Budgetmaking and bargaining are central resource allocation processes in schools; this study examines how they affect one another. Ethnoscientific techniques were applied in nine Illinois school systems. The results were analyzed to show the flow of the decision process and construction of detailed plans of action. The structure and power relationships among the actors were explored. The results show that interaction between these processes depends on the power relationships between unions and management and on the political and economic environment. A detailed description of the process and questionnaire were developed. (Author)