Sec 15-903. Budget format; prohibited expenditures

A. The superintendent of public instruction in conjunction with the auditor general shall prepare and prescribe a budget format to be utilized by all school districts.

B. The budget format shall be designed to allow all school districts to plan and provide in detail for the use of available funds. The budget format shall contain distinct sections for, but need not be limited to, maintenance and operation, debt service, special projects, capital outlay, adjacent ways and classroom site fund. The maintenance and operation section shall include, but need not be limited to, separate subsections for regular education programs, special education programs and operational expenditures for pupil transportation. Each subsection shall clearly distinguish classroom instruction expenditures. The special education program subsection shall include, but is not limited to, programs for each disability classification as defined in section 15-761 and programs for gifted, vocational and technical education, remedial education and bilingual students. The total expenditures for each of these programs shall be included on the budget form. The pupil transportation subsection shall include all operational expenditures relating to the transportation of pupils, including all operational expenditures within a contract if the school district contracts for pupil transportation.

C. The capital outlay section of the budget shall include a subsection for unrestricted capital outlay. The unrestricted capital outlay subsection shall include budgeted expenditures for acquisitions by purchase, lease-purchase or lease of capital items as defined in the uniform system of financial records and shall include:

1. Land, buildings and improvements to land and buildings, including labor and related employee benefits costs and material costs if work is performed by school district employees.

2. Furniture, furnishings, athletic equipment and other equipment, including computer software.

3. Pupil and nonpupil transportation vehicles and equipment, including all capital expenditures within a contract if the school district contracts for pupil transportation.

4. Textbooks and related printed subject matter materials adopted by the governing board.

5. Instructional aids.

6. Library books.

7. Payment of principal and interest on bonds.

8. School district administration emergency needs that are directly related to pupils.

D. The budget format shall contain distinct subsections for the following:

1. Special programs to improve academic achievement of pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one through three as provided in section 15-482.

2. School plant funds.

3. Capital outlay budget increases as provided in section 15-481.

4. Property taxation, including the following:

(a) The primary tax rates for the school district for the current year and the budget year.

(b) The secondary tax rates for maintenance and operation, K-3 and capital overrides for the school district for the current year and the budget year.

(c) The secondary tax rates for class A bonds for the school district for the current year and the budget year.

(d) The secondary tax rates for class B bonds for the school district for the current year and the budget year.

5. A description of any corrections or adjustments made to the budget pursuant to section 15-915.

E. The budget format shall also contain:

1. A statement identifying proposed pupil-teacher ratios and pupil-staff ratios relating to the provision of special education services for the budget year.

2. A statement identifying the number of full-time equivalent certified employees.

F. The special projects section shall include budgeted expenditures for state special projects, including special adult projects, career education, deficiencies correction fund projects and new school facilities fund projects, such federal special projects as ESEA title programs, vocational education and title IV Indian education, and other special projects.

G. A school district shall not make expenditures for campaign literature associated with school district or charter school officials. If the superintendent of public instruction determines that a school district has violated this subsection, the superintendent of public instruction may withhold any portion of the school district's apportionment of state aid.

H. The budget format shall include an electronic format that shall be submitted for each proposed, adopted and revised budget.