Input Team Meeting

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Input Team Meeting 2009-2010 Budget Modification
Process March 5, 2009
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• Welcome and Introductions
• Overview Budget Modification Process
• Input Team brainstorming of ideas
• Input Team reviews and provides feedback
• three approaches developed by the Design Team
• all Design Team ideas
• Next steps and wrap-up

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Parent, community, staff input

• Parents, community, and staff were asked for
  their budget ideas in the first phase of the
  process
• In the first two weeks, from Feb. 4-16, there
  were 1,000 visits to the Budget Modification
  section of the website
• Of the 1,000 visits, 100 unduplicated ideas were
  submitted
• Design Team members reviewed and considered each
  idea, many ideas are now represented in the list
  of current ideas to be considered
• Parent, community, and staff ideas have been
  summarized for Input Team review and
  consideration

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Why Budget Modifications?

• The State of Minnesota is facing a 5 billion or
  greater budget deficit for the next biennium.
• Inevitably, schools across the state will be
  impacted by this, including our school district.

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Why Budget Modifications?

• The Federal Stimulus Package could help, but
• help only in Title I and Special Education
• this is one-time money, shouldnt be used for
  staff
• could cause future liabilities (maintenance of
  effort requirements)
• The governors proposal holds some budgetary hope
  for education, particularly if the district
  approves Q Comp, but
• Legislators and various experts have advised us
  to prepare for, at minimum, a freeze in state
  funding for the next two years.

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Why Budget Modifications?

• Ultimately, we cant wait for final decisions
  from the Legislature and we cant count on a
  specific amount
• In response, we have developed a participatory
  decision-making process which will result in
  identifying budget modifications totaling about
  1.5 million for 2009-2010.
• Our school district must be prepared, proactive,
  and systematic in preparing next years budget
  because of these uncertainties.
• There were 250,000 of efficiencies identified by
  the Design Team that were already being planned
  for the 2009-10 budget, thus the approaches you
  will respond to this evening total budget
  modifications of 1.25 million

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Identifying Budget Modifications

• The development of the budget will be guided by
  our purpose of improving the learning of all
  students.
• Thus, we will make decisions that most
  effectively align resources with Our Framework
  for the Future, the strategic plan that clarifies
  the guiding principles of our district.

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Identifying Budget Modifications

• The budget modifications that we decide upon will
  need to put our district in a position to be as
  effective and efficient as possible in 2009-10,
  while also positioning ourselves to make
  effective decisions in the future.
• This requires reflecting on possible short and
  long-term implications of our choices.
• In addition, we must consider the following
  external influences economic conditions/trends,
  community demographic trends, and federal and
  state legislative actions.

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Guiding Question

• Ultimately, our decisions will be guided by the
  following question
• What options will result in our achieving
  necessary budget adjustments while aligning
  resources with Our Framework for the Future,
  positioning us to make effective decisions now
  and in the future?
• The School Board has approved a process that will
  guide the development of this 2009-10 budget.
• This process will engage district community
  members, parents, and staff, giving them the
  opportunity to share ideas and provide input and
  influence.

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Desired Results of the ProcessGuiding Change

• The options created
• will identify, at minimum, 1.5 million in
  general fund budget modifications for the 2009-10
  school year
• will be developed following a review of all
  aspects of our current system and allocation of
  resources, identifying adjustments that result in
  our district more effectively aligning resources
  with Our Framework for the Future
• will put us in a position to continue to move
  towards our vision of being a world class
  learning community of choice improve student
  learning results and accomplish our strategic
  directions

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Unacceptable Means in Identifying Budget
ModificationsGuiding Change

• In creating options, we
• will not violate state statute or negotiated
  agreements
• will not make arbitrary percentage-based program
  reductions
• will not inhibit our ability to accomplish
  strategic directions within Our Framework for the
  Future

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Unacceptable Means in Identifying Budget
ModificationsGuiding Change

• In creating options, we
• will not eliminate cost-beneficial programs that
  have documented enrollment growth or improved
  student learning
• will not avoid looking at all programs,
  departments, and budget line items
• will not utilize non-sustainable ideas or
  strategies results and accomplish our strategic
  directions

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Decision-Making Process

• The process that will guide our work as we
  identify budget modifications is utilized
  regularly throughout the district and includes
  three key roles that each serves a different, but
  essential purpose to this process.

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Input Process

• A. Community and Staff Input and
  Feedback
• The Input Team, a 30-35 member
  representative group of community members and
  staff, will be the primary team responsible for
  providing specific ideas and feedback for the
  Design Team as they develop budget options.
• Parents, community members, and staff will
  have a variety of ways to share their thoughts
  and ideas throughout the process

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Input Process

• B. Creating Options
• The Design Team is responsible for creating
  options for the choice makers. Their created
  options must fall within the parameters of the
  Guiding Change document, and they are accountable
  for gathering feedback from the Input Team as
  they develop and refine their options.
• C. Choice Making
• The Choice-Making Team is responsible for
  making the final choice in the decision-making
  process, resulting in approximately 1.5 million
  in budget modifications.

