budget assignment rubric

Personal Budget

The purpose of this assignment:.

• Create a spreadsheet
• Add, delete cell content
• Copy, move cell content
• Insert, delete cells, columns, rows
• Create simple formulas
• Format cell content

Preparation: (Review these terms)

New terms: (terms are bolded in the steps).

• Merge and Center a Title (#3)
• Center Column headings (#6)
• Widen column (#8)
• Insert New Row (#15)
• Insert Currency Symbols (#19)
• Create simple formula without using AutoSum (#24)
• Seeing a string of ####### signs in a column after a formula applied
• Wrap Text (#26)

A budget is a plan for your money. Sometimes, as individuals, sometimes we make purchases without remembering other obligations we already had. It is good to have a budget and to work within that budget. This exercise will give you the basics to set up your own budget. (THIS ASSIGNMENT IS WORTH 5 POINTS. THE RUBRIC OF THIS ASSIGNMENT IS ON PAGE 4.)

Personal Budget Assignment:

• Starting with a blank spreadsheet (see Review of Spreadsheet Features in this assignment), start in cell A1 type the words” Personal Budget” in ALL CAPS.
• Select PERSONAL BUDGET and change the font to Arial Black 14 pt
• Merge and Center a Title. Select cells A1 to G1. From the HOME tab, find the Alignment Group. Click on Merge &Center. The title, “Personal Budget”, is now centered on the table.
• In cell C3 type the abbreviation of January (Jan)
• In cell D3 type Feb; in cell E3 type Mar; in cell F3 Apr; and in cell G3 type May.
• Center Column Headings. Select C3 to G3. From the HOME tab, Paragraph group, click on the center alignment choice.
• In cell A4 type the word EXPENSES in all capital letters. Select EXPENSES. Bold, underline and change the font to Calibri, 14 pt.
• Widen column. Place your cursor between the letters A and B indicating the columns just below the ribbon. Double click your mouse. This will widen the column to accommodate the information in that cell.
• In B5, listing five expenses you might have. Place each expense on a separate row. Expense examples might be rent, car insurance, phone, date night, gas, bus ticket, food, credit card, loan repayment, etc. Once all your expenses are listed, widen the column between B and C to accommodate the length of the words used for expenses.
• After your last expense, skip a row and in cell A11 type the word INCOME in all capital letters. Bold, underline and change the font to Calibri, 14 pt.
• Starting in column B12, list three income sources. For example, job, scholarship, parents, tips, loan, etc.
• Next return to Cell C5 and start enter expense amounts for each month. Try not to use the same amount for each month. Be creative (it doesn’t have to be accurate.)
• Continue to enter different amounts for the other four expenses across the five months without duplicating numbers if you can.
• Next move to the INCOME section. Enter some amount for each income source across the five months. Try to make your amounts for the income section a bit higher than your expense amounts.
• Insert a new row. Select the word “INCOME. Right-click the mouse and choose INSERT from the shortcut menu. This will insert one blank line above the word INCOME. INCOME should now be in cell A12.
• In Cell A11, type the words Total Expenses capitalizing the first letter of each word. Bold these words.
• AutoSum key. Click in Cell C11, add up the totals for January using the AutoSum key. Press the ENTER key or click the checkmark on the formula bar to display the Total Expenses for Jan.
• Using AutoFill. Use the AutoFill square in the cell to drag the formula in Column C to columns D-G. If done properly, D11 formula should be =SUM(D5:D9)
•  Inserting currency symbols. You will be adding dollar signs and decimals points to C11 to G11 only. Select C11-G11. Click on the HOME tab and find the group labeled NUMBER.(the square with an arrow to the right of the word NUMBER). Look at the list of choices in the drop down dialog box and choose currency with 2 decimals.]
• In Cell A16, type the words Total Income capitalizing the first letter of each word. Bold these words.
• Using the same procedure used to AutoSum the total expenses for each month, total your income for the month. (See Step 17-18 for additional help.)
• Select C18 to G18 and change the amounts to currency. (See Step 19).
• Click in Cell A18 and type in the word BALANCE in all capital letters. Bold it and change the font to 14 pt.
• In cell C21 Start with an equals sign (=) followed by the word SUM all in capital letters
• Without spacing, after the word SUM, place a forward parenthesis; example (.
• We want to subtract the Total Income in January with the Total Expenses in January. NEVER USE FIGURES. ONLY USE CELL REFERENCES.
• Following the forward parenthesis after the word SUM, click in the cell that contains the Total Income for January. The cell reference C18 should appear in the formula.
• Next input a minus sign (-) without spacing. Click in the cell for the Total Expenses for January. The cell reference C10 should appear.
• Insert a closed parenthesis. You should see the entire formula in the formula bar as well as in cell C21. (Note: If the resulting amount is in red or has a minus sign in front of it, it just means that your expenses are larger than your income. If this was really your personal budget, you would have to figure out how to make that a positive number. You might have to reduce your expenses or find other income sources.)
• ENTER. An amount should appear that is the difference between your income and your expenses. 25.
• Using the AutoFill (see step 18), drag the formula from January to the other four months.
• Note: Seeing a string of ####### signs in a column after a formula applied. This is the result of a number being larger than the space permitted in the column. Double click between the two columns to widen the space and the amount should appear
• Select the BALANCE row and apply dollar signs and decimals to the figures.
• Wrap Text. Type your name in cell A21. Use Wrap Text to keep your name in the cell without having to widen the column. The Wrap Text button is found on the HOME tab, Paragraph group.
• Save your work and submit it through Blackboard where indicated.
• If you are not using Blackboard, print your personal budget. Your instructor may want to see the formulas you used. If that is the case, your instructor will tell you how to print the formulas used.

Check the rubric below to be sure you have completed all the tasks

• Personal Budget. Authored by : Fran Wells. License : CC BY: Attribution

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Budget Game Project – Grading Rubric

The Budget Game on PersonalFinanceLab is a long-term project where students will learn how to manage cash flow, savings goals, and credit over the course of your class. While the budget game is customizable for every class, for a 9-week course we recommend using a 12-month game (with each game taking 10-20 minutes to complete), with students “graduating” after 6 months.

What this means is that your students will start the game taking on the role of a college student with a part-time job. They will have roommates (and so lower bills), but variable hours at work (and so their income each month will vary). After 6 months, students will “graduate” from school and start their first full-time job – right as the other topics in class transition to career planning. This will give them more consistent income, but their bills also increase (because they move into their own apartment) and new bills are added for student loan payments and health insurance.

