date. For updates to your 2019-2020 SBB, you may continue to change staff names on the SBB as staffing changes throughout the summer. Budget requests that all movement of operational instructional and support dollars wait until July 1 when you may begin creating amendments for the year. If staffing changes after April 30 require you to adjust FTE on the SBB which would have a dollar impact on your budget, please know that the budget updates will not be reflected in Workday until after July 1.
Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
2018-2019 Full Day Kindergarten Tuition Scholarships: Qualifying elementary schools received their 2018-2019 Full Day Kindergarten Tuition Scholarships this week. The awarded scholarship amounts were based free and reduced letters received and admin retained (non-READ) submitted to School Leadership earlier this school year. Each qualifying school's scholarship amount was loaded into Workday this week in the following account: 15-xxx-10-0010-0569 and your FDK budget tab in your SBB will be updated by your budget analyst next week.
2019-2020 Athletics and Activities Budget Training and Due Dates: Completed budget forms for 2019-2020 Athletics and Activities are due from all middle and high schools on March 15. All budget templates were saved in your school's folder on the pdc-deptdata server on February 19. The budget team is hosting one more training session if you require assistance filling out your budget form. Please register in InspirED:
March 6, 2019 from 1-3 PM
West Support Center, Telluride Conference Room A & B
2018-2019 Mid Year SBB Increases for Neighborhood Schools: By the end of day on Monday, February 25 your Budget Analyst will add additional funds into your current school year (2018-2019) SBB funded from the 2018 Mill Levy Override.
ALL NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS:The Close the Gap discretionary allocation for all neighborhood schools will be doubled (total of $1.7M additional SBB funds). These funds should be spent in support of your at-risk students. All neighborhood schools will also see a new allocation for Additional SBBPA dollars. The allocation of $21 per elementary school pupil, $20 per middle school pupil and $20 per high school pupil is based on actual Student October Count enrollment (total of $1.0M additional SBB funds). Both the Close the Gap and Additional SBBPA will be added to your instructional supplies budget on your SBB and in Workday (account code 10-xxx-10-0090-0610). As these are both discretionary funds, you have the opportunity to create a budget amendment to move the dollars to another discretionary account and if they remain unspent at year end they will carry over into 2019-2020.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ONLY: Elementary schools with counselors hired prior to 1/1/19 paid using the school's discretionary funds will be reimbursed for the cost of those counselors up to a full 1.0 FTE depending on the FTE of the individual counselors. The reimbursement will be added as discretionary funds in support supplies on your SBB and in Workday (account code 10-xxx-10-2120-0610). We are not moving the counselors over to the non-discretionary tab of the 2018-2019 SBB mid-year. Elementary schools with counselor positions approved and posted by 2/15/19 for 2018-2019 2nd semester start dates will receive a pro-rated counselor allocation depending on the FTE of the individual counselors. These allocations for new positions will be budgeted as FTE on your SBB and in Workday (account code 10-xxx-11-2120-0110-200). If any additional counselor positions are approved and posted after 2/15/19 for 2018-2019 2nd semester start dates then we will fund those positions at the end of the school year in early May.
2019-2020 Athletics and Activities Budget Training and Due Dates: Completed budget forms for 2019-2020 Athletics and Activities are due from all middle and high schools on March 15. All budget templates were saved in your school's folder on the pdc-deptdata server on February 19. In order to assist schools with their Fund 26 budgets, we are offering two training classes. Please register in InspirED:
February 28, 2019 from 8-10 AM
West Support Center, Telluride Conference Room A & B
March 6, 2019 from 1-3 PM
West Support Center, Telluride Conference Room A & B
19-20 Athletics and Activities Budget Training: This course will provide an overview of changes to the Athletics and Activities budgeting process and training on how to budget with the new form. It is intended for AD’s and Bookkeepers at the MS and HS levels, but is open also to principals who would like to be more involved in their athletics/activities budget. The goal is that participants will leave the class feeling comfortable with the changes to the budget process and proficient with the new form. Course participants should bring their own laptop computer to the training session. See below to register in InspirED:
Session ID: 1118-7
February 28, 2019 from 8-10 AM
West Support Center, Telluride Conference Room A & B
Session ID: 1118-8
March 6, 2019 from 1-3 PM
West Support Center, Telluride Conference Room A & B
SBB Due Friday, February 8: 2019-2020 completed SBB for all neighborhood and alternative schools is due Friday, February 8. Please upload your completed SBB back to your school folder on the pdc-deptdata/budget server and don't forget to fill out the required Carry Over Plan tab. Your budget analyst will start thoroughly reviewing your SBB before Stage 1 hiring season begins for 2019-2020 position postings. Please note that your analyst will hold approving all 2019-2020 positions until the SBB is completed.
