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School to Community Connection |
School to Community Connection
Issue 23
Major
School Budget Challenge This Year
Preparing
the budget for the following school year is a major task that each school
district faces. The budget is a plan to balance income and expenditures.
A school district's budget is affected mainly by the health of the
state economy, student enrollment, and agreed upon priorities.
The recent recession, no growth in enrollment, and the need to have
competitive salaries for employees affects what can be accommodated in
next year's budget. To meet
current obligations and include money for employee compensation, it is
estimated that expenditures may need to be reduced by close to a million
dollars. This reduction has presented a considerable challenge to the
Budget/Resources Committee as they develop the budget for next year. Budget/Resources
is a committee of 22, comprised of board members, staff, parents and
community members. Last fall, the Board formalized the structure and
operating policies of the committee.
It operates under the Brown Act that requires posting of agendas
and publication of minutes. The
committee has been working since October to be sure that next year’s
budget reflects the priorities of the district and community.
The committee is determined to give the Board the best options the
current money can buy when it makes recommendations in May. Instead
of rolling over expenditures from this year’s budget as has been done in
the past, the Budget/Resources Committee is building the budget from zero
and scrutinizing each expenditure request.
Healdsburg faces a unique problem since this is the fourth
consecutive year of budget reductions brought on by declining enrollment. The
financial picture in Healdsburg was drastically impacted by the
unification of the Windsor schools. Windsor
students, who prior to 1996 attended high school in Healdsburg, now attend
in Windsor. This transition
dropped the enrollment by 440. This represents close to a two million
dollar loss of annual revenue. The
enrollment has increased some in the last two years, but the enrollment
projection for 2002-2003 is the same as this year at around 2700.
The
Budget/Resources Committee meets monthly with Business Services Director
Ruth Karlsrud as the facilitator. At
first the committee worked to reach a common understanding of school
finance and learn what financial resources would be available to the
district from the state and other sources for the 2002-03 school year. Since the end of February, the committee has been meeting
weekly as they prepare a detailed recommendation for the Board.
There was also a study session with the Board in late January to be
sure that the committee understood the Board's priorities. With
increasing costs to the district and a state budget deficit this year, the
challenge is big. The
Budget/Resources Committee has been working hard to minimize lay offs and
maintain the high quality of service for students. The rules guiding the
committee's work are that no area of the budget will be overlooked, that
no program or service will be considered sacred, and that first priority
is what is best for students. The
process continues throughout April and May with regular Budget/Resources
Committee meetings scheduled for April
22, 29 and May 20. On
April 30th, the Board will hold a study session with the Budget/Resources
Committee to hear preliminary recommendations and give further direction.
Final budget decisions will be made at a Special Board Meeting on
May 21. Both of these meetings are open to the public. Budget/Resources
Committee meetings are held in the Board Room at the District Office (925
University Street) starting at 7 PM.
These meetings are also open to the public, but input at these
meetings is restricted to committee members.
If anyone has an idea or an opinion, they can contact a member of
the Budget Resources Committee. Meeting
schedules, agenda and contact information for the committee can be found
at www.husd.com.
Click on Budget Committee at the bottom of the homepage.
The superintendent can be reached via e-mail at sfox@husd.com or by phone 431-3488. All
input will be carefully considered.
By Pat Louvau
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