3/9/06 Update: At a Special Meeting (duly noticed) last night, March 8, the Board of Education adopted the Preliminary School Budget for 2006-07, which will now be submitted to the County Superintendent for approval. The T&E Budget (which consists of the General Fund and that portion of the Special Revenue Fund derived from restricted state aid) was accepted at the proposed level of $87,269,690. The Board also adopted a Separate Proposal in the amount of $635,500 and annual Debt Service in the amount of $3,449,500. In other action, the Board allocated $325,000 from the Capital Reserve Fund for use in Capital Projects dedicated to energy conservation. Taken together, the budget resolutions (including debt service and the Separate Proposal) would represent a 7.03% increase in school taxes. Without the Separate Proposal, the tax impact would be 6.23%. The actual tax impact on an individual's property tax bill is slightly more complicated, since the school fiscal year runs from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007, while the municipal fiscal year runs from January 1 to December 31.

In the budget submitted to the Board last night, the Administration altered a few items consistent with the outlook expressed by the Board in Monday night's discussion. The following changes are described at more length in the Proposed List of Reductions:

The Montrose Alternative Program was reinstated in the General Fund budget.
The Elementary World Language program was removed from the General Fund budget and is now part of the Separate Proposal, and thus at risk if the Board of School Estimate chooses not to fund all of the Separate Proposal.
The budget for energy was reduced $150,000, based on a re-projection.
The budget for technology was reduced by $165,160, with several Board members indicated that the proposed desktop replacement schedule can be maintained if the district moves more aggressively to implement the transition to thin-client computing described in the budget analysis of technology two years ago.
Staffing was reduced by one general education instructional aide.

Key Budget Documents,versions adopted by the Board on March 8. See 3/7/06 and 3/9/06 updates below):

3/5/06 Message from Superintendent of Schools Peter Horoschak: On Friday, March 3, we emailed you that the State of New Jersey had just informed us that we are required to submit our preliminary budget to the County Superintendent for approval no later than Tuesday, March 14. That email indicated that the Board of Education might vote on the budget at its regularly-scheduled meeting tomorrow night, Monday, March 6, but also indicated that the Board's Executive Committee was considering various schedule alternatives.

We have decided to schedule the vote on the budget for a Special Meeting of the Board of Education on Wednesday night, March 8, at 7:30 PM. If you have a concern about the school budget, we urge you to attend both meetings and to convey your thoughts to the Board in writing or by speaking at the meetings. Letters may be delivered to my office at 525 Academy Street or sent by email (ssommer@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us).

You may sign up to speak during the Hearings of Individuals and Delegations at the start of the meetings on March 6 and March 8, as well as the Hearings segment at the end of the March 6 meeting (to sign up, you must arrive prior to the 7:30 PM start of the meetings).

We apologize for the frequent changes in schedule in this year's budget process; we must conform to directions issued by the State Department of Education, which have changed a number of times and have given us very little time to react.

During the Monday night meeting, I will present my final recommendation to the Board, followed by questions and Board discussion. Written summaries of my final recommendation will be available at the March 6 Board meeting and will be posted on the district's website immediately following the meeting.

The final proposal will be very close to what has been previously proposed. Final calculation of our CAP and SGLAs is within the range projected by Mrs. Milanette, implying the need for over $3.4 million in reductions from a maintenance-level budget.

The Budget Process:

Following adoption by the Board of Education on March 8, the Preliminary Budget will be transmitted to the County Superintendent for approval. Subsequent to approval by the County Superintendent, the Budget is presented to the Board of Education for final adoption. That will occur at the regularly-scheduled Board meeting on Monday, March 20. A meeting of the Board of School Estimate to set the tax levy for the 2006-07 School Budget (including a public hearing) is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, March 29.

