[BakerButlerMatters] Budget Update

[Thomas Pajewski]

DATE:                       April 20, 2007
CONTACT:                Sue Bell Friedman, Chair School Board
PHONE:                    (434) 972-4055 or (434) 981-3515
 
 
School Board cuts $3.4 million from original budget plan;
Adopts $147.95  million operating budget for 2007-08 school year


(ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Virginia) ­ After reducing its original 2007-08 school
year funding request proposal by $3.4 million, the Albemarle County School
Board adopted a $147.95 million operating budget during a special work
session April 19, 2007. The reductions were required after the Albemarle
County Board of Supervisors set its real estate tax rate at 68 cents per
$100 assessed value. That change provided the School Division with less
revenue than it was told to expect from the Board of Supervisors when the
budget development process began in November 2006.
 
"A school division budget was approved, based on the current revenues
provided by the Board of Supervisors.  Both the budget process and the end
result continue to be of concern to the School Board. This year¹s process
short-changed strategic initiatives and required systemic changes without a
focus on our strategic educational goals in a way that results in efficient
and effective utilization of resources,² said Sue Bell Friedman, chair of
the School Board. 
 
Friedman said the School Board and staff look forward to working closely
with the Board of Supervisors and its staff to agree on a revenue planning
process that is based on strategic educational goals and results in a more
efficient and effective utilization of resources.  Toward this goal, the
School Board is considering a Resource Utilization Review initiative.
 
Sixty-eight percent of School Division revenue comes from local sources,
primarily the real estate tax. When the real estate tax rate is reduced, the
level of funding for the School Division declines. In mid-April the Board of
Supervisors voted to change its real estate tax rate from 74 cents to 68
cents per $100 assessed value, dropping its expected increase in total new
revenue from 6.92 percent to 4.51 percent. The School Division received 30
percent of its revenue from the state and 2 percent from the federal
government. 
 
The School Board originally submitted a $151.36 million, needs-based funding
request to the Board of Supervisors. The original request was based on a 74
cent real estate tax and dedicated the majority of expected new revenue ­
about $7.6 million ­ to maintaining its position in its competitive market
for teachers and support staff. The competitive market strategy is one the
Joint Boards agreed upon to recruit and retain high quality employees.
 
³With 82 percent of our spending on salary and benefits for employees, and a
commitment to maintain our competitive market position for employee
recruitment and retention, our school division does not have much room to
maneuver when cuts need to be made,² said Dr. Pamela R. Moran,
superintendent.  ³Our goals for making reductions were to minimize impacts
on teaching and learning, maintain support for core instructional programs,
and meet our employee compensation targets.²
 
The final reductions made to the School Board¹s original funding request to
balance its spending plan to revenues include:
 
* Funding for school bus replacement by $100,000
* Funding for textbook replacement by $124,231
* Central Office staffing by $200,000
* Funding for the Building Services Department by $250,000
* Funding for the specialty center concept by $130,000, eliminating research
and development of the International Baccalaureate program
* One full-time equivalent (FTE) emergency teaching staffing position at
$62,649 
* Intervention/prevention operations funds  by $170,730
* Hispanic/Latino coordinator position expansion, $44,662
* Suspension Center for students with discipline issues at $93,323
* Administrative Intern Program at $225,440
* Staffing increase  in teachers who provide support to other teachers for
technology use in instruction at $286,258
* Professional Development Reimbursement Program by $50,000
* Technology support staff increase to meet needs at $298,235
* Salary increases related to target for market competitiveness for our most
experienced teachers at $492,714
* Increase class size in grades 9 through 12 by 0.50 students for $287,150
* Office of Instruction operational funds by 5 percent for $62,317 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://listserv.bnsi.net/pipermail/bbpto/attachments/20070424/eec65878/attachment.html