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Background InformationClass Size and
Administrative Costs

• Metro ECSU class size studies of metro area
  districts show that Spring Lake Park Schools has
  consistently improved its standing in recent
  years
• High School class sizes
• ranked 5 of 22 overall, better than average in
  all areas
• Grades K-5 class sizes
• ranked 10 of 22, improving from 15th to 10th in 3
  years
• Grades 6-8 class sizes
• ranked 16 of 22, only one student above the metro
  average, improving from 22nd to 16th in 3 years

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Background InformationClass Size and
Administrative Costs

• Spring Lake Park Schools has consistently
  improved its class size standing in recent years,
  with less variability in class sizes from school
  to school and grade to grade
• Purposeful allocation of resources has allowed us
  to maintain and improve our class sizes while
  metro districts have increased their class sizes.
  
• We have accomplished this while also putting in
  place important teacher and student supports
  including instructional coaches and basic skills
  staff
• A review of administrative and licensed staff who
  are not in classrooms was conducted. Spring Lake
  Park is comparable to other metro area school
  districts

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Background InformationEducation Finance 101

• General Fund
• General (expenditures not included elsewhere)
• Transportation
• Operating Capital
• Food Service Fund
• Community Service Fund
• Capital Projects Building Construction Fund
• Dept Service Fund
• Trust Fund

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Design Team Progress To Date

• The Design Team has held three meetings at which
  they generated ideas and developed three
  approaches to reach our target of 1.25 million
  in budget modifications
• The budget will still be modified by the initial
  target of 1.5 million, but there were 250,000
  of efficiencies identified by the Design Team
  that were already being planned for the 2009-10
  budget
• These approaches were developed by identifying
  changes that are both Incremental and Systemic in
  nature. We will highlight some of the items
  within each of these approaches on the following
  slides

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Design Team Progress To DateTransportation Item

• 5 transportation scenarios are currently listed
• Savings range from 30,000 - 175,000
• Three are Systemic
• one combines middle school and high school bus
  routes
• two combine middle school and intermediate school
  bus routes
• Two are Incremental
• both involve changes in school start and end
  times
• Additional scenarios will continue to be
  considered

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Design Team Progress To DateUnderstanding QComp

• The most well-known component of QComp (Quality
  Compensation for Teachers), enacted by the
  Legislature in 2005, is performance pay for
  teachers.
• In addition to performance pay, school districts
  that implement QComp need to have career
  advancement options for teachers, job-embedded
  professional learning, and teacher evaluation.
• School districts who participate receive funding
  that includes a combination of state aid and a
  board-approved local levy. Up until this time
  Spring Lake Park Schools has made a purposeful
  decision not to be involved in QComp.

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Design Team Progress To DateUnderstanding QComp

• While QComp would bring additional revenue to our
  school district, it is a program that is not part
  of our basic per-pupil funding and could be
  eliminated by the Legislature at any time.
• We have not wanted to implement practices that
  would be in place only because of an external
  program and the resources it brings. Rather, we
  want to focus on building a systemic plan that
  will be sustained even if the external program
  and resources go away through legislative action.
  
• We did not want to consider implementing QComp
  until we were ready to use QComp funds
  productively as part of our core program, with
  effective professional practices and commitment
  to these practices in place.

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Design Team Progress To DateUnderstanding QComp

• For the past five years, Spring Lake Park Schools
  has been focused on improving student learning
  through high quality professional learning
  practices.
• During this time we
• added instructional coaches who work with
  teachers on a regular basis to improve their
  professional practice.
• teachers have the opportunity to walk through and
  observe one another teach.
• implemented collaborative teams in schools that
  meet on a weekly basis --if not more often -- to
  study student learning needs, plan instruction,
  respond to student learning, and engage in study
  groups or other professional learning activities.
  
• made professional learning the center of staff
  meetings in each of our schools
• Having these elements in place now meets and
  exceeds the expectations of QComp.

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Design Team Progress To DateUnderstanding QComp

• Having these elements in place now allows us to
  consider implementing QComp, which would result
  in additional revenue to fund
• existing positions such as our instructional
  coaches
• additional positions that would be required, and
• performance-based bonuses for teachers
• Under the current law we would implement QComp
  without additional cost to our local taxpayers
• Implementation of QComp would require approval by
  the School Board, the local union (Spring Lake
  Park Teachers United), and the Minnesota
  Department of Education
• Again, the requirements expected of teachers are
  already in place in the Spring Lake Park Schools
  and would allow for a seamless transition

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Design Team Progress To DateSalaries and Benefits

• In order to minimize job reductions, which would
  give us a greater probability of maintaining
  class sizes and retaining the staff we have
  purposefully developed in recent years, the
  district will propose to reduce the traditional
  average increase in salary and benefit packages
• The district will also offer early retirement
  incentives to eligible staff members, further
  reducing future annual employment expenses

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Next Steps

• Input Team brainstorming
• Provide feedback to Design Team
• three developed approaches
• ideas