Last night, we provided the school board with our new budget proposal. You can view the full presentation here. While all other information in this presentation is accurate, note the budget and tax rate increase are not, as the board then opted to adapt that proposal slightly and added back in two of the proposed cut positions–1 Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and 1 IT Educator (ITE). The board, which does not receive a salary, also opted to forego their small stipends and thus reduce the expenditure number by an additional $3,750.
By adopting this proposal, the collective $3 million FY22 and FY23 budget surpluses will be allocated as revenue to lower the tax rate, and the $1.1 million budget allocation to the Capital Reserve Fund has been eliminated to manage the expense line of the budget.
That brings the budget to $68,082,002, which represents a year-on-year spending increase of 8.88% and a homestead property tax rate increase of 9.55%. The vote will take place on Tuesday, May 7th.
We’ve updated the district budget page with an FAQ that includes information on the positions that have been reduced and the staff that has received Reduction in Force (RIF) notifications. Please note that not all the positions listed as RIFs are positions that have been cut.
The SBEA has created a helpful list that shows the broader impacts if we do not have a budget by July 1st. You can see that list here.
The website also includes information on where and when to vote. All information regarding early voting and absentee ballots is also available on the city clerk’s website.
At the meeting last night, many community members and staff came to speak in support of the BCBA positions and how vital they are to staff and students. Following thorough consideration of the feedback on the important role that they play in schools and deliberating on the ramifications of cutting the entire program, the board opted to decrease those positions by one rather than the initially proposed two.
There were also many questions about why there haven’t been more administrator cuts. Unlike some of our neighboring districts, we do not have a large number of administrators. These are the administrators across 5 buildings and Central Office:
Chamberlin
Principal
RMCS
Principal
Assistant Principal
Orchard
Principal
Assistant Principal
FHTMS
Principal
Assistant Principal
SBHS
Principal
Assistant Principal
Assistant Principal
Athletics and Activities Director
District
Superintendent
Executive Director of Learning
Executive Director of Education Support Systems
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Curriculum Coordinator for Literacy (this is the role that will be cut for FY25)
Like many of our staff, the administrators perform the work of multiple people. I would hate to lose any of our invaluable staff, but I wanted to be transparent about why there haven’t been as many cuts to administrators. We are aware that the choices we have made this year will have an impact on our budget conversations for FY26, but we are working with the information we have right now. These are all difficult conversations, but seeing our community engage in them is heartening.
I hope you will look over the material on the website, reach out to the SBEA for more information, and talk to your neighbors about the vote. You can also attend the board meeting on May 1st, the last before the third vote on May 7th.
