20-15-312. Calculation and approval of operating budget. (1) Annually by September 1, the board of trustees of a community college shall submit an operating budget to the board of regents for their review. The operating budget of the community college must be financed in the following manner:

(a) The general fund appropriation must be determined pursuant to 20-15-310.

(b) The mandatory levy amount must represent a specific percentage of the combined total of the fixed cost of education and the variable cost of education, as those terms are defined in 20-15-310, and as determined by the legislature. This percentage must be specified for each community college by the board of trustees of the district and approved by the board of regents.

(c) The funding obtained pursuant to subsections (1)(a) and (1)(b) plus the revenue derived from tuition and fee schedules approved by the board of regents and unrestricted income from any other source is the amount of the unrestricted budget. A detailed expenditure schedule for the unrestricted budget must be submitted to the board of regents for their review and approval.

(d) The amount estimated to be raised by the voted levy must be detailed separately in an expenditure schedule.

(e) The spending of each restricted or designated funding source must be detailed separately in an expenditure schedule.

(f) The expenditure schedules provided in subsections (1)(c) through (1)(e) represent the total operating budget of the community college.

(2) The board of regents shall review the proposed total operating budget and all its components and make any changes it determines necessary. The board of trustees of a community college district shall operate within the limits of the operating budget approved by the board of regents.