DBB Due Friday, February 15: 2019-2020 completed DBB for all General Fund departments is due Friday, February 15. Please upload your completed DBB back to your department folder on the pdc-deptdata/budget server. Your analyst will thoroughly review your request prior to the scheduled review and approval meetings with Colleen Doan. Please note that all new positions (or increase in hours on current positions) must go through the zero-based budgeting approval process before they will be approved and can be posted in Workday.
19-20 SBB Deadline and Update Reminders: Your budget analyst will be adding approved highly impacted allocations to your SBB by end of day Monday, February 4th. In order to assist us with a quick turnaround, please save your working version of your 19-20 SBB in your school's folder on the pdc-deptdata server.
In addition to updating allocations for highly impacted, your analyst will be correcting some calculation errors in the non-discretionary tab of your SBB. We are not changing the FTE allocated for the various non-discretionary allocations, but some of the dollar amounts associated with the FTE allocated were incorrect. Once the calculations are corrected you will be able to balance your non-discretionary tab of the SBB. Your analyst will send you an email when your SBB is updated with the details regarding the updated dollar amounts. Please note that these corrections do not have an impact on the discretionary tab and therefore do not impact the Highly Impacted requests.
The final, balanced SBB for 19-20 is due to your analyst by end of day Friday, February 8th. The Carry Over Plan tab must also be filled out when you submit your balanced SBB. The Carry Over Plan tab's purpose is to provide an explanation of how you either spent or plan to spend the carry over awarded to you last fall in September 2018. This plan is in order to comply with Board Policy DB-R Annual Budget Regulation. Please reach out to your analyst if you require assistance filling out this plan.
18-19 SBB Updates - additional funding from 2018 MLO: Neighborhood schools will receive a mid-year allocation update in February for the current year additions associated with the 2018 Mill Levy Override. We will be adding $1 million to the base funding through the SBBPA and doubling the current year's Close the Gap allocation for at-risk. If elementary schools are hiring their non-discretionary counselors to start this spring instead of starting in 19-20 then we will be adding those positions at this point in time as well. More information will be available after the 19-20 SBB deadline.
Reminder on Budget Process with Staff Requisitions: As we enter the peak hiring season, here are some reminders on the budget process for staff requisitions:
Positions need to be budgeted on either the SBB or DBB prior to submitting the position requisition in Workday; hours per week and days per year must match between the budget (SBB or DBB) and position requisition
Schools: the SBB must be balanced (total staff + operations = total allocations) before new positions will be approved by your analyst
Departments: all requisitions for new positions (not replacement positions) must be held until after your 19-20 DBB is approved (most likely not until March)
If position requisitions do not align with the aforementioned process your budget analyst will send them back through Workday to the requisition creator
If position requisitions align with the aforementioned process your budget analyst will approve them within two business days
2019-2020 SBB Training: The 2019-2020 SBB will be released the evening of Wednesday, Jan 23. In addition to the SBB training at the DLT meeting on Thursday, Jan 24, the Budget Office will host a series of SBB Workshops to assist school staff with building their 2019-2020 SBB. The purpose of the SBB Training is to outline changes to the 2019-20 allocations, educate schools on the proper method to complete the SBB, and walk through scenarios applicable to all schools. In addition, there will be time to work on the schools’ personal SBB and ask school specific questions of the budget analysts. All school staff with SBB responsibilities and access are welcome to attend.
Please register in InspirED for one of the following workshops:
Jan 28, 2019 from 8-10
Chaparral High School
Jan 30, 2019 from 8-10
West Support Center
Jan 31, 2019 from 8-10
Highlands Ranch High School
2018-2019 Budget Reopened to Accept Budget Amendments Jan 22: Budget analysts will resume processing budget amendments on the current year (2018-2019) on Tuesday, Jan 22. Thank you for holding all future budget changes until the Revised Budget is completed.
