The budget is not "available"

So a few days ago, I put in a request to get the long version of the budget. The document handed out at the Budget Committee was general and very devoid of details. In it there was language about cuts to be made and where savings would be found, but no details on what that would be. Numbers didn't even match with what had previously been discussed by the school, particularly with regards to instruction and savings because of cuts to programs, instructor pay, layoffs, etc. 

There were generic categories saying how much would be spent, but no details on how it would be spent.

In this document it is impossible to break down amounts to be spent and tell what goes towards faculty as opposed to administration under "instruction", for instance.

It was obvious that if we were truly going to be able to digest the budget and formulate well thought out comments and questions, we needed more data. Hence the request for the budget.

A few days pass and I finally get a response to my request. Once again, no such document is available. To quote the email: "There is no additional documentation or detail at this time.  As the Board seeks input through the budget hearing process (Board meetings with the MHCC board in their role as Budget Committee are scheduled for May 4^th and May 11^th) the proposed budget will be refined and modified."

This is the same thing I was told when I tried to get any details regarding the budget before the Budget Committee meeting last week - it was not "available".

Ok, so how are we supposed to give real input when we can't even see the budget? It won't even become "available" until the day of the meeting. I've seen these budgets - we're talking a stack of papers inches high. How can you digest all that information in time for the meeting? It will be even harder if it is not made available until the meeting begins, which was the case with the proposed budget.

Apparently we're supposed to be able to use this "first draft outline of a proposed 2011-12 balanced budget" to get all the data we need to give our input to the Budget Committee (aka Board of Education).  Emphasis was theirs, not mine.

How can you make the summary budget, yet not have any additional documents or details available? I realize that the full document is a work in progress - it will continue to be even after the budget is approved. I get that. I never said I wanted the version that would never change. However, even in its draft form it should still be available to the public so we can have an educated opinion on the budget. Without the full data, how can we truly analyze the data and see if funds are being spent in the best way possible?

How are we supposed to know if they've made $1.5 million in cuts to programs, librarians, faculty, and other instructional areas while at the same time increasing administrative costs by $1.5 million? Surface details don't give you enough information to know what is going on below the surface. And the public has a right to that information.