The Capital budget component includes expenditures for school bus purchases, debt service on buildings, leasing expenditures; tax certiorari and court ordered costs; facility costs, salary and benefits of building staff; service contracts, maintenance supplies and equipment; and utilities.

The Program budget component includes teacher salaries and benefits; instructional costs such as supplies, equipment and textbooks; co-curricular activities and interscholastic athletics; staff development; and transportation operating costs.

The population growth in a school district is most often measured from state sponsored statistical demographics studies or by performing a district wide census. Accurate population growth measures provide early signals of increasing demand for educational services. This is why census statistics are advantageous to relative statistical demographic studies (these studies tend to use Federal Census numbers often years out of date).

Censys

Censys was developed to support school districts in managing and measuring district population growth. Using a survey mailing method of census collection, districts use this information when planning each budgetary component.

Censys contains a database of building addresses within a district. On a yearly basis, the district produces a census mailing to the district population. The census mailer is a series of survey questions that request the district resident to identify themselves and the relative ages of the children in the household. It is here were information about incoming students becomes vital in capturing early growth measures.