The budget is the amount of money allocated to the students.
The size of the budget varies based on a number of factors. For example, the budget for a single classroom (typically hundreds of dollars) is almost certainly smaller than the budget for the entire school (typically thousands of dollars). A good rule of thumb is that the budget should be large enough to enable the students to do something meaningful but not so large as to motivate adults to exert undue influence over the process.
The source of the budget funds is typically one or more of the following:
- The principal’s budget or the the principal’s discretionary fund.
- The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), Parent-Teacher-Student Association (PTSA), or equivalent organization (PTO, PTSO).
- A corporate sponsor.
- A parent sponsor.
- A student fundraiser.
We encourage you to be creative in creating the largest budget possible, as the greater the budget, the greater the impact.