Your students will need to complete “months” of the budget game a little more than once per week of your class. Approximately every three weeks, we also have recommended in-class activities to encourage students to reflect on what has happened so far in the game and encourage a class discussion of each student’s journey.

Besides setting aside time for students to play the game itself, we also have four other sub-projects relating to the game – a “Transaction Review” after the first three months, a “Midpoint Review” after students are halfway through the game, and a Final Report/Presentation that students can prepare individually or in groups. We also have a grading rubric for how students performed in the budget game itself.

The final presentation/report combines both elements of the stock game and budget game. Students will be participating in the stock game in teams, and so the final report also has students compare their final budget game performance with their teammates.

Unit 1.6 – Budget Game – Transaction Review

If you are following wither the 9-Week or 18-Week Course Outline, this project is ear-marked for Unit 1.6. However, you can use this grading rubric at any time to accompany the Budget Game.

The first project leveraging the Budget Game comes at the end of the first unit (covering budgeting and spending plans). At this point, students will have completed their first 3 months of the game. The primary goal of the first project is to check students’ understanding of the core concepts of the game, and if they have a basic understanding of what’s happening in the game and how this translates to the real world so teachers can help clarify key learning takeaways before students dive too deep into the game itself.

They will be asked to utilize their Debit Card Statement, Credit Card Statement, and Savings Account Statements to conduct a brief review of their spending so far in the game and will be asked basic questions about their status in the game. Evaluation at this stage is based mostly on how well the students organize their thoughts and answer a few basic math questions.

Specifically, they will need to:

• Identify if they currently have any outstanding bills, or if they were faced with unexpected challenges paying their bills on-time in the game.
• What was their average savings goal each month? Were they able to consistently reach that goal?
• Identify their current credit score and give a summary of actions they have taken in the game that they believe improved or hurt their credit score.
• How did they most frequently spend their weekends in the game? Do they think it is best to focus on one or two activities, or balance their time across different activities?
• Money spent on bills (known expenses)
• Money spent on other events in the game (unknown events)
• Students in the game have the option to change some of their fixed expenses for a fee (for example, breaking their lease and moving to a cheaper/more expensive apartment). Do they believe that this will be necessary to maintain their budget in the long run?
• Based on how the game has gone for the first three months, and their current ranking on the budget game rankings page, what (if any) changes do they plan to make to how they play the game going forward?

Grading Rubric

Budget game – activity rubric.

The budget game is balanced students playing a “perfect game” following all financial literacy best practices should be able to:

• This would earn 7,200 “bonus points” through the game
• This would earn 2,000 “bonus points” through the game
• Earn a total credit score of at least 780
• And accumulate at least 9,000 “Quality of Life” points.

We do not recommend student evaluation based on their final Net Worth, and this does not factor into their overall score. We do, however, include this on the class rankings page so students can see their final standing.

This would give a student playing a “perfect game” an overall score of around 30,000 points. However, because there can be a learning curve (especially in the first three months) and these scores may be different depending on the individual settings teachers make for their class, our recommended student evaluation of the game is a bit more flexible.

Student Packet

Download and distribute the student packet for this activity by clicking the button below!

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Personal Finance Lab

Rubric Best Practices, Examples, and Templates

A rubric is a scoring tool that identifies the different criteria relevant to an assignment, assessment, or learning outcome and states the possible levels of achievement in a specific, clear, and objective way. Use rubrics to assess project-based student work including essays, group projects, creative endeavors, and oral presentations.

Rubrics can help instructors communicate expectations to students and assess student work fairly, consistently and efficiently. Rubrics can provide students with informative feedback on their strengths and weaknesses so that they can reflect on their performance and work on areas that need improvement.

How to Get Started

Best practices, moodle how-to guides.

• Workshop Recording (Fall 2022)
• Workshop Registration

Step 1: Analyze the assignment

The first step in the rubric creation process is to analyze the assignment or assessment for which you are creating a rubric. To do this, consider the following questions:

• What is the purpose of the assignment and your feedback? What do you want students to demonstrate through the completion of this assignment (i.e. what are the learning objectives measured by it)? Is it a summative assessment, or will students use the feedback to create an improved product?
• Does the assignment break down into different or smaller tasks? Are these tasks equally important as the main assignment?
• What would an “excellent” assignment look like? An “acceptable” assignment? One that still needs major work?
• How detailed do you want the feedback you give students to be? Do you want/need to give them a grade?

Step 2: Decide what kind of rubric you will use

Types of rubrics: holistic, analytic/descriptive, single-point

Holistic Rubric. A holistic rubric includes all the criteria (such as clarity, organization, mechanics, etc.) to be considered together and included in a single evaluation. With a holistic rubric, the rater or grader assigns a single score based on an overall judgment of the student’s work, using descriptions of each performance level to assign the score.

Advantages of holistic rubrics:

• Can p lace an emphasis on what learners can demonstrate rather than what they cannot
• Save grader time by minimizing the number of evaluations to be made for each student
• Can be used consistently across raters, provided they have all been trained

Disadvantages of holistic rubrics:

• Provide less specific feedback than analytic/descriptive rubrics
• Can be difficult to choose a score when a student’s work is at varying levels across the criteria
• Any weighting of c riteria cannot be indicated in the rubric

Analytic/Descriptive Rubric . An analytic or descriptive rubric often takes the form of a table with the criteria listed in the left column and with levels of performance listed across the top row. Each cell contains a description of what the specified criterion looks like at a given level of performance. Each of the criteria is scored individually.

Advantages of analytic rubrics:

• Provide detailed feedback on areas of strength or weakness
• Each criterion can be weighted to reflect its relative importance

Disadvantages of analytic rubrics:

• More time-consuming to create and use than a holistic rubric
• May not be used consistently across raters unless the cells are well defined
• May result in giving less personalized feedback

Single-Point Rubric . A single-point rubric is breaks down the components of an assignment into different criteria, but instead of describing different levels of performance, only the “proficient” level is described. Feedback space is provided for instructors to give individualized comments to help students improve and/or show where they excelled beyond the proficiency descriptors.

Advantages of single-point rubrics:

• Easier to create than an analytic/descriptive rubric
• Perhaps more likely that students will read the descriptors
• Areas of concern and excellence are open-ended
• May removes a focus on the grade/points
• May increase student creativity in project-based assignments

Disadvantage of analytic rubrics: Requires more work for instructors writing feedback

Step 3 (Optional): Look for templates and examples.

You might Google, “Rubric for persuasive essay at the college level” and see if there are any publicly available examples to start from. Ask your colleagues if they have used a rubric for a similar assignment. Some examples are also available at the end of this article. These rubrics can be a great starting point for you, but consider steps 3, 4, and 5 below to ensure that the rubric matches your assignment description, learning objectives and expectations.

