Week 2 School Finance - TEA Budgeting Guidlines

Before starting this assignment I have been exposed to the FASRAG several times in my current job related work. As I reviewed the FASRAG for this class, I discovered that I had never gone deep enough into the FASRAG to see the exhibits at the end of the document, nor had I reviewed any materials outside of the purchasing module.
My first take away from Module 2 of the FASRAG was the exhibits. I must say each of these examples and guides are extremely helpful. Most especially the exhibits on estimating expenditures. Not only do these provide what questions to ask concerning the future budget, but also provide a complete picture of the reflective aspect of budgeting to ensure that as the new budget is prepared historical spending is analyzed rather than carried forward blindly.
My second take away was also noted by another cohort member in the methods of budgeting, line item, performance, program and planning, zero balance, and site based. I hear our school board talking about a commitment to a balanced budget and after reading the descriptions of these approaches, it seems a zero balanced budgetary approach might be truly helpful to an incoming superintendent. This approach built on the concept of eliminating outdated efforts is crucial in reducing cost and effectively balancing a budget. I see opposition to this all the time in district staff wanting to keep a program because we have always done it that way! Or we have always used this item! All they are really saying is, "Don't move my cheese." They are also saying, "I don't want to know if there is something better to use." I think this budgetary approach, although time consuming, may be good for a first year of a superintendency. For me, evaluation and change is good, if the change is initiated for the purpose of achieving a common district goal, and not just for changes sake.
Lastly, I found the budget calendar very helpful, not only for a piece of this assignment, but also in my future career. I feel very comfortable that most districts meet all state guidelines set in the FASRAG budget calendar, but again I believe this is done mostly in isolation. I may be over stepping my bounds here, but it seems with the state legislative schedule, budget crisis happening everywhere, and time lines being so short, collaboration and public hearings have become increasingly difficult. I think as a publicly funded organization we need to overcome these challenges and include the local communities that fund schools in the conversation about how we spend those tax dollars.