Budget Documents, Analyses and Presentations:

Jan. 23, 2006 - Initial Presentation of the 2006-07 Preliminary Budget

Feb. 1, 2006 BOE Finance Committee presentation to Columbia HSA

Feb. 15, 2006 Presentation at Board of Education Budget Workshop

One-page summary of Proposed Preliminary Budget As of 2/15/06

2006-07 Budget Analyses (and prior year reports)

Presentation: "Understanding How the Money Is Spent -- A "Services" View of the School Budget"

(this year's Budget 101 Workshops, presented by Finance Committee chair Steve Latz and committee members Mark Miller and Lynne Crawford, with help from David Frazer, Board President):

Budget 101 Home Page: prior-year Budget 101 presentations

January 2006 Presentation to PTAs and HSAs

Feb. 1, 2006 presentation to the Columbia HSA (for viewing)

Feb. 1, 2006 presentation to the Columbia HSA
(for printing)

2006-2007: all years reports

Topic 1: Report on Adequacy and Effectiveness of CHS Security (not public)
Topic 2: Report on Effectiveness and Savings from Current Custodial Outsourcing with Recommendations on Expansion or Reduction of Scope of Effort
Topic 3: Cost Analysis of the Uses of Technology
Topic 4a: Cost Analysis of Athletics and Extracurricular Activities
Topic 4b: Cost Analysis of Other Stipends Paid
Topic 5: Report on Feasibility of Further Reductions in Administrative Expenses
Topic 6: Update of Prior-Year Transportation Analyses Exploring Additional Efficiencies and/or Possible Reductions in Service
Topic 7: Report on Possible Savings in delivery of Special Education
Topic 8: Report on Costs of CHS Montrose Alternative Program
Topic 9: Cost Analysis of Community Use of the Schools
Topic 10: Possible Savings from Modifications to Delivery of Elementary Specials
Topic 11: Cost Analysis of Energy Use
Topic 12: Feasibility of Continuation/Expansion of All-Day Kindergarten Pilot
Topic 13: Cost Analysis of Savings on Legal Expenses from In-House Counsel
Topic 14: Cost Analysis of Maintenance Expenditures

2005-06 Budget Analyses Requested by Board of Education (partial):

Possible CHS Scheduling Efficiencies
Possible Savings from Changes in Elementary Class Size Maximum
Possible Efficiencies in Scheduling of Elementary Specials
Possible Changes to Special Education
Analysis and Recommendations on Custodial Services

2004-05 Budget Analyses Requested by the Board of Education:

Cost of Information Technology
Administrative Staffing
Transportation Services
Custodial Services
Secondary School Scheduling
Combined Analysis of Elementary Class Size and Alternatives to the Elementary Pull-Out Model (for Project Ahead remediation)
Special Education Services
Cost of Community Use of School Facilities

Budget Briefs:

Telephones
Photocopiers
Health Benefits

2005-2006

March 7: Board Passes Preliminary Budget 9-0

(Tuesday, March 8) Last night, Monday, March 7, the Board of Education voted 9-0 to adopt the preliminary 2005-06 budget. As passed, the budget contained only a few minor corrections to the version presented at the Board's budget workshop on February 23 (at $81,862,024, the General Fund was $1,015 higher). The adopted budget represents a tax impact of 4.76%, inclusive of debt service. The budget now goes to the County Superintendent for approval. A joint workshop of the Board of Education and the Board of School Estimate will be held on Wednesday, March 16, to review the budget as approved by the County Superintendent, followed by the Board of School Estimate Public Hearing on Wednesday, March 23, at which time the BOSE will vote to set the tax levy for the 2005-06 school budget. See the Superintendent's Budget Message of March 7 for an explanation of the proposed reductions of $3.2 million from a "maintenance-level" budget. See Answers to Frequently Asked Questions for further explanation of the process by which district budgets are planned, the state's spending limits are imposed, etc. See the 3-page presentation made at the 2/23/05 Board Budget Workshop for a precise accounting of the difference between the original preliminary budget proposal on 1/24/05 and the actual preliminary budget adopted last night (not yet incorporating the additional minor adjustment of $1,015 made last night).. See the 18-page analysis and recommendations on custodial services,now available online, which describes the rationale for the decision to outsource custodial services at the secondary schools as part of the 2005-06 budget.

Frequently-Asked Questions:

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions on the 2005-06 Proposed Budget

Superintendent's Budget Messages:

2005-06 Budget Development Kickoff:

Budget Analyses Requested by Board of Education (partial):

Educational Workshops:

FAQ

On March 7, 2005 the Board of Education will vote to approve a preliminary budget for the 2005 ~V 2006 school year.| After the budget is approved, it will be submitted to the county superintendent for review and advertised in local newspapers. This document addresses several frequently asked questions about the budget.

What is the current budget?

