Finance & Operations

GOALS

The goal of the Finance Department is to provide the resources needed to support the advancement of student achievement and success in a fiscally responsible manner. The department manages all District operations and maintains the District Budget. They coordinate transportation, payroll, purchasing, residency verification, safety and security, food services, accounts payable and receivable, and oversee construction projects and facilities.

Financial Timeline

In Illinois, a school district’s Fiscal calendar begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. In Elmhurst District 205, we begin the budget process in February, when the Board of Education authorizes administration to begin to construct the next fiscal year budget. During the months of February, March and April, the Business Office begins to acquire the data necessary to build the budget. This data includes enrollment expectations, expected personnel changes, equipment and supply requests, curriculum adoptions and future initiatives and plans. Administrators, principals and teachers all work together in various committees to make decisions regarding instructional, operational and safety programs and the programs’ impact on the budget. 

During this time, the Business Office works to make accurate predictions regarding the amount of revenue that is expected for the coming fiscal year. We solicit information from the State Board of Education, the Federal agencies responsible for grants, the DuPage County Clerk and the Assessor’s office, in order to make educated predictions about what dollars the District will have to facilitate a highly effective educational program.

In May and June, we finalize our preliminary budget and enter the figures into our finance program and the legal budget form required by the State Board of Education. We begin to have budget workshop meetings with our own Board of Education in June, July and August, seeking their input on the finances of the District and the initiatives the Administration recommends. Since these meetings occur in a public forum, parents and local citizens are encouraged to provide their input as well. In August, we also post a tentative budget, incorporating these ideas and recommendations. Also in August, at least 30 days from the date of adoption of the budget, a formal notice of a budget hearing is placed in a local newspaper. In September, that hearing will take place, with an expected adoption of the final budget after the hearing.

In October, the District’s independent auditors will present their annual audit to the Board of Education, providing their opinion regarding the District’s financial operations in the previous fiscal year. Later in October, we begin to bring preliminary information to the Board about the tax levy for the next year. In November, a hearing regarding the levy will take place and the Board will adopt the levy. We then file the levy with the County, and wait until the following March to ascertain what local tax distribution the District will receive. In the months of December, January and February, we also work on putting together bids and RFP’s for any construction, mechanical or technology work that is needed to be initiated during the summer.