Step 4: Define the assignment criteria

Make a list of the knowledge and skills are you measuring with the assignment/assessment Refer to your stated learning objectives, the assignment instructions, past examples of student work, etc. for help.

  Helpful strategies for defining grading criteria:

• Collaborate with co-instructors, teaching assistants, and other colleagues
• Brainstorm and discuss with students
• Can they be observed and measured?
• Are they important and essential?
• Are they distinct from other criteria?
• Are they phrased in precise, unambiguous language?
• Revise the criteria as needed
• Consider whether some are more important than others, and how you will weight them.

Step 5: Design the rating scale

Most ratings scales include between 3 and 5 levels. Consider the following questions when designing your rating scale:

• Given what students are able to demonstrate in this assignment/assessment, what are the possible levels of achievement?
• How many levels would you like to include (more levels means more detailed descriptions)
• Will you use numbers and/or descriptive labels for each level of performance? (for example 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and/or Exceeds expectations, Accomplished, Proficient, Developing, Beginning, etc.)
• Don’t use too many columns, and recognize that some criteria can have more columns that others . The rubric needs to be comprehensible and organized. Pick the right amount of columns so that the criteria flow logically and naturally across levels.

Step 6: Write descriptions for each level of the rating scale

Artificial Intelligence tools like Chat GPT have proven to be useful tools for creating a rubric. You will want to engineer your prompt that you provide the AI assistant to ensure you get what you want. For example, you might provide the assignment description, the criteria you feel are important, and the number of levels of performance you want in your prompt. Use the results as a starting point, and adjust the descriptions as needed.

Building a rubric from scratch

For a single-point rubric , describe what would be considered “proficient,” i.e. B-level work, and provide that description. You might also include suggestions for students outside of the actual rubric about how they might surpass proficient-level work.

For analytic and holistic rubrics , c reate statements of expected performance at each level of the rubric.

• Consider what descriptor is appropriate for each criteria, e.g., presence vs absence, complete vs incomplete, many vs none, major vs minor, consistent vs inconsistent, always vs never. If you have an indicator described in one level, it will need to be described in each level.
• You might start with the top/exemplary level. What does it look like when a student has achieved excellence for each/every criterion? Then, look at the “bottom” level. What does it look like when a student has not achieved the learning goals in any way? Then, complete the in-between levels.
• For an analytic rubric , do this for each particular criterion of the rubric so that every cell in the table is filled. These descriptions help students understand your expectations and their performance in regard to those expectations.

Well-written descriptions:

• Describe observable and measurable behavior
• Use parallel language across the scale
• Indicate the degree to which the standards are met

Step 7: Create your rubric

Create your rubric in a table or spreadsheet in Word, Google Docs, Sheets, etc., and then transfer it by typing it into Moodle. You can also use online tools to create the rubric, but you will still have to type the criteria, indicators, levels, etc., into Moodle. Rubric creators: Rubistar , iRubric

Step 8: Pilot-test your rubric

Prior to implementing your rubric on a live course, obtain feedback from:

• Teacher assistants

Try out your new rubric on a sample of student work. After you pilot-test your rubric, analyze the results to consider its effectiveness and revise accordingly.

• Limit the rubric to a single page for reading and grading ease
• Use parallel language . Use similar language and syntax/wording from column to column. Make sure that the rubric can be easily read from left to right or vice versa.
• Use student-friendly language . Make sure the language is learning-level appropriate. If you use academic language or concepts, you will need to teach those concepts.
• Share and discuss the rubric with your students . Students should understand that the rubric is there to help them learn, reflect, and self-assess. If students use a rubric, they will understand the expectations and their relevance to learning.
• Consider scalability and reusability of rubrics. Create rubric templates that you can alter as needed for multiple assignments.
• Maximize the descriptiveness of your language. Avoid words like “good” and “excellent.” For example, instead of saying, “uses excellent sources,” you might describe what makes a resource excellent so that students will know. You might also consider reducing the reliance on quantity, such as a number of allowable misspelled words. Focus instead, for example, on how distracting any spelling errors are.

Example of an analytic rubric for a final paper

Example of a holistic rubric for a final paper, single-point rubric, more examples:.

• Single Point Rubric Template ( variation )
• Analytic Rubric Template make a copy to edit
• A Rubric for Rubrics
• Bank of Online Discussion Rubrics in different formats
• Mathematical Presentations Descriptive Rubric
• Math Proof Assessment Rubric
• Kansas State Sample Rubrics
• Design Single Point Rubric

Technology Tools: Rubrics in Moodle

• Moodle Docs: Rubrics
• Moodle Docs: Grading Guide (use for single-point rubrics)

Tools with rubrics (other than Moodle)

• Google Assignments
• Turnitin Assignments: Rubric or Grading Form

Other resources

• DePaul University (n.d.). Rubrics .
• Gonzalez, J. (2014). Know your terms: Holistic, Analytic, and Single-Point Rubrics . Cult of Pedagogy.
• Goodrich, H. (1996). Understanding rubrics . Teaching for Authentic Student Performance, 54 (4), 14-17. Retrieved from   
• Miller, A. (2012). Tame the beast: tips for designing and using rubrics.
• Ragupathi, K., Lee, A. (2020). Beyond Fairness and Consistency in Grading: The Role of Rubrics in Higher Education. In: Sanger, C., Gleason, N. (eds) Diversity and Inclusion in Global Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.

Assessment Rubrics

A rubric is commonly defined as a tool that articulates the expectations for an assignment by listing criteria, and for each criteria, describing levels of quality (Andrade, 2000; Arter & Chappuis, 2007; Stiggins, 2001). Criteria are used in determining the level at which student work meets expectations. Markers of quality give students a clear idea about what must be done to demonstrate a certain level of mastery, understanding, or proficiency (i.e., "Exceeds Expectations" does xyz, "Meets Expectations" does only xy or yz, "Developing" does only x or y or z). Rubrics can be used for any assignment in a course, or for any way in which students are asked to demonstrate what they've learned. They can also be used to facilitate self and peer-reviews of student work.

Rubrics aren't just for summative evaluation. They can be used as a teaching tool as well. When used as part of a formative assessment, they can help students understand both the holistic nature and/or specific analytics of learning expected, the level of learning expected, and then make decisions about their current level of learning to inform revision and improvement (Reddy & Andrade, 2010). 

Why use rubrics?

Rubrics help instructors:

Provide students with feedback that is clear, directed and focused on ways to improve learning.

