Manatee District Invites Public to Follow and Participate in Budget Process

BRADENTON -- Parents, students and employees of the Manatee County School District and citizens all across Manatee County can follow the development of the 2012-2013 school-year budget and submit ideas and suggestions by using the school district’s website and different forms of social media.

How to Follow the Budget Process

A link titled ”2012-2013 Budget Development“ is posted under Hot Topics on the home page of the Manatee School District’s website at www.manateeschools.net. Clicking on that link will lead to a web page with all of the dates for school board workshops and public hearings related to development of the 2012-2013 budget. Under each date, there are additional links where the agenda, minutes and a video of each Work Shop and Public Hearing will be posted by the School District. Please note that it might take approximately a week after each meeting for the video to be posted. The minutes for workshops and public hearings will be made available once the Manatee County School Board officially approves them.

For individuals inclined to use social media, alerts about upcoming workshops and public hearings will be sent out via Twitter and on Facebook. Twitter and Facebook will also be used to inform the public when minutes and videos of budget meetings are made available on the school district’s website. In addition, the agendas, minutes and videos of workshops and public hearings will also be posted on the School District of Manatee County’s Facebook page.

How to Submit Budget Ideas or Suggestions

When individuals click on the ”2012-2013 Budget Development“ link posted under hot topics on the home page of the Manatee School District’s website – they will also find a link that says ”Submit Budget Ideas and Suggestions Here.“ That link will take them to an email address where they can submit their budget ideas and solutions directly to the school district. Budget ideas and suggestions can also be submitted by phone via the district’s Budget Hotline at (941) 708-8770, ext. 2233.

Budget ideas and suggestions submitted by email or phone will be collected on a regular basis, catalogued and provided to members of the Manatee County School Board. In addition, links to budget ideas and suggestions that have been submitted will be posted on the school district’s website and on Facebook.

Please note that the school district is deeply interested in budget ideas and suggestions that are serious and constructive. This is not intended to be a forum for political debate or for personal attacks on district employees and departments. Submissions that violate the above criteria will be deemed inappropriate and will not be published.

For questions regarding following the budget process or submitting a budget-related idea or suggestion, please contact the Office of Community and Press Relations at (941) 708-8770 and ask for Margi Nanney (ext. 2046) or Michael Barber (ext. 2283).