2019-2020 DBB Release and Training Opportunity: All 19-20 DBB templates will be saved in the department's budget folder on the \\pdc-deptdata\budget server by end of day Monday, January 14. Budget owners will be personally notified by their analyst when their template is ready. All department budget owners are invited to attend a workshop on January 17 at the West Support Center for assistance from their analyst with building their budget. The workshop will cover changes to the template for 19-20, reminders about best practices/expectations with zero-based budgeting, and allow budget owners time to work on on one with their analyst. Please sign up in InspirED if you plan to attend:
Department Based Budget Training
Session ID: 939-3
January 17: 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM
West Support Center: Telluride A & B
2019-2020 SBB Training Opportunities: The 19-20 SBB will be released the evening of Wednesday, January 23. The DLT meeting on Thursday, January 24 will include a presentation and working session on SBB for principals. The budget analysts will also host a series of workshops throughout the district for principals, bookkeepers, administrative assistants and any other school-based personnel with SBB responsibilities. The workshops will each be divided into two sections: beginner training for staff new to the SBB and a working session for experienced staff. Information to sign up in InspirED will be available closer to the workshop dates. We encourage all schools to attend a workshop if they would like assistance from their analyst building their SBB.
Workshop Information:
Parker Planning Area: Monday, January 28 from 8-10 @ Chaparral HS (library)
Castle Rock Planning Area: Wednesday, January 30 from 8-10 at West Support Center (Telluride conference rooms A/B)
Highlands Ranch Planning Area: Thursday, January 31 from 8-10 at Highlands Ranch HS (library conference room)
No SBB Edits with Dollar Impact from Now Until January 21: As a reminder, all neighborhood schools' SBB are now balanced and the budget analysts are reconciling each line in the SBB to Workday for the Student Count and Revised Budget. Please do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with a dollar change (FTE or supplies and services) until January 21st. Name changes are always accepted. If you have upcoming changes with a dollar impact and would like to plan for them, we encourage you to use the planning section at the very bottom of the Discretionary tab to document your ideas. Use of the planning section does not impact the actual budget. Budget amendments that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, principal discretionary, FDK) may be made up until December 31st as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process, but are affected by the Revised Budget.
Next Monday (Dec 10) is Last Day to Balance SBB for Student Count True Up: If your school's SBB is out of balance (does not total to $0 in budgeted uses of allocations), then please make the necessary changes by end of day Monday, December 10th. If you require assistance balancing your budget, please reach out to your analyst as soon as possible. At that point, any schools left out of balance will be manually adjusted by the budget team.
After Monday, we request that you do not submit any budget amendments related to the SBB or make any changes to the SBB with an impact on the budget (FTE or supplies and services) until January 21st. Name changes for staffing changes are always accepted. The reason we are stopping changes with a dollar impact temporarily is for two reasons. First, all schools will be fully reconciled between Workday and all SBB lines by your budget analyst no later than December 31st. Analysts will require a locked down version of the SBB in order to complete this process. Second, in January the Board of Education votes on the Revised Budget which includes all school and department budgets. In order to build the presentation we need to work with a stable/unchanging version of the budget in Workday.
Budget amendments that do not involve the SBB (amendments to athletics, principal discretionary, FDK) may be made up until December 31st as they are not affected by the SBB reconciliation process, but are affected by the Revised Budget.
NEW Custodial Overtime Non-Discretionary Budget Allocation: This month Budget added a new non-discretionary allocation to fund overtime for non-discretionary paid school custodians. Similar to the mandatory training overtime allocation for EA IV positions, this allocation is only to fund the overtime paid to custodial positions funded through each neighborhood school's non-discretionary allocations. Each neighborhood school received $1,200 plus Pera and Medicare for each non-discretionary funded custodian. Unused overtime will not carry over and the budget may not be reallocated for other purposes. The budget for the overtime will be held in 10-xxx-20-2622-0130-600.
New Server Location for all SBB and DBB Folders on Dec 3rd: On Friday night at 9 PM the FTE folder (location to store all SBB and DBB files) on the wilcox-files server will be locked down and all files migrated to a new server. On Monday morning, all users will be able to access their same folders using the following path: \\pdc-deptdata\budget
In order to assist budget owners with mapping the new server path, we created instructions for Mac and PC users. Click on the following links depending on your device to map the new location.
