Budget

BUDGET DEPARTMENT

The budget preparation process includes very specific activities that take place throughout the year and which support Mt. Diablo’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) and each school’s individual School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA), a comprehensive plan providing details about the school’s planned actions and expenditures to support student outcomes and overall performance, and how these actions connect to the District’s LCAP, which lays out goals for the entire District. 

The process is also coordinated to align with California’s budget. The process begins each year in September and continues through June with the adoption of the budget by our Board of Education. 

Interim Financial Reports

Education Code Section 42130 requires school districts to prepare two interim financial reports each year.  The intent of these reports is to provide an “early warning system” to indicate whether a district can meet its current or future years’ financial obligations. 

The First Interim Report, showing expenditures through October 31, requires Board approval by December 15.  These reports are compared to every school district’s adopted budget. The Second Interim Report, covering the period ending January 31, provides a comparison to the projections in the First Interim Report, and must be approved by March 15 of each year.

The interim reports must include a certification of whether the District can meet its financial obligations. The certifications are classified as positive, qualified, or negative. A positive certification is assigned when the district will meet its financial obligations for the current and two subsequent fiscal years. A qualified certification is assigned when the district may not meet its financial obligations for the current or two subsequent fiscal years. A negative certification is assigned when a district will be unable to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the current year or for the subsequent fiscal year.   Mt. Diablo Unified has certified as “qualified” the past fifteen years. 

Budget Development

The development of Mt. Diablo Unified’s budget each year involves a collaborative and detailed process that engages a variety of important stakeholder groups representing parents, community members, and school and district staff, including:

Individual School Site Councils (SSCs)

District Budget Advisory Committee (BAC)

District Community Advisory Committee for Special Education (CAC)

District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC)

District Parent Advisory Committee (PAC)