8+ Sample School Budget Proposal

What Is a School Budget Proposal?

A school budget proposal is a formal letter that expresses the need to gather support for the school. This document contains one’s request for a grant to be given to support a school’s expenditures. Whether you are making a high school budget plan or a primary school budget plan, you’ll need to ensure that your plan describes the amount your institution requires. But of course, you also need to be realistic with your amount. So, recall all your incoming projects, student events, or activities in your school and state them in your budget.

Planning is also vital because you have to make sure that your school will get whatever it may need. You cannot make a budget with just a simple plan. So, you have to plan as if you are running a business, ensuring to allocate a budget that covers all your short-term and long-term expenses. Thus, you have to make a proposal that has a higher percentage of being approved by funders, grantors, and sponsors.

Categories for School Budget

In your school budget plan, you should include categories of all the expenses of the school. Here are the categories of the school budget:

 School Support: There should be allotted money for administrative expenses. You have to pay the salaries of the principal and all the administrative staff. Leadership is important so they have to be rightly compensated. Make a good budget for the school support and the school can get the best leadership that it can have.  Counseling Assistance: You have to provide a budget for counseling in your school. Counselors need salaries. There are also expenses for college prep and testing prep. You have to fund drug abuse programs and programs that support family needs.  Library Services: The library can give a big cost for the budget since books are expensive and you also have to pay the librarian. The school library budget is a must because the students will need the resources that they can get from the library. It will help them will all the research and projects.  Food Services: The school should also set some budget for food. The food should be nutritious so you have to spend a little money on this. But you should also remember to make breakfast and lunch that are affordable.  Curriculum Progress: Money can also be spent on curriculum development. You may need some allowance in making instructional plan that you can use in teaching. You have to ensure that teachers are given the essential knowledge and skills that they need in teaching the students. You may want to provide training to them and it can cost some money.  Instructional Aides: In teaching, there are learning materials that should be used. You need some supplies for the classroom. These include instructional aids. This is important because these aides help the students to learn better.  Health and Safety: Health and safety in the school are necessary. You have to provide a nurse for the school that can help the students when they get ill in school. You should also provide safety measures in school. This can add up to the cost of the budget.  Energy: The school needs to be lit. It also needs to be heated in the times of winter. And when summer comes, you need to cool down the classroom. These require a school budget that should be allotted to them.  School Facilities: A school has a lot of facilities that need a budget. Some of these are the essential appliances that you need in school. It should also provide a budget for the cleaning of the school. The school should be well-maintained. School facilities are something that can add up a lot to the budget.  Transportation: The school has to set a budget for transportation. A bus takes the kids to school and back home. You need to pay the transportation expenses and the bus driver. This is one essential category in the budget.

Tips on School Budget Proposal

Are you considering a school budget proposal for your institution? If yes, do you need some help in constructing a good proposal? If you answered yes once more, then read the following tips which you can apply to your school budget and school budget proposal.