Demystify assignment expectations so students can focus on the work instead of guessing "what the instructor wants."

Reduce time spent on grading and develop consistency in how you evaluate student learning across students and throughout a class.

Rubrics help students:

Focus their efforts on completing assignments in line with clearly set expectations.

Self and Peer-reflect on their learning, making informed changes to achieve the desired learning level.

Developing a Rubric

During the process of developing a rubric, instructors might:

Select an assignment for your course - ideally one you identify as time intensive to grade, or students report as having unclear expectations.

Decide what you want students to demonstrate about their learning through that assignment. These are your criteria.

Identify the markers of quality on which you feel comfortable evaluating students’ level of learning - often along with a numerical scale (i.e., "Accomplished," "Emerging," "Beginning" for a developmental approach).

Give students the rubric ahead of time. Advise them to use it in guiding their completion of the assignment.

It can be overwhelming to create a rubric for every assignment in a class at once, so start by creating one rubric for one assignment. See how it goes and develop more from there! Also, do not reinvent the wheel. Rubric templates and examples exist all over the Internet, or consider asking colleagues if they have developed rubrics for similar assignments. 

Sample Rubrics

Examples of holistic and analytic rubrics : see Tables 2 & 3 in “Rubrics: Tools for Making Learning Goals and Evaluation Criteria Explicit for Both Teachers and Learners” (Allen & Tanner, 2006)

Examples across assessment types : see “Creating and Using Rubrics,” Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and & Educational Innovation

“VALUE Rubrics” : see the Association of American Colleges and Universities set of free, downloadable rubrics, with foci including creative thinking, problem solving, and information literacy. 

Andrade, H. 2000. Using rubrics to promote thinking and learning. Educational Leadership 57, no. 5: 13–18. Arter, J., and J. Chappuis. 2007. Creating and recognizing quality rubrics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall. Stiggins, R.J. 2001. Student-involved classroom assessment. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Reddy, Y., & Andrade, H. (2010). A review of rubric use in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation In Higher Education, 35(4), 435-448.

Teacher Comments :

4 Budget Projects High School Students Will Have Fun Learning From

By: Author Amanda L. Grossman

Posted on Last updated: May 24, 2023

These are budget projects high school students will get excited about – both fun, and a great learning experience to understand money better.

Need a project-based way to teach your teens about managing a limited set of money?

These budget projects for high school students will help them to self-discover some pretty important money lessons, such as:

• How to prioritize and track bill payment
• How a person’s job and life choices can affect their money obligations
• How to do real-world money math in various scenarios
• How a teen can improve their budget

And I’m starting the list off with my most favorite budget project!

Budget Projects for High School Students

We’re going to start off these budget projects with my very new one, a bill-paying budget project scenario.

Stick around for the other three, too!

Hint: you'll also want to check out my article on how to teach budgeting , from beginner to advanced levels.

1. Bill-Paying Budget Project

Bill paying is not something we’re born knowing how to do.

And it can feel like a slap in the face when you hit the real world and suddenly must be able to:

• Keep track of varying bill due dates
• Manage paydays, which usually come on different dates of the month than when bills are due
• Track what was already paid, and what hasn’t been paid yet, so that you recognize if a bill is missing (bills are due regardless of whether or not they got lost in the mail)

Most teenagers never deal with a monthly bill due date until they hit the real world – and at that point, slipping up can mean late fees, services turned off, lower credit scores, etc.

Why not give them a heads-up by working on a bill-paying budget project ahead of time?

Here’s a 30-day budget project, including a printable pack I created and am giving away for free for now (yes, I have plans on charging for this in the future – so go ahead and grab a copy!).

Step #1: Assign a Job + Bills with Due Dates

At the beginning of the month, assign your high school students one of four jobs. Based on the job they get, they’ll be assigned a list of bills with due dates, and a blank monthly money calendar.

Let your students know they’ll be paying bills over the course of the next month, according to when they are due. Also, tell the students there will be two paydays for the month, and that they’ll be paid pretend money on these days (here is free printable money for kids ).

They’ll take their bills sheet, and correctly fill in their monthly money calendar with each of the due dates, plus their paydays. They are then responsible for paying each of these bills by the due date (or face a late fee).

You can choose how to keep track of everything, but I would recommend a bill pay pocket chart.

Here’s how I set mine up to test everything out:

These two items were enough for a class of 30 students:

• Pocket Chart
• Pretend Money

Step #2: Set Up a Bill Paying Station

You’ll need an area of the classroom to collect their money, and to sign-off on their bill-paying sheet to show they’ve paid.

The person in charge of this can be a teacher, teacher’s aide, or a student treasurer (you can switch out each week who fulfills this role). 

Choose what schedule the bill-paying station will be open, and use the printable bill pay chart to communicate times/dates.

Step #3: Run the Month-Long Simulation

Students are now in charge of paying their bills, as they become due (or ahead of time). The treasurer/banker is in charge of keeping the bill-paying station running, as well as filling in the one-sheet student ledger for when each person pays and how much they end up paying.

And someone else (perhaps the teacher) is in charge of paying the students on each of the two paydays.

At the end of the month, there is a set of reflection questions for students to fill out.  

Bonus: Tradeoffs and Prioritizing Money

To increase the “budgeting” part of this, you could come up with things that pretend money can buy.

This would mean that the students need to prioritize their money and make sure they have enough of it left to pay for each bill by its deadline.

For tight budgets, you can use privileges.

• $10 buys you 5 extra minutes on an educational computer game
• $15 buys you one late homework pass
• $XX buys you XXX
• Etc.  

Could make things more interesting!

Hint: you'll also want to check out my article on how to teach budgeting .

2. Three-Budget-Scenarios Project

Have you checked out my article on sample budgets for an 18-year-old ?

One of the things I stress is a teen should create a budget for more than one scenario for their next step in life, since an older teen’s life opportunities can change so quickly.

Hint: you could show one of these free financial literacy movies for students as to why they need backup plans.

You can take your own high school students through this, as a project.

Step #1: Download a Teen Budget Worksheet

Choose a teen budget worksheet for your students (you can get mine, for free, below), and print out three copies each.

Step #2: Brainstorm Next-Step Scenarios in Teen’s Lives

Get your students to help you brainstorm some common (and not-so-common) next steps that can happen in a teen’s life.

• Getting a first apartment alone
• Getting a first apartment with a roommate
• Going to college
• Going to a trade school
• Living with parents with new money responsibilities (like paying rent)
• Taking a gap year/traveling for awhile

Step #3: Pick 3 Scenarios to Create a Budget Around

Either pick three scenarios from the brainstormed list that every student in your entire class will work on, or let your students pick three different scenarios they’re thinking about living out after they graduate.

