Budget Development Process

Identifying the District's Needs

The process of building the Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD) budget starts with local school district involvement. Everything in the GISD budget is derived from the direct feedback of superintendents and local districts. GISD is the only intermediate school district in the state that engages in this extensive level of a public budget process.

The existing budget development process has been followed in the GISD for over 20 years. This seven-month process starts with superintendent committees of the Genesee County Superintendents Association. The committees are:

  • Career Technical Education Committee
  • Cost Effectiveness / Efficiency Teams
  • Curriculum Committee
  • Health and Human Services Committee
  • Legislative Committee
  • Special Education Committee
  • Technical Support Committee

The Superintendents Association Committees review the GISD budget sections that correlate to each respective committee focus area. Then the committee articulates the resources and services that will assist local districts most effectively.

Following this series of reviews, a complete presentation is made to all of the 21 superintendents at an association meeting. This presentation is coupled with a review of GISD's continuous improvement process. After deliberation, the superintendents offer their endorsement of the GISD budget.

Receiving Public Input

The proposed budget documents are then reviewed by the GISD Board of Education, which recommends that the budget documents be presented at a public meeting to the representatives of Genesee County's 21 constituent district boards of education. The president of the Genesee Intermediate School District Board of Education chairs this public meeting.

The intermediate school district is required to comply with budgeting requirements established by the Michigan Legislature's Public Act 234 of 2004. The law requires that constituent districts review the proposed intermediate school district budget and adopt a resolution expressing its support for, or disapproval of, the proposed budget. Whereas the law specifically applies to the General Fund Budget, it has been GISD's practice to share all of its budgets with constituent districts.

Formal Budget Adoption Process

Following the budget hearing and upon receipt of the resolutions from the 21 constituent boards of education, GISD staff prepare for a public hearing before the GISD board of education and then recommend adoption of the budget documents prior to the June 30 deadline. After extensive review and deliberation, the GISD Board of Education approves the annual budget by resolution.