Budgeting for and funding Technology

Budgeting
Developing a budget for a long range technology plan is not an easy task. The planning committee has no way to know what the technological frontier looks like at the plans end. Items that cost tens of thousands of dollars may be fractions of that cost in three years. For all the difficulties in creating a proposed budget, the inclusion of this budget is critical to the adoption of the plan. The planning committee needs to show that they are being responsible and realistic with the direction of the plan. The plan must not be so over the top that there is no way the projects will get funded. The committee must show that what they are proposing is realistic with the funds that are available to the district over the life of the plan.

This is one area of the long range plan that requires supervision from the Technology Director. The director will work very closely with the rest of the committee to ensure that budget numbers used are accurate and that all areas are accounted for. For a well prepared Technology Director, this will be no problem.



Funding
While many members of the planning committee may have a good understanding of public education funding, it is not a requirement to get through a technology plan. It isn't as important to know where every dollar is coming from as much as to know what dollars are available to you. Equally important is knowing what initiatives can be or are already tied to outside funding sources. This section takes a brief look at some of the funding options available to the committee. Portions of this section have been taken directly from the wikibook, Directing Technology: the Job of the School District Technology Director, and have been noted.

Mapping and Documenting the Budget
Once each cost analysis is complete, it is time map out the plan. This is where much of the preparation work comes into play. Knowing the status of the replacement schedule, the current budget, and the available funding are all required at this time. In addition, the committee should have an estimated number of the total amount of funds available to them each during each year of the plan.

Armed with as much knowledge as possible, it is now time to build the estimated budget. This section is often just a simple chart showing the main segments of the budget and there costs over the life of the plan. The proposed budget does not show each individual initiative. They are buried within each corresponding section. The chart is then inserted into the document with a short narrative documenting any important notes.

Example Budget