Mac - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f53OPf6ZN4mT-OHSIktPH5fPc76OKgL1OiTGukyWhm8/edit?usp=sharing
PC - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yAVkmWbvgsxgOpzGvZXlhno6j4QOK-ASSRDf4ZSi0OA/edit?usp=sharing
During the migration you will not be able to access your budget folders. All security permissions will move with the data. We appreciate your patience over this weekend as you are unable to access your files as this process will take the majority of the weekend to complete due to the amount of data in the folders. This migration will have no impact on pulling budget reports in Workday and will only impact files stored on the server.
Reminder: Balance SBB for Student Count True Up by Dec 10th: Before Thanksgiving, all neighborhood schools' SBB allocations were updated to reflect official student enrollment (October Count). Your budget analyst left the SBB out of balance (over/under allocation line will not equal zero) for each school to decide the changes they would like to make associated with the increase or decrease in funding. Please make all changes to your SBB and balance back to $0 by Monday, December 10. If you have questions regarding the enrollment numbers or changes to the allocation dollar amounts please contact Colleen Doan at cadoan@dcsdk12.org. If you need help balancing your SBB (adding budget or reducing budget on individual line items) please work with your budget analyst. Schools should not submit budget amendments associated with the student count changes. All schools will be fully reconciled between Workday and all SBB lines by your budget analyst no later than December 31 after schools balance the SBB back to $0. Updates to the certified substitute non-discretionary allocation and the inclusion of a new custodial overtime allocation will be communicated next week.
Testing Per Pupil and Career Tech Per Pupil Non-Discretionary Allocations - High School Only: All neighborhood high schools and alternative schools will receive $10 per pupil for the testing per pupil non-discretionary allocation. The Budget Office will add the allocation to the SBB and post the amendment in Workday within the next week. As a reminder, elementary and middle school per pupil assessment funded was redirected to purchase i-Ready math and reading licenses for all elementary and middle students. Please see the following guidance from the Assessment and System Performance Office for the appropriate use of these funds: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ty3y3zdfOFWPpar3YWYUBt5F45rD9p9j0-_iYJVgmx0/edit?usp=sharing
Eligible Career Tech programs at neighborhood high schools will also receive their $5 per pupil for eligible completers in 2017-2018. These non-discretionary funds were added to the SBB in the spring in prior years and will now be available during the Student Count true-up process. The Budget Office will add the allocation to the SBB at the individual program level and post the amendment in Workday within the next week.
Student Count True Up to Neighborhood Schools' SBB: All neighborhood schools' SBB allocations will be updated to reflect official student enrollment (October Count) no later than end of day Friday, November 16. All per pupil allocations will be updated from projected enrollment to actual enrollment. After updating the individual allocations at the top of your SBB, your budget analyst will leave the SBB out of balance (over/under allocation line will not equal zero) for each school to decide the changes they would like to make associated with the increase or decrease in funding. Please make all changes to your SBB and balance back to $0 by Monday, December 10. If you have questions regarding the enrollment numbers or changes to the allocation dollar amounts please contact Colleen Doan at cadoan@dcsdk12.org. If you need help balancing your SBB (adding budget or reducing budget on individual line items) please work with your budget analyst. If your SBB was out of balance as of Wednesday, November 14 before the student count changes, your budget analyst will reach out to you privately to correct the SBB prior to making the enrollment changes. Schools should not submit budget amendments associated with the student count changes. All schools will be fully reconciled between Workday and all SBB lines by your budget analyst no later than December 31 after schools balance the SBB back to $0. More information on additional non-discretionary allocations associated with student count will be shared with schools after Thanksgiving.
School Leadership, Business Services, and Principal Cabinet are developing plans to distribute additional funds to all schools from the new MLO early next semester. More information on the formula to allocate the additional funds will be shared at a later date, but every school will receive an increase. This will be in addition to the student count reconciliation process completed annually.
New Budget Analyst for Parker Region: Karlee Suhanyi has accepted a promotion from Junior Analyst to Budget Analyst within the Business Services department and will be permanently supporting all neighborhood schools in the Parker Region. Karlee has been temporarily supporting the Parker Region for the last four weeks and we look forward to her continued budget support of our schools.
ESL FTE Updates to SBB: A significant number of schools received a certified ESL teacher non-discretionary allocation update from Personalized Learning at the end of October. If your school was subject to change then your budget analyst will have your SBB allocation updated by Monday, November 5th as well as post the budget amendment in Workday. The budget analysts will not be increasing or decreasing the individual staff members on the SBB (the SBB will be left out of balance). We ask that all schools go into their SBB and adjust the appropriate teacher for the change in FTE in order to balance the SBB to $0 no later than November 16th. If your school needs to hire additional staff, please just write "TBD" in the SBB until the position is filled.
