3160-Budget Procedures and Line Item Transfers
In accordance with Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-222, the Board of Education (the “Board”) shall prepare an itemized estimate of its budget each year for submission to the Board of Finance and Legislative Council for review. The Legislative Council is the “Fiscal Authority’ as defined in the Town Charter. For purposes of this policy, an itemized estimate means an estimate in which the following broad budgetary categories listed below are divided into one or more budgetary category line items.
100 - Salaries
200 - Employee Benefits
300 - Purchased Professional Services 400 - Purchased Property Services 500 - Other Purchased Services
600 - Supplies
700 - Property
800 - Other
900 - Special Education Contingency
The itemized estimate provided to the Fiscal Authority is referred to herein as the
“Itemized Estimate.”
The Board shall review the recommendations and suggestions made by the Fiscal Authority as to how it may consolidate non-educational services and realize financial efficiencies. If the Board rejects such suggestions and recommendations, it shall provide the Fiscal Authority a written explanation of the reason for the rejection.
Following the annual appropriation, the Board shall meet and revise the Itemized Estimate, if necessary, and adopt a final appropriated budget for the year. Line items in the budget may be allocated more specifically by the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee in the development, administration and monitoring of the budget.
The Superintendent and/or the Superintendent’s designee shall be responsible for administering and monitoring the budget through the course of the year. The Superintendent or designee shall maintain a system of appropriate expenditures and encumbrance accounting that is organized to conform with the requirements for State and Federal Accounting Reports. A quarterly financial report shall be prepared in a narrative format summarizing each budgetary category line item, the appropriated budget amount, expenditure to date encumbrances, projected expenditures, difference between the projected expenditures and the appropriation, and general comments indicating the reasons for the difference.
Such financial reports shall be presented to the Board at the second regularly scheduled meeting in the month following the quarterly period for which such report is prepared, in accordance with the following schedule:
Period Covered
July, August, September
October November, December
January, February
March, April
Year-End Financial Report
Submitted
October
January
March
May
August*
*The year-end report shall be completed and presented by the end of August.
Based on expenditures and budget projections, with such Itemized Estimates, the Superintendent or the Director of Business shall recommend to the Board transfers from one of the broad budgetary categories in the Itemized Estimate (as set forth above) to another as needed.
For effective and efficient administration of day-to-day operations, budget transfer authority is granted to the Superintendent or the Director of Business, as his/her designee, under the following restrictions:
Board authorization is required for any transfer between major object codes exceeding $10,000.
Transfers between major object codes less than $10,000 may be made without prior Board of Education approval, but will be referenced and approved as part of the monthly Itemized Estimate.
Transfers within major object codes may be made without prior Board of Education approval, but will be referenced and approved as part of the monthly Itemized Estimate.
Notice of major object codes falling into a negative balance will also be included in the monthly Itemized Estimate.
If an emergency transfer of $50,000 or less is needed and the Board is unable to meet in advance, the Superintendent may approve the transfer and report to the Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
The Board shall not expend more than the amount of the appropriation and the amount of money received from other sources, including any unexpended funds that have been set aside in a nonlapsing account as authorized by law and described below, for educational purposes. If any occasion arises whereby additional funds are needed by the Board, the Chairperson of the Board shall notify the Fiscal Authority and submit a request for such necessary additional funds. No additional funds shall be expended until such supplemental appropriation is granted and no supplemental expenditures shall be made in excess of those so authorized.
Unexpended Funds
Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, municipal charter, home rule ordinance, or other ordinance, the Board may deposit into a nonlapsing account any unexpended funds from the prior fiscal year from the budgeted appropriation, in an amount not to exceed two per cent of the total budgeted appropriation for such prior fiscal year. Each expenditure from the account must be authorized by the Board and shall be made only for educational purposes, in accordance with state law.
Legal Reference:
Conn. Gen. Stat.
§ 10-221
§ 10-222
§ 10-248a
Public Act 24-45, “An Act Concerning Education Mandate Relief, School Discipline and Disconnected Youth.”
Adopted: December 17, 2024
Revised: June 3, 2025