Budget Calendar: A budget calendar can help you to make a budget for the school. Before writing a proposal, you need to set a budget that you can request for the school. A budget calendar is a lot of help in your budget plan. You can see the needs of your school for the particular year. It will be easier for you to assess the budget that you need. The budget calendar can guide you on how much will you request as a budget. You can allocate the budget for each category better. Everything can be visible to you so you can decide better how much will your budget cost. You can give ease to your work by using a budget calendar.Fund for the Staff: National Center for Education Statistics said that 64% of the school budget is spent on the salaries of the staff. This means that their salaries comprise a lot of the school budget. Having this as a truth, you must carefully plan the budget that you have to give to the staff. Make it a priority so that you can set the budget well. Assess the budget by the number of your staff, making sure that you can allocate a budget for them. Staff is very essential in school. They are the ones who are working to see that students can receive the learning that they deserve. You must take care of the staff in school. So, prioritize the budget for them. Make it at the top of your list.Broker Projections: National Center for Education Statistics has it that 23% of the school budget goes to employee benefits. This includes health insurance. To better allocate a budget for this, you need to leverage broker projections. You need to make a budgetary forecast where you can ensure insurance funds. This can help you to minimize the budget. You must not forget the employee’s benefits when setting a budget. The benefits make them loyal to the school because they are getting something good. This way you can keep good employees in your school.Rank Line-Items: In the budget development process, you need to rank line items so that you can see how you can set the budget well. Put a category for each budget and group them. Calculate the budget for each category or group. By doing this, you can see the budget distinctly. You will see the most important from what is not. You will see the biggest expenditure and you can set a proper budget for it. This is a good way how you can assess the budget better. You will see all the aspects of the budget and everything that you need. In the end, you can set the right budget for your school.Long-Term Goals: You should have to make focus on long-term goals. This includes a school improvement plan and investing for success. Allocate a budget for these things. Long-term goals for the school are important because any school needs improvement. Especially in technology. Technology is advancing and the school needs to have a budget for this. Development needs a sufficient amount of funds. To be sure that your school will not be left out of the current trend in learning, you have to set a budget for this thing. Long-term goals need funds because they may require some expenses in achieving them. So, allocate for this because long-term goals are vital.Unexpected Expenditures: Do not forget to plan for the unexpected. Things happen and these things may require a budget. Make room in the school budget for the unexpected things that may happen in your school. A disaster may strike and may destroy some parts of your school and you may need a renovation. You may have some unplanned activities for the school that needs funding. Allocate a budget for unknown things that may happen. Through this, you can have money to spend on unusual things that may take place. Add this cost to the amount of the school budget. Remember, it is better to be prepared than to be sorry afterward. So, prepare a budget for the unexpected.Be a Salesperson: Think as if you are doing everything for your business. If you will do something wrong, you may fail. With this, know that if you will not set the budget right, your school may fail. The school may not give the learning that it is meant to give. Without sufficient funds, it cannot function rightly. So, to not lack anything, you need to be a great salesperson who can negotiate about everything. Engage in sponsorships that can supply what your school needs. Be particular with discounts when providing the needs of your school. Use a salesperson’s language in negotiating the proposal with the sponsors. Salespersons are convincing, and you need to be convincing, too in your proposal. If you can do this, you will have a greater chance that your proposal will be approved. It is hard to say no to a good salesperson.Share Revenues: To have better visibility in your proposal, you can share the revenues for the school budget. State the grants that you have gotten from other sources. This can give a better analysis to the sponsors of whether they will give you a grant or not. Or how much they have to give to you. Being transparent is good because it can mean that the funders can trust you. You can handle the grant well and there is a better possibility that the money will go to where it is truly meant to be.

How to Write a School Budget Proposal

To make a good proposal, you should use a School Budget Proposal Format. Search for an example of a school budget proposal that can be your pattern. Well, if you need some steps in making a school budget proposal, you can consider the following:

Step 1: Timeline for the School Budget

First, you need to make a budget plan. Set a timeline for the school budget. To make everything easier for you, you can use a budget calendar that can help you in assessing the budget. You can also use a budget app that can ease your work. Make categories for the budget and allocate costs to each item. After you have finished the budget plan, send it to the faculty to get feedback.

Step 2: Invite Coordinators

Then, you can invite coordinators to whom you can talk about the school’s development. Make suggestions for the budget and ask their opinion about the budget plan that you have made. Their Feedback can make you adjust the budget if necessary. You can set the budget right and you can be sure that you can allocate well to the needs of the school.

Step 3: Write the Proposal

When you have decided on a particular budget, you can write the proposal. Make a good introduction for your proposal. State a mission statement that can define your goals for the school. Write clearly and concisely. But remember, your proposal should have to be impressive because you have to convince the stakeholders to give you a grant. Start strong in the proposal and end on a good note. After writing, proofread the proposal a couple of times to ensure that everything is perfect.

Step 4: Send the Proposal

After writing your proposal, send it to the council or board. Submit the proposal with the hope that you will get the funds that you need for the school. Wait for the approval or you can follow up after a week if you are not hearing anything from them. When your proposal is approved, you can get sufficient funds for your school budget.

FAQs

How much is the average school budget?

Research has it that there is $12,728 allotted for every pupil. This will have a total sum of $79.84 billion annually. There is a huge allotment for schools because school is important.

What is the purpose of a school budget proposal?

The purpose of the school budget proposal is to get grants that can sustain the expenses of the school. It is given to stakeholders and sponsors who can give money that can support the school.

The school may have a lot of expenses. But if it can search for grants through the school budget proposal, its needs will be taken care of. Getting a grant may not be easy and it requires a great proposal for the sponsors to give your request for funds. So, you have to be adept at writing. Get the right writing skills in constructing a proposal. Well, do you need a template for the school budget proposal? This post has 8+ SAMPLE School Budget Proposals in PDF. Pick any that you like and use it as you construct the proposal. Download now!