The budget is one of the most important parts of your plan and it is imperative that you get it right. Budgets should include safety and security along with provisions for interoperability. Identify specific titles or at least categories of supporting resources needed, such as devices, software, and subscription services. Itemize expenses according to each year of the plan to ensure that future planned purchases are likely to be realized. Include all professional development needed to achieve your goals.

Budget Considerations

Budget and Timeline

The budget that you build to support your digital learning plan should include a description of the type and costs of digital tools and resources to be acquired with your digital learning funds, including provisions for interoperability of components. Identify specific titles or at least categories of supporting resources needed, such as devices, upgrades, software, subscription services, and the professional development necessary to provide support and training for your district educators to use the hardware and software to effectively, along with the pedagogy necessary for increased student engagement and achievement. A budget that includes all of these costs should be projected for each year of the plan. Pay attention to your action plans and the timeline you developed to carry out the actions over the period covered by the digital learning plan. Itemize the expenses according to each year of the plan to ensure that you reserve funding for the items you need to implement your plan and that future planned purchases are more likely to be realized. Include the following categories, as well as other expenses necessary to accomplish the objectives of the plan:
Devices and Hardware
Software and Digital Resources
Networking and Connectivity
Professional Development an Training
Staffing (admin, tech, integration)

Upgrades & Replacements

Be sure to include replacement costs and upgrades that will be necessary to ensure effective technology use. You may wish to develop a list of cost estimates as you purchase and upgrade your hardware and software. As you develop the list, you can use it to make projections for future purchases. Be sure to develop upgrade and replacement schedules that make sense for your district, and keep your technology fresh and inproper working order. Equipment that is out of date, or no longer functions will require more funds and staff attention in the long run. Consider the longevity of devices, software, and subscriptions, and any necessary upgrades or replacements when crafting your budget.

Coordination with Other Funds

Describe how activities funded by grant funds will be coordinated with both your technology plan and the additional technology-related activities that are supported by funds from other sources, whether local, state, federal, or private non-profit. You need to develop a reasonable budget that allows your district to meet the goals of the plan, but you can use otehr funding sources that are available. In order to coordinate the use of other funding sources, your tech planning committee needs to communication and coordinate with other committees and programs or funding sources available to your district. Make sure that all your administration and staff members are aware of the goals your tech planning committee has set for your district, and work with grant writers, or other project directors. It is equally important to communicate with an ongoing project before your develop your technology plan goals as it is to coordinate with groups writing grant proposals for future funding. District goals for learning should be coordinated and considered inthe budgeting process.

Resources

Tech Resources for District and State Leaders (US Office of Educational Technology)

Transformative Budgeting (SETDA Transformative Digital Learning)

Technology Planning/Budget (Wikibooks)

Developing a Proposal Budget (Rochester Institute of Technology)

Writing a Budget Narrative (Rochester Institute of Technology)

Transformative Budgeting for Digital Learning (NJ Department of Education)

Digital Learning Budgeting Across Your Leadership Team (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction)

6 Tips To Create A Realistic eLearning Budget For Your eLearning Project (eLearning Industry)

Digital Learning on a Budget: How to Stretch Your Ed Tech Dollars