The process for establishing budget priorities for the 2010-11 school year continues to move forward. The Board of Education, at its January 12 meeting, directed me to develop a budget proposal based on the following list of school board priorities. Those priorities are:
- Reduce the District Office staff (this includes the administrative office, auxiliary services, and transportation).
- Recommend program and service cuts or modifications (this includes shifting expenditures, where possible, to funds other than the General Fund).
- Reduce the number of non-teaching personnel.
- Explore the possibility of employee furloughs.
- Consider non-teacher pay cuts.
- Consider the need to increase class size.
- Consider a tax increase.
- Consider teacher pay cuts.
What this means is, recommendations regarding the budget should first utilize priority No. 1, then priority two, and so on until there is a recommendation for a balanced budget. The lowest priority for the Board to balance the budget is to cut teacher pay.
Two weeks ago, the Board posted an online survey on the District Web site asking patrons and employees to share their priorities for budget cuts. The Board will review the results of the survey and determine how they might be folded into the overall District budget strategy.
One of the challenges facing the Board is to build a budget without knowing whether the Legislature will require further budget cuts this year, and, what will be the size of the deficit for next year. We anticipate knowing those numbers around the third week in February
In the meantime, we are building multiple scenarios including a $30 million deficit solution, $35 million deficit solution, and a $40 million deficit solution. Each proposal will utilize various elements inasmuch as no one area has sufficient resources to balance the budget on its own. It will require a combination of categories to balance the budget. It is anticipated the budget will emerge in several parts. The first would be a resolution as to how much money needs to come from the various priorities for each of the budget scenarios under consideration ($30, $35, $40 million). Once that is determined, specific job and program cuts can be reviewed and tentatively finalized prior to the budget adoption in June. The sooner these anticipated cuts can be announced, the better in order for individuals affected by the cuts to explore next steps and options.
The overarching activity this spring is to match the District expenditures to the available resources received from State and Federal sources, coupled with revenue from local property taxes. We can’t live off of fund balances (savings) another year — there aren’t any. We need to adjust our expenses accordingly. This is a challenge we will meet. When we do, the District will be on a solid financial foundation to move forward as the economy and District continue to grow. ★