Community Engagement: Budget 2010-11
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State funding affects School District 99’s finances
On Monday, Feb 1, 2010, the Board of Education and administration met during the Board’s monthly workshop meeting to review budget reduction and revenue/fee increases recommended by the administration for the 2010-2011 school year. District 99 had projected a surplus budget for 2010-2011 but that was if state funding stayed the same. Unfortunately, the administration anticipates a significant reduction in state funding in 2010-2011 as a result of the budget crisis in the Illinois state government. The state’s budget situation has caused the administration to plan for a worse case scenario if there is a loss of state aid. As a precaution, District 99 is making preparations for a drop of up to 40 percent in its state funding, approximately $2 million. Work began in late November 2009 to identify $2 million in savings and revenue increases.
Timing difficult
The timing of the situation confounds the District’s planning. It is likely District 99 will not learn about its actual state aid amounts until after the state elections in November or later, yet the Board must make staffing decisions in March and approve the 2010-2011 budget in September.
District 99 enters the 2010-2011 school year with important demographic indicators in its favor. Between 25 and 29 certified staff will retire from District 99 in 2010; retirements create an opportunity to replace the District’s most experienced and highest paid faculty with less experienced persons at lower salaries. Also, the District’s enrollment continues to decline, thus reducing the size of the teaching staff the District needs to hire.
Foresight of Board had put the District in stable financial position
Also, the Board’s contract with the DGEA is tied to the Consumer Price Index-Urban (CPI-U) for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years. The contract, which will grow only by .09% for the 2010-2011 school year in addition to belt tightening in the previous two years, had placed the District in a stable financial situation.
In light of the potential loss in state funding, however, the administration recommended the following as budget reductions at the Feb. 1 workshop meeting:
- Freeze administrative salaries ($60,000)
- Reduce one counselor per campus via attrition ($120,000)
- Eliminate 0.2 part-time library position at North ($12,000)
- Reduce special services staff by 2.0 across the District via attrition ($120,000)
- Reduce the South High English Language Learner (ELL) program by 0.4 staff ($24,000)
- Reduce substitute costs for conferences and staff development ($19,000).
- Increase the staff to student ratio from 21.5 to 22.0, which reduces the District’s teaching faculty by 5.0 positions ($300,000)
- Move the 20 students currently served by the Directions Program back to North and South High Schools with additional internal support ($125,000)
- Cap enrollment at the Technology Center of DuPage (TCD) at 175 students ($50,000)
- Eliminate bus transportation for summer school ($40,000)
- Freeze bus transportation contractual services at 2009-2010 levels ($50,000)
- Reduce/avoid energy costs by adjusting heating and cooling setbacks by 1 degree ($50,000)
- Remove projected increase of 2.5% in campus allocation budgets ($40,000)
- Develop a process to consolidate vendors for greater discounts on supplies ($35,000)
- Delay non-critical capital outlay expenditures until funding level is known ($100,000)
- Discontinue purchasing consumable student workbooks ($80,000)
The administration recommends the following revenue enhancements, new fees, and fee increases. Note that fee increases and revenue enhancements are intended to supplant other potential program reductions:
- New $200 per year TCD registration fee (Approved on 1/25/10) ($30,000)
- Require $55 non-athletic participation fee for Competitive Marching Band participants ($6,000)
- Increase in non-athletic participation fees from $50 to $55 ($2,700)
- Increase athletic participation fee from $105 to $115 ($30,000)
- Increase athletic family pass from $60 to $75 ($17,000)
- Increase student parking fee from $150 to $175 ($16,000)*
- Increase in yearbook fee from $35 to $40 and Yearbook and Publication Fee from $40 to $45 ($19,000)
- Increase textbook/registration fee from $210 to $215 and lab fee from $22 to $23 ($45,000)*
- Reintroduce the Federal Title I program at both campuses ($125,000)
Board and administration struggled with fee increases
The budget reductions and fee increases are very difficult to contemplate in light of the District’s efforts to improve student achievement and maximize the opportunities available to our students. It is particularly disappointing that the reductions are in response to outside financial pressures beyond the control of the Board and administration. At the same time the Board and administration realize that in order to protect the District’s long-term financial stability, the Board must take action in anticipation of reduced state revenue. It is the intent of the administration supported by the Board that the budget reductions and fee increases be shared across the spectrum of the District’s overall program and not fall unduly on any particular program, service or employee group. Finally, the administration has committed to identifying $250,000 to $300,000 in budget reductions in addition to what is offered above using input from teachers, staff, and community. Those recommendations will be presented over the next several months.
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