School budget, part I

I watched the SC meeting last night to keep up with the budget process. Dr. Baehr outlined the budget proposal, which includes recommended changes to absorb the $1.9 million in Federal cuts. These changes were at the discretion of school principals, who were able to decide how to handle the loss of Title I and Federal grant money. Title I funds parent liaisons and some social workers among other things. These trade-offs represent tough choices across the board; for instance, one school is giving up a paraprofessional position in order to keep a full-time parent liaison. Other tough trade-offs at the district level include giving up the Second-assistant principal at the Daley so that the Robinson can have that position funded. The Spanish language program at the Robinson will be phased out for lack of funding.

The ‘essential needs’ section of the budget deals with the staff and services that must be added to Special Ed in order to bring the district into compliance with state and federal regulations. Not doing this will end up costing the district more money, as some children will then require expensive out-of-district placements.

Last year’s budget was $128.7 million. In order to fund the budget through essential needs, which includes increases in healthcare, Special Ed transportation and other fixed costs, as well as sick-leave buyback (at an unprecedented high because of the high amount of retirees) and step increases, the district will need an additional 2.6%, or $3.3 million.

Before going on, I hope people will take note of the careful and creative cost-cutting measures that the schools are recommending. Once again, every effort is being made to limit the impact on classroom services and personnel.

Check in tomorrow for more on the budget, including “critical and unmet needs”.