Hint: one of the scenarios can be to create a teen budget for their life right now. Then, they can choose their ideal scenario to budget around, and finally their backup plan scenario to budget around.

Help your students to first brainstorm the budget line items for each scenario.

For example, for a first-apartment scenario, they would want to include:

• Utilities (water, electricity, natural gas, trash pick-up, etc.)
• Transportation costs

Step #4: Compare and Discuss Pros/Cons

Ultimately, you want your teen students to see how much they’ll need to earn in order to survive on each of three different scenarios.

You’ll then want to guide discussion on the pros and cons, from a financial perspective, to each of the three different paths post-high school.

3. End-of-Year Class Party Budget Project

Decide to throw an end-of-year party for your class, and let them not only handle most of the logistics, but also handle the budgeting for it.

You’ll need to have a budget for this, which can be gained from fundraising, donations, etc.

Have each student in the class be in charge of something, perhaps broken up by groups. Then, have the entire class be in charge of the big budget decisions.

Budget decisions to be made:

• How to raise the money (if it’s not provided)
• What percentage of money to spend in each category (food, decorations, entertainment, etc.)
• Any rules or limitations when spending the money, as well as basic party setup (also great for teachers to provide their own rules and limitations – but you already knew that!)
• This or That scenarios, where the class must decide on budgeting priorities (for example, would they rather have decorations, or more money spent on the food?)

There are also some great budgeting decisions that need to be made at the group level.

Group budget decisions to be made:

• Specific items to purchase with the overall budget
• Amount of money to spend on each item
• Research the cost of an item online vs. in-store, and weigh which one is better to purchase (take into consideration cost of gas and cost of shipping to get the item, whether or not you can find an online coupon or regular coupon to use, quality of product and how many times it’ll get used, etc.)

4. Fun Budgeting Simulation

Did you know I have a free, fun budget activity PDF for high school students?

Students use a fun fortune teller to be assigned one of 4 avatars, with a backstory that includes:

• Career stage
• Lifestyle stage
• Salary info
• Budgeting info

They’re asked to fill in a budget worksheet based off of their brief. Then, they’re thrown a few budgeting scenarios where they need to think on their feet (based on the budget info they filled out) about how to handle it.

Things like:

• New job/lose job
• Hurricane soaks your belongings

It’s pretty fun!

Psst: you'll also want to check out these personal finance project examples .

I hope I’ve shown you some budget projects high school students can really get behind, because they’re at least a bit fun, they teach real life information, and they’ll make them think. I’d love to hear from you as far as how it goes!  

• Latest Posts

Amanda L. Grossman

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Budget for 2024 definitively adopted

17 april 2024

More income to be received under the government grant

The budgeted revenues of the UvA have significantly increased in 2024 compared to the projected revenues in 2023. The expected government grant has been updated based on the first government grant letter for 2024.  For the UvA, this leads to significantly more income to be received under the government grant. The main reasons for this are wage/price adjustments and new allocations.

Increased financial scope for CLA wages

The UvA is a non-profit organisation and aims for a zero result. This means that higher income in the 2024 budget also allows us to budget higher expenses. The extra financial scope is mainly used to cover the pay increase under the collective labour agreement (CLA), but accommodation, depreciation and other expenses also increase due to inflation and growth of the university. Although, it is anticipated that inflation in the upcoming period will likely be lower than in recent times.

Long-term forecast

There are new developments that will exert a downward pressure on revenues in the coming years. The proposed legislations for additional regulation of international influx, upon implementation, are expected to result in a lower intake of students. The strain on the Dutch government's finances may have an adverse effect on the UvA's income. Efforts will be made to make up for declining revenues as much as possible by increasing other revenues. At the same time, a long period of financial growth will come to an end after 2024.

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Mayor Bowser Presents Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Proposal, A Fair Shot: Strategic Investments and Shared Sacrifice

(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser delivered her Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Budget and Financial Plan, A Fair Shot: Strategic Investments and Shared Sacrifice, to the Council of the District of Columbia as part of the District’s annual budget process. The FY25 budget represents strategic investments and shared sacrifices to address a confluence of post-COVID factors and drive economic growth.

“Never bet against Washington, DC. We are a resilient city. We never give up. We know how to make a strong comeback. But our wins are also not accidental. We’re smart, creative, and strategic. That is the spirit of my fiscal 2025 budget. This is a smart budget, it’s a responsible budget, but most important, this is a budget that will keep DC the best city in the world,” said Mayor Bowser. “I know that by continuing to work together – by striking the right balance between investments and sacrifice and by prioritizing investments that will kick off more revenues for the District – we will get back to the economic growth levels that have fueled the renaissance of modern Washington.”  

The FY25 budget and financial plan is made up of $21 billion in operating funds and $11.8 billion in capital improvement funds. The post-COVID economic factors include: slower revenue growth; the end of federal stimulus funding; significantly higher operating costs, including an additional $200 million in WMATA funding; and the impacts of the remote work environment. The District’s budget is also unique because DC Government is required to have a balanced financial plan across both the current fiscal year and the upcoming four years of the financial plan. The result of these factors is a widening gap across the financial plan that requires prudent investments now to change the trajectory of our out-year revenue estimates. 

Mayor Bowser shared her guiding principles for creating the budget:

• Maintaining and enhancing core services and preserve investments that protect health and safety.
• Prioritizing programs with track records of success that advance equity.
• Resetting spending to align with resources for long-term fiscal stability and focus new spending on catalytic investments, with a focus on public safety, education, and Downtown.

Below are highlights of investments and initiatives in Mayor Bowser’s FY25 budget proposal.

