The short version
- Fiscal year: July 1 in nearly every state. Exceptions: Texas boards choose July 1 or September 1; Washington districts start September 1; Alabama starts October 1; Indiana budgets on the calendar year.
- Adoption: most boards adopt in June. New York holds a public vote on the third Tuesday in May; New Jersey and Virginia finish in April–May; Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida finalize in September; Indiana on November 1.
- The real deadline is the request, not the vote. Department requests are written November–January. If your product is not in a request by then, it is next year's deal.
- Selling window: September through February for a July 1 budget, with a second chance at unspent current-year funds in May–June for purchases under the bid threshold.
Budget calendar by state
The seventeen states below enroll roughly three quarters of US public school students. Dates are statutory deadlines; most boards act earlier. Search by state or keyword.
Showing all 18 states
| State | Budget adopted by | Planning window | When to sell | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California~940 districts; FY July 1 | July 1 (boards usually vote in early or mid-June after the Governor's May Revision) | January (Governor's budget) through May; first interim Dec 15, second interim Mar 17 | September–February for next year's budget; June for year-end money | CDE financial reporting calendar; Ed Code 42127 |
| Texas~1,200 districts; FY July 1 or September 1 by board choice | June 30 for July 1 districts; August 31 for September 1 districts | January–May (July districts) or March–July (September districts); tax rate set after certified values in late July | October–March; a second window in June–July for September districts | Tex. Educ. Code 44.0011, 44.004 |
| Florida67 county districts; FY July 1 | Tentative budget within 29 days of July 1 tax-roll certification (late July); final budget at a hearing 65–80 days later (September 3–18) | Governor's budget in January–February; legislature adjourns in May; districts build on FEFP estimates | November–April to be in the tentative budget; schools and departments order against the tentative budget in August | Florida DOR TRIM workbook for school districts |
| New York~730 districts; FY July 1 | Voter referendum on the third Tuesday in May; revote third Tuesday in June; otherwise a contingency budget | Tax-cap filing by March 1; board hearing 7–14 days before the vote | September–January; anything not in the May ballot budget waits a year | NYSED budgeting handbook; Education Law 2022 |
| Illinois~850 districts; FY July 1 (most) | Within the first quarter of the fiscal year (by September 30); tentative budget on display 30 days before | January–June; many boards adopt in late August or September after state aid is known | October–May | 105 ILCS 5/17-1 |
| Pennsylvania500 districts; FY July 1 | June 30 final; proposed final budget by May 31; Act 1 preliminary budget in late January or February (unless the board opts out of exceeding the index) | November–January for the preliminary budget | September–December to make the preliminary budget; February–May for the final | PDE Act 1 budget timeline |
| Ohio~610 districts; FY July 1 | Tax budget by January 15 (unless waived by the county budget commission); temporary appropriations July 1; permanent appropriation measure by October 1 | October–January; five-year forecasts filed in November and May | August–December for the tax budget; spring for appropriations | OSBA ORC dates; ORC 5705.28, 5705.38 |
| Georgia180 districts; FY July 1 | Before July 1 after two public meetings; a spending resolution is required if adoption slips | January–May; millage set in July–August after the tax digest | September–March | O.C.G.A. 20-2-167.1; GaDOE |
| North Carolina115 districts; FY July 1 | Superintendent's budget by May 1; board submits to county commissioners by May 15; county appropriates by July 1; board adopts budget resolution after | January–April; the county, not the school board, controls local dollars | September–March, and to county commissioners as well as the district | UNC School of Government; G.S. 115C-427 to 432 |
| Michigan~540 districts; FY July 1 | June 30 under the Uniform Budgeting and Accounting Act, even if the state school aid budget is not final (the state's fiscal year starts October 1) | February (Governor's budget) through June; amended in the fall once state aid is known | September–March; a second chance at fall amendments | Citizens Research Council; Uniform Budgeting and Accounting Act |
| New Jersey~590 districts; FY July 1 | April-election districts: adopt and file in early March, final adoption by about April 1. November-election districts: public hearing April 24–May 7, adoption by May 14, levy certified by May 19 | State aid notices in late February; county superintendent review in March | September–January | NJDOE 2026 election and budget calendar |
| Virginia132 divisions; FY July 1 | School board estimate to the local governing body by April 1 (or the locality's deadline); county or city approves the school budget by May 15 or within 30 days of state aid estimates | Superintendent's proposal in January–February; General Assembly adjourns in March | September–January; also engage the county or city, which appropriates the money | Va. Code 22.1-92, 22.1-93 |