New Current Estimate Dashboard Released this Week: The Budget Office created a new Current Estimate Dashboard to replace the previous years' Current Estimate Tool to forecast neighborhood schools' year end carry over and track spending of non-discretionary allocations. We incorporated feedback from schools to simplify and streamline the tool into a one page Excel file with a smaller file size that is able to be emailed as needed. Each neighborhood school's Current Estimate Dashboard will be placed in each individual school's SBB folder on the wilcox-files server this week as in previous years. In order to assist with your understanding of your financials on the new Current Estimate Dashboard, we created two FAQ documents for you to view. Please click on the following links to view the appropriate FAQ document:
We look forward to your feedback and please reach out to your budget analyst if you have any questions.
Budget Analyst Contact List and Budget Amendment Guidelines: With changes in Budget Office staffing this school year, please see the following list of analysts for appropriate school support. Please note that as staffing changes we will communicate changes to the impacted schools as well as post our most current staffing list on our Budget Google Site: https://sites.google.com/a/dcsdk12.org/budget/contact-information
Our support is organized by high school feeder area:
CVHS, DCHS, RCHS - Olga Gintchin (ogintchin@dcsdk12.org)
HRHS, MVHS, THRS and alternatives - Amsalework Kassa (akassa@dcsdk12.org)
LHS, PHS, CHS - Karlee Suhanyi (ksuhanyi@dcsdk12.org)*
*please note the current Parker area support by Karlee is temporary due to a vacancy in the Parker budget analyst position
During Bookkeeper meetings this week we received some questions regarding when schools are required to submit budget amendments. As a reminder, whenever you move budget on the SBB you must complete a budget amendment. Budget amendments must be completed in a timely manner in order to align budget with actual spend. As a school district we are trying to minimize budget to actual variance in reporting to the Board of Education and need your help to ensure the budget is in the accurate accounts according to how you plan to spend your money. Schools may not hold their carry over in their carry over account all year if you plan to spend the carry over. The 0600 carry over ledger account is not a supply account associated with general supplies. If you were unable to attend the budget amendment training sessions offered earlier this semester and require assistance, please contact your analyst.
Budget Amendments in Workday
Now that all neighborhood schools have received their 2017-2018 carry over, it is time to reallocate the SBB carry over within the SBB depending on how you wish to spend the discretionary dollars. As a reminder, whenever you move budget on the SBB you must complete a budget amendment. Budget amendments must be completed in a timely manner in order to align budget with actual spend. Schools may not hold their carry over in their carry over account all year if you plan to spend the carry over. Workday is the financial system of record and not the SBB. In order to assist you with this process, the Budget Office is hosting a series of Budget Amendment Training sessions to learn about budget amendments and work one on one with your Budget Analyst to prepare your own amendments. There is one session of the training program left next week:
When: Wed, September 26, 8am – 10am
Where: Chaparral High School, 15655 Brookstone Dr, Parker, CO 80134, USA (map)
Description: Library Reference Room Session: 1701-6 Course Link: https://pd.dcsdk12.org/course/view.php?id=11378
If you would like additional assistance and are unable to attend this final training session, please reach out to your Budget Analyst.
SBB Staffing Reconciliations
In an effort to provide additional clarity on the joint communication regarding staffing true-up (see previous communication HERE), Budget/HR/Payroll will be presenting to the All Secretary Meeting on Wednesday, September 26th. The goal of the school initiated staffing true-up is to check for the following inconsistencies between Workday and the SBB: days per year, employees who no longer work for your site/department, employees who are working for your site/department but are not on reports, FTE changes, and pay rate type. Your Budget Analyst is separately conducting a full staffing reconciliation of all costing (programs, grants, initiatives, etc) during the month of October and will be correcting any costing inconsistencies. All school staffing will be individually reconciled by the Budget Office and schools notified when their reconciliation is complete. In order to expedite the process and minimize the number of questions your Budget Analyst may have for the school, please complete all budget amendments involving staffing by October 12th if they will impact the first semester. If staffing changes occur during the last three weeks of October please communicate your changes to the SBB directly to your Budget Analyst so they can incorporate them within their reconciliation in progress.