Downtown Prior Investments We’re Maintaining

• $5 million for DMPED’s Vitality Fund, which provides grants to businesses in high-growth sectors like technology and life sciences to encourage them to locate in or remain Downtown
• $50 million in incentives for building owners to convert underutilized Downtown office space into housing for DC residents
• $68 million for major streetscape initiatives, including the I Street Greenway, a new green boulevard connecting Farragut Square and McPherson Square; the Dupont Crown Park deck over of Connecticut Avenue north of Dupont Circle; and completion of the Pennsylvania Avenue NW streetscape between 17th Street and Washington Circle

New Investments for FY 2025

• $515 million for the Chinatown Revitalization Fund to support sports arena renovations, streetscape improvements, public space activations, and/or expanded green space
• $64 million to build additional permanent supportive housing and congregate shelter space on the site with the existing Federal City Shelter
• $32 million in federal tourism grants and marketing, supporting activities for families and workforce development for the hospitality and tourism industries
• $26 million to implement the Business and Entrepreneurship Support to Thrive (BEST) Act that will streamline business licensing
• $13 million to support a new program that will freeze in place property taxes for conversions of office buildings into new uses Downtown
• $5.25 million to support DC’s hosting of World Pride in 2025
• $5 million to create a new Downtown Arts Hub, a flexible, multi-use space for theatre, dance, music, and visual arts organizations
• $3 million for DMPED’s Festival Fund, to continue making it easier for organizations to host festivals and to support the attraction of art fairs and go-go music festivals Downtown
• $2.6 million to activate the Gallery Place Festival Plaza, Dupont Crown Park, and I Street Greenway
• $2.5 million to support pop-up and short-term retail in vacant commercial spaces
• $1 million to establish a comprehensive transportation vision for Downtown
• $564,000 to host more cultural events and programs at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library and serve more residents and tourists in Downtown DC
• $500,000 for new planning initiatives to identify public space improvements to the Penn West and Downtown West/Golden Triangle neighborhoods in Downtown
• $300,000 for ongoing operation of the new Chinatown Safe Commercial Corridor Hub providing added public safety and human services agency presence
• $300,000 to support the installation of murals that celebrate the history and culture of the Gallery Place/Chinatown neighborhood
• $250,000 to market Penn Quarter as an arts, culture, and entertainment district

Education Prior Investments We’re Maintaining

• $7 million to maintain ARPA-level funding for DC School Connect which provides safe transportation to more than 350 students and boosts school attendance
• $6.8 million to maintain ARPA-level funding for support of out-of-school time educational and enrichment programs for children and youth
• $4.8 million to maintain ARPA-level funding for High Impact Tutoring supports for our most vulnerable learners
• $4.3 million to maintain ARPA-level funding for career and technical education and internship opportunities for the District’s youth, including investments in the District’s first Advanced Technical Center in Ward 5
• $1.9 million to maintain funding for nutritional and food curriculum supports at DC Public Schools
• $1.8 million to continue collecting data on the classes offered at schools to ensure students have access to rigorous coursework
• $1.7 million to maintain a scholarship program at the University of the District of Columbia for residents who seek a career pathway within behavioral health
• $1 million in sustained support of community-based organizations and schools who provide workforce preparation and training to adults in the District
• $700,000 to maintain ARPA-level funding for the District’s dual enrollment program, empowering youth in high school to earn college credit 
• $669,000 to maintain ARPA-level funding for commitment to students with special education needs and their families through the Special Education Hub, which provides residents with tools, information, and one-on-one support
• $668,000 to continue support for the Office of Education through Employment, which provides key insights into how education and workforce investments are impacting residents and their families
• $375,000 to maintain investments in “nudge technology” to address chronic absenteeism at the District’s public schools
• $300,000 to maintain ARPA-level funding for virtual course offerings for more than 200 high school students across the District
• $2.2 billion to support full modernization of 33 schools across the District 
• $349 million to support a 12.4-percent increase to the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF)
• $255 million to support small capital improvements to DC Public Schools including HVAC replacement, roof repairs, field replacements, and other important upgrades
• $52 million for facility renovations and upgrades at the University of the District of Columbia to ensure facilities are kept in a state of good repair
• $42 million to improve the safety and security of DC Public Schools through enhanced lighting, fencing, and access control
• $17 million to expand the Advanced Technical Center at Penn Center to include a healthcare employer partnership, providing career and technical education to the District’s students and healthcare services to residents, and $600,000 to support the opening of a new Advanced Technical Center at the Whitman-Walker Max Robinson Center in Ward 8
• $10.2 million to bring greater transparency into students’ PK-12 education and workforce data and outcomes
• $7.5 million to support more efficient ways to transport eligible special education students to school
• $5 million to upgrade the audio-visual equipment in auditoriums and other large spaces in schools 
• $2 million to implement high quality instructional materials for teachers based on recommendations from the literacy task force
• $1.1 million for additional academic advisors to support student success and outcomes at the University of the District of Columbia
• $581,000 to expand access to career and technical education programming in Ward 8
• $550,000 to continue investments in expanding the teacher pipeline in the District by establishing a teacher apprenticeship program and enrolling 50-100 residents in the first year
• $500,000 to support educator wellness grants to ensure teachers are well supported in the classroom and can bring their best selves to work

Public Safety Prior Investments We’re Maintaining

• $9.7 million to maintain ARPA-level funding for Safe Passage to support students getting to and from school safely and expand coverage through roving teams in neighborhoods experiencing short-term increases in crime
• $21 million to fund increased costs of the Department of Corrections health care contract due to increased population
• $11.7 million to maintain ARPA-level funding and accommodate increased needs for SAVRAA and Victim Services
• $8.9 million to maintain ARPA-level funding for expanded Violence Interrupters
• $4.5 million to maintain mandated academic programs for the increased number of Department of Corrections residents with individualized education plans
• $3.5 million to maintain ARPA-level funding for the Pathways Program helping participants gain job training programming and assisting them in navigating available services
• $2.1 million to restore funding for 12 testing and support staff in the Public Health Lab following expiration of federal grants
• $637,000 to maintain funding to support returning citizens as peer navigators so they can help others navigate available resources and opportunities
• $2.3 million to expand Safe Commercial Corridors and Private Security Camera Incentives
• $1.8 million to support the implementation of Secure DC changes to pre-trial detention
• $322,000 to increase private security camera incentives for businesses
• $160,000 to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) to stand up a new diversion task force
• $13 million to increase the Metropolitan Police Department’s crime-fighting capabilities by nearly tripling the department’s CCTV camera footprint and replacing end-of-life license plate readers
• $8.7 million to create 40 new community safety officers and fund new civilian positions in the Metropolitan Police Department to free up 46 sworn officers for more critical crime-fighting tasks
• $7 million to increase capacity to serve 500 additional youth through PASS and 180 youth through ACE
• $463 million to build a new correctional treatment facility annex, which will provide a secure environment for evidence-based practices that support residents’ safe return to the community and reduce recidivism
• $157 million to purchase new ambulances, ladder trucks, a new fire boat, and other critical lifesaving apparatus 
• $4.8 million to fund procurement of critical life-saving equipment for fire and emergency medical response personnel
• $4.8 million to plan and design a new state-of-the-art joint training facility for FEMS and MPD
• $3.4 million to procure and maintain important crime-fighting technology, including upgraded software to support license plate reader technology
• $3.2 million to expand processing capacity for fingerprint, drug, and DNA sample testing
• $3.1 million to hire additional staff at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services to provide supervision and positive engagement with youth residents and to evaluate and improve DYRS processes and programming
• $1 million to hire additional 911 call takers and dispatchers at the Office of Unified Communications
• $841,000 to continue the development of the District’s premiere paramedic school, which will train up to 70 local paramedics per year
• $400,000 to fund hiring, retention, and wellness programs for correctional officers to provide sufficient staffing for the increased resident population at the Department of Corrections
• $358,000 to fund hiring and retention incentives for forensic scientists and analysts that increase the District’s capacity to respond to crime scenes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 