| Washington295 districts; FY September 1 | Budgets prepared by July 10; adopted after a public hearing, by August 31 for first-class districts and August 1 for second-class districts | March–June, after the legislature's April adjournment | November–May | RCW 28A.505 |
| Arizona~230 districts; FY July 1 | Proposed budget by July 5; adopted by July 15; revisions allowed through May 15 | February–June | October–April | Arizona Auditor General budget instructions |
| Indiana~290 corporations; budget year is the calendar year | November 1 for the following calendar year (hearing by October 22; DLGF certifies by December 31) | July–October, after the June 30 maximum-levy release | April–September, the opposite of most states | Indiana DLGF; IC 6-1.1-17-5 |
| Minnesota~330 districts; FY July 1 | Before July 1; many boards adopt in June and revise in December | February–June; legislature adjourns in May | September–March | MSBA model policy 701; Minn. Stat. 123B.77 |
| Wisconsin~420 districts; FY July 1 | Original budget and levy by November 1, after the annual meeting (May 15–October 31) and the October 15 state aid certification; boards operate on a preliminary budget from July 1 | March–June for the preliminary budget | October–April; fall is too late for the current year | Wisconsin DPI budget timelines; Wis. Stat. 65.90 |
| Most other statesAlabama and a few others start October 1; the rest start July 1 | Before the start of the fiscal year, so June for July 1 states; Alabama (FY October 1) adopts in August–September | January–May for July 1 states | September–February | Our government fiscal-year calendar; state education agencies |
Month by month: what districts are doing and what you should do
Showing all 5 periods
| Period | What is happening | Your move |
|---|---|---|
| July–AugustNew fiscal year begins; purchase orders flow for anything in the adopted budget | Summer purchasing and implementation; Florida adopts tentative budgets; Texas September-1 districts and Washington adopt | Deliver, onboard and collect references. Light prospecting; staff are on vacation or opening schools. |
| September–OctoberSchool year starts; next year's needs surface | Principals and department heads report problems; Illinois and Wisconsin finalize budgets; Indiana adopts for the calendar year | Start discovery conversations for next year. This is the top of the funnel for a July 1 budget. |
| November–JanuaryBudget requests are written | Departments submit requests; Ohio tax budgets due January 15; Pennsylvania preliminary budgets; governors release state budgets | Give champions pricing, pilots and justification language so your line item makes the request. |
| February–AprilSuperintendents propose; boards workshop | New Jersey and Virginia adopt; New York finalizes the ballot; most boards hold budget workshops | Demos for evaluation committees; board presentations; cooperative-contract paperwork. |
| May–JuneAdoption season | New York votes (third Tuesday in May); California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Minnesota and most July 1 states adopt in June; year-end funds are spent | Close anything in the budget; sell under-threshold purchases from unspent current-year funds before June 30. |
How district budgets actually get built
- Needs surface in the fall. Principals, curriculum directors, IT, transportation and special education identify gaps as the school year starts. A vendor who is in those conversations in September and October is shaping the request.
- Requests go to the business office in winter. Department heads submit budget requests, usually November through January. This is when a quote, a pilot result or a cooperative-contract price gets your product into a line item.
- The superintendent proposes in late winter. The proposed budget is built on the governor's January budget and state aid estimates, which is why state politics change district timelines.
- Boards workshop in spring. Public hearings, trimming, and in New York and some New Jersey districts, a ballot. Committees evaluate finalists for anything over the bid threshold.
- Adoption in June, purchasing in summer. Purchase orders are cut in July and August for the fall. In Florida and Illinois, the final budget is not adopted until September, but spending starts on the tentative budget.
Three ways to sell faster than the calendar
- Under-threshold purchases. Most districts can buy below a competitive-bid threshold ($25,000–$100,000 depending on the state) from existing funds without board action. Our procurement thresholds page lists them.
- Cooperative contracts. BuyBoard, TIPS, Sourcewell, OMNIA, E&I and state contracts let a district buy without an RFP. Being on one turns a 12-month cycle into a purchase order.
- Grants and categorical funds. Title funds, state technology grants and bond programs run on their own calendars. A product that fits an allowable use can be bought mid-year.
For how long the whole process takes from first conversation to contract, see our SLED sales cycle benchmarks: an EdWeek Research Center survey found 37% of district-wide purchases take 6–11 months and 22% take 12–17.
Method and sources
Deadlines are from state statutes and the state education agency or school boards association guidance linked in each row, checked November 7, 2026. District counts are approximate. Boards may act earlier than the statutory deadline, and charter schools, large city districts and dependent districts (whose budgets are approved by a city or county) often follow different rules. Corrections: research@kensingtonsalesgroup.com.
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