Workday Reports: In correlation with the previous message from Budget, Human Resources and Payroll from September 6, 2018 we have provided Site Staffing Reports within Workday for additional assistance.
DCSD Costing Staff Report without Pay - This report is intended to be run by Cost Center and will display all workers who in Workday are assigned to that Cost Center. To narrow down your results you can also add additional prompt values such as Fund and Program. Other useful information displayed on the report output includes Position Title, FTE, Scheduled Hours per Day, Scheduled Days per Year, Payroll Calendar (where applicable) and other Worktags assigned to each worker. i.e. Fund, Budget Source & Program. If you have an employee paid out of a Grant or Initiative that value will not show up on this report. To see that value you will need to run the "DCSD Costing Staff Report - Costing Allocations."
DCSD Costing Staff Report - Costing Allocations - This report is intended to be ran by Cost Center and will display workers who are assigned to a Grant, Initiative or if their pay is to be split between two or more different accounts.
*There may be instances where an employee who works in your building is assigned to a different Cost Center. This is most common with Special Education, Pre-School and Custodial employees who are paid out of a department budget but work at a school location.
Budget Amendment Training: School support staff with budget responsibilities (bookkeepers, administrative assistants and secretaries) are invited to attend one of three budget amendment training sessions hosted by the budget team this month. These sessions are ideal for new staff who do not have experience posting budget amendments in Workday or using the budget amendment Excel form for staffing amendments. All are invited to attend if you have experience with these processes, but would like to brush up on your skills.
1. Tuesday, September 18 Time: 8AM-10AM Location: HRHS Library Conference Room
2. Thursday, September 20 Time: 10AM-12PM Location: WSC Telluride Conference Room
3. Wednesday, September 26 Time: 8AM-10AM Location: CHS Library Reference Room
Session IDs to register in InspirED and more information will be available on the Homepage of the Budget Google site: https://sites.google.com/a/dcsdk12.org/budget/
Staffing Changes and Department Head Pay: Click Here for a message from Budget, Human Resources and Payroll
Non-Discretionary Funds for Mandatory Educational Assistant and Health Assistant Training through SBB: All neighborhood schools will receive additional non-discretionary funds when each SBB is updated for carry over the week of September 10-14.
These funds are to cover the necessary comp time, straight time or overtime hours for these employees from the mandatory training all Educational Assistant IV and Health Assistant staff are required to attend.
The budget for this non-discretionary allocation will be added to the SBB as follows:
Health Assistant - one per school: 10-xxx-20-2134-0150-400
$13.53/hour x 8 hours training = $108 per school (before PERA/Medicare)
2. EA IV - based on number of EA IV positions budgeted at each site: 10-xxx-20-1780-0150-400-3130
$15.79/hour x 7 hours training = $111 per EA IV (before PERA/Medicare)
We would like to emphasize these are not new training sessions that have not already been communicated by the Personalized Learning or Curriculum Instruction and Professional Growth departments. Budget is simply adding the financial resources into the SBB at this point in time so no schools' future carry overs are negatively impacted by the additional compensation paid to their staff. Please contact Colleen Doan if you have any questions.
Carry Over and Other Fall SBB Allocations
All school carry over will be awarded and loaded into the SBB and Workday no later than Friday, September 14th. Your budget analyst will notify you when your SBB is up to date as well as the carry over amounts for Principal Discretionary (Fund 10), Miscellaneous Programs (Fund 10), Capital Projects and Device Rotation (Fund 14), Athletics and Activities (Fund 26), and Specific Purpose (Fund 74).
Other Changes to SBB Coming By September 14th:
Applicable elementary schools will receive their READ Act allocation based on 2017-2018 students with Significant Reading Deficiencies. For appropriate use of READ Act funds, please refer to the Budget Guidance Manual:
https://sites.google.com/a/dcsdk12.org/budget/sbb-budget-guidance-manual?authuser=0
All neighborhood schools will also receive non-discretionary funds to cover the cost of the mandatory training for Educational Assistant IV and Health Assistant positions. More information on this allocation will be shared next week through the Business Office Bulletin.
Finally, the September Special Education true-up will be reflected on the applicable schools' SBB.
Building Leadership Team Non-Discretionary Budget and Other Non-Discretionary Reminders
Budget has received some questions on the wording in the SBB related to some non-discretionary budget allocations and would like to clarify the allocations for all schools. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any additional questions or concerns.