Recreation & Libraries Prior Investments We’re Maintaining

• $129 million to modernize and construct recreation and community centers, including $13 million for Emery Heights, $14.5 million for Fort Davis, $7.5 million for Crummell, $17 million for Randall, $17 million for Harry Thomas, $3 million for Marvin Gaye, $11.9 million for Douglas, $12.4 million for Langdon, $20 million for River Terrace, and an additional $8 million for Fort Lincoln to support space for childcare facility seats
• $87 million to modernize and renovate our public libraries, including $25 million for the Shepherd Park Library, $24.7 million for Rosedale, $20.5 million for a new Northwest Library, $6 million for Chevy Chase, and $5.5 million to complete Parklands-Turner;
• $1.1 million to maintain ARPA-level funding to bring more recreation offerings and opportunities to neighborhoods without recreation facilities
• $576,000 to maintain ARPA-level funding for Late-Night Hype and Late-Night Drip at recreation facilities across the District, providing safe spaces for youth and children
• $6 million for a playground equipment blitz, to include refreshes at Hobart Twins, Langdon, Lovejoy, Westminster, and North Michigan
• $5 million for preventative maintenance to ensure DC public libraries are well-maintained
• $2.6 million for an athletic field and basketball court blitz, to include refreshes at the Marvin Gaye Rec Center athletic field, Joy Evans Therapeutic Rec Center basketball court, Ely Place basketball courts, and Fort Stanton football field
• $2.25 million to replace synthetic turf at Joe Cole playground, Guy Mason playground, and Riggs LaSalle
• $2.1 million to modernize technology infrastructure across the DC Public Library system, ensuring residents have continued access to online information sources
• $1.7 million for a playground surface blitz, to include refreshes at Guy Mason, Raymond, Ft. Stevens, Newark, Hamilton, Benning Stoddert, and Mitchell Park
• $1.25 million to renovate the KC Lewis Playground
• $1 million for a tennis court blitz, including refreshes at Harry Thomas Recreation Center, Kennedy Recreation Center, Ely Place, Fort Davis, and Fort Reno
• $886,000 to address necessary building and children’s slide upgrades at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
• $825,000 in FY 2024 to replace the windows at Anacostia Library
• $750,000 in FY 2024 to deliver a boxing annex at the Ferebee Hope Recreation Center, as promised to the community
• $663,000 for enhanced security and mental health services throughout the DC Public Library system, including additional special police officers and mental health workers
• $500,000 for a fencing and gate blitz to replace and repair fences and gates at DPR facilities
• $500,000 to begin planning and design efforts for a new state-of-the-art, multi-level sports complex at or near RFK stadium campus

Housing & Economic Development Prior Investments We’re Maintaining

• $59 million contribution to the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF), providing financing for developers to create new affordable housing units in the District
• $85 million to support continued infrastructure development at the St. Elizabeths, Hill East, and Fletcher Johnson sites
• $7 million to continue Great Streets, transforming emerging commercial corridors into thriving and inviting neighborhood centers
• $2.5 million to maintain ARPA-level funding for the Commercial Property Acquisition Fund, providing down payment, closing cost, and other assistance to help equity impact enterprises buy commercial property
• $4.2 million to help low-income homeowners make critical upgrades to their homes
• $4 million to help DC government employees become first time homeowners
• $1 million to maintain the Heirs Property Legal Services, to assist multi-generational families in maintaining their family property after the death of the original homeowner
• $1 million to maintain funding for the Strong Families, Strong Futures pilot, providing cash assistance to low-income mothers in Wards 5,7, and 8
• $101 million to rehabilitate and modernize public housing units managed by the DC Housing Authority
• $66 million to complete DMPED’s New Communities Initiative at Bruce Monroe and Park Morton, including 117 public housing replacement units
• $28 million for Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP), to help first-time homebuyers with down payment and closing cost assistance
• $10 million to support planning and initial development of the Poplar Point site
• $4.8 million for project-based vouchers to support new affordable housing units coming online

Transportation & Environment Prior Investments We’re Maintaining

• $16 million to continue the Kids Ride Free and Adult Learners’ Transit Subsidy programs
• $12 million to maintain new overnight Metrobus service launched in 2023
• $5 million to maintain ARPA-level funding for the District’s Public Works Employment Program, a job-training program that will also fill critical gaps in the DPW’s workforce and provide a pathway to permanent employment
• $3 million to continue the District’s curbside composting program, providing at-home organic waste pickup for 9,000 households
• $2 million in maintained investments at the Department of Buildings to reduce permit issuance timelines and strengthen overall customer experience 
• $900,000 for installation of floodproofing upgrades for homes in vulnerable floodplains, especially in Wards 7 and 8 
• $217 million in additional funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to support Metrorail and Metrobus service levels
• $3 million to support the operating and maintenance costs of Capital Bikeshare’s continued growth, including more stations, e-bikes, and traditional bikes
• $1 million to update IT systems at the headquarters of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to avoid critical service interruptions
• $750,000 to help restaurants comply with forthcoming Streatery design regulations by providing free consulting services and construction materials
• $620,000 to explore new “microtransit” services in select areas affected by proposed changes in Circulator service

