How to help your school's board or council better understand your five or ten year forecast

School budget preparation time can be an intense and stressful time for Business Managers and School Boards or Councils (Governing Bodies). The end of December always seems so far away until the September school holidays are here, and budget deadlines suddenly become more immediate.

Most Governing Bodies consist of volunteers who have limited time to read through and interpret large budget reports with lists of financial data. To help get their school budget approved faster, Business Managers can reduce the time their Governing Body spends reviewing such data by improving the analysis and reporting formats of their five or ten year forecasts (which are prepared as part of the annual budget process).