Alabama § 16-13-140 - Established for County and City School Systems; Form of Annual Budget Required; Public Hearings Required.

§ 16-13-140. Established for County and City School Systems; Form of Annual Budget Required; Public Hearings Required.

(a) There shall be a budget system for the public schools of each county and city for the purpose of promoting economy and efficiency in the finances of the public schools.

(b) The State Department of Education shall prepare proposed annual budget forms for each local board of education and shall make the forms available to each local superintendent of education by August 1 of the first year of each legislative quadrennium and by July 1 of each subsequent year of each legislative quadrennium for use with public hearings. The forms shall be clear, uniform, and concise in order to promote understanding by the general public of the budget process.

(c) Each local board of education shall hold at least two open public hearings pertaining to its proposed annual budget. Copies of the proposed budget shall be provided to the public at each hearing on forms provided by the State Department of Education. Each board shall seek input from the public concerning the proposed budget and the allocation of resources. Each hearing shall be held during a scheduled board meeting in a place and at a time convenient for the general public to attend. The chair of each board shall publicize the date and time of each hearing in the local media in advance of the hearing. In addition, notice of each hearing shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the offices of the local board of education, the county courthouse, the main municipal building, and at each affected school. The proposed budget shall reflect the total amount of resources available to the board from all funding and revenue sources. The projected enrollment and the total proposed expenditure by each board and for each school shall be available at the public hearings. The proposed budget shall clearly delineate the number of teachers, librarians, counselors, administrators and other support personnel projected to be employed at each school. The proposed budget shall clearly list the operating costs by category or function at each school. The proposed budget shall delineate by school those operating resources earned, including, but not necessarily limited to, those items contained in the Instructional Support Program of the Foundation Program, designating the amount of funds earned at each school per item based on average daily membership. After at least two public hearings have been held, the local board and superintendent shall cause a final budget to be developed consistent with the laws of this state, and shall make copies of the final budget available to the public upon request. Copies of the budget and other financial documents may be secured from the superintendent at a cost not to exceed the cost of production of the document.

(d) On or before October 1 of each year, each local board of education shall prepare and submit to the State Superintendent of Education the final annual budget adopted by the local board of education, which budget shall be prepared and submitted according to the classifications and items specified on forms provided therefor and in accordance with the regulations of the State Board of Education.

(e) No local board of education, or superintendent thereof, shall approve any budget for operation of the school for any fiscal year which shall show expenditures in excess of income estimated to be available by the various state and other officials, as required in Sections 16-13-141 and 16-13-142, plus any balances on hand, except under conditions set forth by the laws of the state governing the issuance of school warrants.