Major Capital Investments

• $289 million to reconstruct the H Street Bridge, providing needed repairs to the bridge and enabling the future redevelopment of Union Station
• $210 million in local and federal funds to support the planned extension of the DC Streetcar to Benning Road, including replacement of the Lorraine Whitlock bridge, improvements to the interchange of Benning Road and I-295, and streetscape improvements in the corridor, including to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety
• $206 million to plan or implement the redesign of 14 road segments to improve safety for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists, focusing on segments with the highest rates of crashes and injuries
• $193 million for paving and maintenance of local streets to maintain a state of good repair
• $115 million for maintenance of the existing sidewalk network and construction of new sidewalks in areas with gaps
• $109 million for the Bus Priority Program, deploying strategies to improve bus speeds and on-time reliability, including bus-only lanes, priority traffic signal installations, bus bulb-outs, and more
• $98 million for rehabilitation of alleys throughout the District
• $77 million to build or rehabilitate seven multi-use walking and biking trails, including multiple new connecting segments on the Anacostia River Trail, another portion of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, and rehabilitation of the Suitland Parkway Trail
• $56 million for construction, maintenance, and hardening of quick-build traffic calming and safety interventions
• $54 million to replace street trees and continually replenish and expand the city’s tree canopy
• $50 million for a third entrance at the NoMa-Gallaudet Metro Station to improve pedestrian access to Union Market and areas east of the station
• $47 million for remediation of hazardous materials in the Anacostia River to make the waterway safe for swimming, fishing, and recreation
• $47 million for the 11th Street Bridge Park, a transformative pedestrian bridge and park that will connect the Anacostia and Fairlawn neighborhoods with Capitol Hill and Navy Yard
• $44 million for design and construction of traffic safety improvements near 75 schools
• $32 million to expand the District’s network of protected bike lanes and make pedestrian safety improvements
• $30 million for the Traffic Safety Inputs program to install traffic safety interventions in response to community requests
• $16 million in federal funds to conduct stream restoration and stormwater management projects
• $11 million to deliver the new pedestrian and bicyclist bridge connecting the Anacostia Metro Station to Barry Farm
• $10 million for Capital Bikeshare to build additional stations, replace stations at the end of their useful life, and to refresh and expand the fleet of traditional bikes and e-bikes
• $1 million to continue planning and design for future dredging of the Anacostia River to expand boating and other recreational opportunities 

Health & Human Services Prior Investments We’re Maintaining

• $30 million to support rental assistance through the Family Re-Housing Stabilization Program (FRSP) for families at imminent risk of homelessness
• $18.9 million to continue ARPA-level funding for the Career Mobility Action Plan (Career MAP) program, which will help 500 District families avoid losing public assistance benefits as their careers advance and incomes rise
• $13 million to continue providing long-term housing and intensive case management to individuals and families who are chronically homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless
• $7 million to continue ARPA-level funding for 24/7 operations at six homeless shelters in the District
• $4.8 million to continue ARPA-level funding for diversion of some 911 calls for residents experiencing mental health distress to the Department of Behavioral Health’s Community Response Team and Access HelpLine
• $4 million to continue ARPA-level funding for transitional housing and drop-in centers that provide meals, showers, shelter, and case management services to youth experiencing homelessness 
• $2.3 million to continue residential support to individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities
• $600,000 to provide workforce development services for transgender and gender non-conforming residents who are experiencing homelessness and housing instability
• $600,000 to continue the substance abuse pilot and behavioral targeted outreach pilot in Wards 1, 5, and 7
• $23 million for renovations to DHS’s Naylor Road, V Street, Emery, and Madison shelters, as well as various small-scale improvements at other shelters in the system
• $39 million in funding for the Office of Migrant Services to ensure migrants arriving in the District are treated humanely and have the resources they need to reach their destination or resettle
• $22.5 million to build a new city-owned animal shelter replacing the current shelter facility on New York Avenue
• $21.3 million to create a Behavioral Health Alliance benefit that will provide funding for DC residents who do not qualify for Medicaid. This coordination with the Department of Health Care Finance will provide District residents who do not qualify for Medicaid with complete healthcare benefits.
• $12 million to support the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), supporting District residents who are facing housing emergencies and evictions
• $20 million to fund required cost-of-living adjustments for recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• $13 million for operating costs for two new non-congregate homeless shelter facilities—The Aston and 25 E Street—that will soon come online
• $6.8 million to ensure compliance with a new federal mandate requiring the District to provide 12-month continuous eligibility for children under the age of 19 in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• $6.3 million to support the rising cost of complete care for children in foster care and their associated placements in Family Based Settings and Congregate Care Settings
• $750,000 to support the expansion of the Safe at Home program providing in-home adaptions for seniors to reduce the risk of falls
• $450,000 to support the Dementia Navigators program supporting older adults with dementia by linking them to community resources, providing education, and managing behavioral symptoms
• $350,000 to increase funding for Senior Villages, neighborhood-based nonprofit organizations that help seniors find useful community resources so they can continue to live safely, comfortably, and actively in their homes
• $300,000 to establish a pilot program for emergency childcare needs for birthing parents

Government Operations New Investments for FY 2025

• $48 million to cover increases in the District’s rising costs related to leased office space, building security, and utilities, especially electricity
• $29 million to support critical infrastructure and roof replacements at DC government facilities
• $22 million to support building needed improvements at the Marion S. Barry, Jr. building and John A. Wilson government buildings
• $17 million in capital funding to further protect against cybersecurity threats by replacing outdated network hardware and security applications across District government
• $6.8 million to support energy retrofits at DC government facilities 
• $1.7 million for the new Office of Artificial Intelligence, launched in FY 2024 and housed at OCTO, which is responsible for developing an AI strategy for District government as well as tools for agencies to use to make the most of available AI technology
• $1.5 million to continue the development and support the ongoing operations of the new DC Business Portal, which streamlines various licensing processes for District businesses
• $575,000 to add new staff and contractual capacity for the design and rollout of DC.gov 2.0, a redesigned website for District government 

Shared Sacrifices To ensure we are able to invest in our comeback and remain fiscally prudent, we need to jointly contribute to filling gaps, across the government and across the community, to move forward, together.

In FY25, DC Government closed $500 million, more than half of the budget gap, through:

• Eliminating positions, rightsizing spending, and focusing on moving forward with programs we know are working. 
• Cutting duplicative or lower-performing programs and resisting starting new programs that would only add to longer-term financial pressures. 
• Looking across government for savings by eliminating mobile devices and phone lines no longer in use, rebalancing the capital portfolio, maximizing federal reimbursements, and consolidating licenses and software purchases. 

To close the remainder of the gap in FY25, or approximately $300 million, the budget identifies new revenues that will be shared across the community:

• Businesses will help through an adjustment to the Paid Family Leave tax back to fiscal 2021 levels to support DC’s human services safety net.
• And guests will help through a small 911 fee on hotel room stays to support increased public safety hiring.

If, after FY25, there is still a gap to close, then beginning in FY26, consumers will help through a modest sales tax increase to support increased Metro costs.

See the full budget presentation at budget.dc.gov .   

Mayor Bowser X:  @MayorBowser Mayor Bowser Instagram:  @Mayor_Bowser Mayor Bowser Facebook:  facebook.com/MayorMurielBowser Mayor Bowser YouTube:  https://www.bit.ly/eomvideos

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iRubric: Family Budget Project rubric