Administrative Budget Component
One of three categories that must be reported by school districts and included in the budget.  Expenditures include office and administrative costs, salaries and benefits for school administrators who spend 50 percent or more of their time performing supervisory duties; data processing; supplies; legal fees; property insurance; and school board expenses.

Appropriated Fund Balance
Any portion of a district's fund balance from the previous fiscal year that is applied as revenue to the district's next budget.

Adopted Budget
Spending plan adopted by the Board of Education.

Bond
A bond is a fixed interest financial asset issued by governments, companies, banks, public utilities and other large entities. Bonds pay the bearer a fixed amount at a  specified end date. Typically, the money is used for capital expenditures such as the purchase of buses or the construction or renovation of a building.  In some cases, school districts also issue bonds for other large expenditures such as the repayment of back taxes.  The goal in borrowing is to spread the cost out over a period of years and to lessen the cost to taxpayers in any one year. 

Budget
A plan specifying allocation, expenditure and resources during a particular period. 

Budget Calendar
The schedule of key dates that the school district, Board of Education and administration follows to prepare, adopt and administer the budget.

Budget Cap
When school districts operate under a contingency budget, the overall increase in the total budget (with certain exclusions) is capped at 120% of the consumer price indexes (CPI) or 4 percent more than the previous year's budget, whichever is lower.

Budget Year
The fiscal year immediately following the current year.  The school district fiscal year runs July 1 - June 30.

Capital Budget Component
One of three categories that school districts must show in their proposed budgets.  This includes all transportation capital, debt service, and lease expenditures, legal judgments and settled claim, custodial costs and all facility costs, including service contracts, supplies, utilities, maintenance, repairs, construction, renovation, debt and leasing costs.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)
A measure of price changes in consumer goods--also known as the "cost of living index." The index is calculated monthly by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some CPI components are food, housing costs and transportation.

Contingent Budget
Should the voters defeat the budget, the district has the option of offering a revised budget to voters for a revote, or immediately adopting a contingency budget.  Districts are only allowed one budget revote.  If the budget fails a second time, then the Board of Education must adopt a contingency budget.  In the case of a contingency budget, districts are constrained in two ways – determination of ordinary contingency budget appropriations and the statutory caps. Ordinary contingency expenses are defined as the expenditures absolutely necessary to operate and maintain schools (except for those items over which the statutes themselves either provide mandates for or give discretion to the board of education).   School districts operating under a contingency budget are subject to budget cap.   (See Budget Caps)

Employee Benefits
Employee benefits typically refers to amounts paid by the district on retirement plans, health life insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, vacation etc. on behalf of employees.  These amounts are not included in gross salary.  They are part of the cost of operating the school district. 

Equalization Rate
An equalization rate is the state’s measure of a municipality's level of assessment (LOA). This is the ratio of total assessed value  to the municipality's total market value. The municipality determines the AV; the MV is estimated by the state.  The New York State Office of Real Property Services (ORPS) is  obligated to administer an equalization program in order to assure equitable property tax allocation in New York State, and to insure the proper allocation of State Aid to Education funds, among other purposes. Equalization seeks to measure the relationship of locally assessed values to an ever-changing real estate market. An equalization rate of 100 means that the municipality is assessing property at 100 percent of market value.   An equalization rate of less than 100 means that the municipality’s total market value is greater than its assessed value.  An equalization rate of greater than 100 means that the total assessed value for the municipality is greater than its total market value.   Schenectady County Equalization Rates

Expenditure
Payment of cash or cash-equivalent for goods or services.

Fiscal Year
The fiscal year is the accounting year when the books for the year are opening and closed. The school district fiscal year is July 1 - June 30.

Fund Balance
Fund Balance is school district money left over at the end of the fiscal year from under-spending, over-estimating or from taking in additional revenue.  The total fund balance is made up of two parts:  Reserved Fund Balance and Unreserved Fund Balance.

The reserved portion of the fund balance is made up of money that may be used only for very specific purposes and is not available to be used for tax reduction in the next fiscal year. 

The unreserved portion of the fund balance is the amount which is uncommitted and is available to be used to reduce property taxes in the next fiscal year.  Part of this may be retained by the district and not used for tax reduction in the next year.  This retained portion is the unappropriated fund balance.  A district is permitted to keep up to four percent of its unappropriated fund. 

Fundamental Operating Budget
The total amount of money required to pay for current year programs, staffing and services at next year's prices.  This is what the budget would be if the current year's budget were simply "rolled over," but taking into consideration contractual obligations and cost increases/decreases.

Program Budget Component
One of the three categories that must be presented in the district's proposed budget and includes salaries and benefits of teachers and supervisors who spend the majority of their time teaching; instructional costs such as supplies, equipment, and textbooks; and transportation operating costs.

Proposed Budget
Spending plan developed by school administrators prior to being adopted by the board of education.  School districts are required by New York State to show their proposed budgets in three categories: administrative, program, and capital.

Reassessment
A “Reassessment” is the process of re-certifying the value of property or land for tax purposes. New York State’s Real Property Tax Law requires all properties in Schenectady to be assessed fairly and at a uniform percentage of market value.

Revenue
Sources of income.

Rollover Budget
Next year's budget based on keeping all current programs and staff.

Salaries
The total amount paid to an individual, before deductions, for services rendered while on the payroll of the district.

STAR
STAR is a property tax exemption program available to anyone who owns and lives in his or her own home. Enhanced STAR is available to senior homeowners whose incomes do not exceed the statewide standard.  STAR Tax Relief Program

Supplies
Consumable materials used to operate the school district including food, textbooks, office supplies, custodial supplies, materials, computer software.

Support Services
Personnel, activities and programs that supplement or enhance instruction.  This can include attendance, guidance, health programs, library and education services, speech and language pathologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, professional development programs, transportation, administration, buildings and more.

Tax Base
Collective value of all taxable real estate.

Tax Certiorari
The legal process by which a property owner can challenge the real estate tax assessment on a given property in attempt to reduce the property's assessment and real estate taxes.

Tax Levy
The total sum to be raised by the school district after subtracting out all other revenues including state aid.  The tax levy is used to determine the tax rate for property owners in the city of the school district.

Tax Rate
The amount of tax paid for each $1,000 of assessed value of property.  The tax rate is determined by dividing the total assessed property value by 1,000 and then dividing that into the tax levy (the sum to be raised by the district). 

Unappropriated Fund Balance
The portion of the unreserved fund balance that will be retained and not used to reduce taxes.  Districts can keep up to four percent of its unappropriated fund balance.  This money can be used to pay for emergency repairs or other unforeseen occurrences.