The "Building Leadership Teams" allocation is already included within each school's SBB and the expense budgeted for you within the Non-Discretionary Support Supplies & Services section. The description on the SBB for BLT of "Stipend plus Benefits (Coming at a later date)" is an identified error. Your budget analyst will remove the "(Coming at a later date)" note when updating the SBB for carry over next month to avoid further confusion. Please see the following excerpt from the 2018-2019 Budget Guidance Manual for the dollar amount and appropriate use of these BLT funds: Elementary schools may have four certified teachers on their BLT, middle schools may have six, and high schools may have eight. Schools will receive up to $1,500 per person and only certified teachers are eligible for the stipend. Therefore, the elementary allocation is $6,000, the middle allocation is $9,000 and the high allocation is $12,000 before PERA and Medicare. This allocation is tracked with Program 2200. The full Budget Guidance Manual is available on the Budget Google site: https://sites.google.com/a/dcsdk12.org/budget/sbb-budget-guidance-manual.
Additionally, please keep in mind that while all schools have a line item for "Testing Per Pupil" in the SBB non-discretionary allocations section at the top, this allocation will only be distributed to high schools in 2018-2019. The elementary and middle school testing per pupil funding was redirected to purchase i-Ready reading and math licenses. This change was finalized during budget development after the SBB template was shared with schools in January which is why the line item exists on all versions of the template.
SBB Updates for Special Education FTE
The Budget Office will be updating the SBB and budget in Workday for all schools with a summer Special Education staffing change by end of day today, July 27th. Depending on the school, there may be changes to certified SPED teachers, classified EA IV or classified EA V positions. Your budget analyst will reach out to you individually as your SBB is updated to match to FTE allocations communicated earlier this week by the Personalized Learning department so you may move forward with posting for new positions.
If applicable, your budget analyst also updated your ESL FTE allocations earlier this week to reflect changes communicated to principals by the Educational Programming office.
Budget Amendment Excel Forms Available for 2018-2019
The school and department budget amendment forms in Excel are now available for 2018-2019. Both forms are available to download from the Budget Google site: https://sites.google.com/a/dcsdk12.org/budget/budget-amendments
Please do not submit a budget amendment using the 2017-2018 form as benefit rates have changed to reflect the 2018-2019 budget. In addition to the new benefit rates, the 2018-2019 form now includes a project column and additional validation checks to assist with accuracy of Worktag combinations. The budget team encourages you to use the Excel form for longer amendments with multiple debit/credit lines or any amendments on FTE (salary and benefits). You still have the option to create and submit all amendments directly through Workday though.
The budget team will set up training sessions after school starts for new bookkeepers and administrative assistants who would like formal training on budget amendments. Please reach out to your budget analyst if you have any questions.
Budget Update for 2018-2019
As the start of the 2018-2019 fiscal year falls on a weekend, the 2018-2019 working budget will be available to view in Workday by the end of the day on Monday, July 2nd. Once the budget is loaded into the working budget plan you may submit budget amendments directly in Workday using the "create budget amendment" task. The budget team will send out a notification no later than Monday, July 9th when the budget amendment Excel form is available for 2018-2019. We encourage you to use the Excel form for longer amendments with multiple debit/credit lines or any amendments on FTE (salary and benefits). If you would like to review your 2018-2019 school or department budget prior to July 2nd, please select "2018-19 Adopted Budget" in the Plan Name field when running your funds available reports. This view only budget was adopted by the Board of Education on Tuesday, June 19th. Please contact your budget analyst if you have any questions.
New Professional Development Strategist Position Available to Budget in SBB
This week the budget analysts updated all neighborhood school SBBs to include a new position in the Licensed/Administrative Staffing list of available positions of the SBB. This new position is a Professional Development Strategist and can be budgeted using your school's discretionary allocations. Please contact your budget analyst if you wish to staff this position and need help selecting it from the list of available positions in order to budget for it on your SBB.
Inactive Accounts - Emailed Proposals will be out the end by June 1st
Principals and bookkeepers will receive an email with a customized proposal from their budget analyst to clear out their school's inactive accounts. We define inactive accounts as any account with either a positive or negative current available balance (budget + revenue - expense) that did not have financial activity for at least three full fiscal years. All emails will be sent out by Friday, June 1st with more information.