The current proposal totals $88.2 million, divided among the general fund ($82 million), certain funds restricted by the state or federal government ($2.7 million) and debt service ($3.5 million). For details, see the one-page budget summary providing a side-by-side view of revenues by source and expenditures by program (/files/finance/budget/SxS-022305.pdf), the comparative line-item budget (/files/finance/budget/0506-ComparativeBudgetAsOf030205.pdf; showing FTE employees by budget line, what's being cut/added and change from the 2004-05 budget), or the annotated line-item budget (/files/finance/budget/0506-AnnotatedBudgetAsOf030205.pdf; providing a narrative account of what types of expenditures are contained on each budget line).

How much is the budget increasing?

The proposed General Fund budget (excluding debt service and the Special Revenue Fund) increases spending by slightly less than $2.5 million over 2004-05, or 3.07%.

What is the expected tax increase for that budget?

The actual tax increase depends on the amount of state aid provided for the coming school year.| At this writing, all New Jersey school districts are still waiting for that information.| Assuming that the amount of aid is unchanged, the schools portion of the local property tax rate for the coming year would increase by 4.71%.

How will the budgeted money be spent?

A chart at the end of this document shows the breakdown by major area of spending.| About a third is used to fund salaries for regular education (in-class support).| Another third is split more or less evenly between special services and health benefits, with decreasing amounts for support services, transportation, professional development and extracurricular activities.

How did the Board get to this budget?

At the January 24 Board meeting, the Superintendent described a ~Smaintenance budget~T, the amount of money that would be needed to deliver this year~Rs programs and services at next year~Rs expected costs.| The maintenance budget assumes that we provide the current level of services and then adjusts for anticipated changes in the costs of salaries, benefits, insurance, energy and the like.| This ~Smaintenance budget~T totaled $83.5 million. At that meeting, the Superintendent also presented the first draft of his proposed preliminary budget. That proposed budget contained roughly $2.3 million in proposed spending reductions from the "maintenance budget", in order to conform to the state's spending CAP.

At that meeting, the Board asked that the administration revisit the maintenance budget and make certain that all reasonably anticipated increases in spending had been included.| The Board did so for two reasons: to make sure that we had an accurate picture of anticipated need in 2005 ~V 2006, and to be able to make decisions about potential reductions as part of the budget process.

Since that meeting, the staff has identified $1.6 million in additional, necessary spending, much of that in the area of special services.| This additional spending increased the estimated General Fund maintenance budget to $85.1 million (with another $0.5 million in the Special Revenue Fund, this represents a maintenance budget of $85.6 million).

Why not just ask for a General Fund budget of $85.1 million?

Last June, the state passed legislation that limits the rate at which local school districts can increase spending.| Absent any other considerations, a school district can increase its costs by no more than 3% annually.| Any programs or services that the district provides today must fit under the allowed amount or be discontinued. See BudgetChangesSince012405.pdf for more detail and the comparative line-item budget for the line-by-line detail on what spending has been increased and/or reduced from the 2005-06 maintenance-level budget.

What does the proposed budget cut?

The proposed budget includes several operating changes whose financial benefit will allow the district to meet the spending restrictions of the state law enacted last year.| These changes include: outsourcing custodial services at Columbia High School; improving scheduling efficiencies at our elementary and middle schools; reducing certain administrative costs; and organizing to address the needs of some students currently receiving out-of-district special education services using in-district staff. See 02-03-05-SuptMessage.pdf for a description of the reductions proposed on 1/24/05. See BudgetChangesSince012405.pdf for the list of additional reductions proposed on 2/23/05.

How do these changes affect students?

While the policy for elementary class sizes has not changed and will continue to be followed, the average class size in our elementary grades may increase and trend closer to the policy maximum.

The proposed changes in special education will help the district meet the needs of students locally, improving their local connection and reducing the time required for out-of-district transportation.

At the middle schools, the district will no longer offer a half year of French in the 7^th grade.| This decision was made after reviewing 7^th-grade French enrollment, which was low, and considering the alternative (7^th-grade students will continue to take a half year of Spanish as a world language).| In the eighth grade, students will be able to choose between a full year of French and a full year of Spanish, as has been the case in the past.

Also at the middle schools, a part of the physical education curriculum (dance) will be discontinued.| Other physical education activities will be offered to students.

How does our spending compare with that of other school districts?

The state requires that the district track expenses in a way that allows direct comparison with similar school districts (K ~V 12 school districts with more than 3,500 students) throughout the state.| District per-pupil spending has for the last several years been at or somewhat below the state average.| It is also lower than per-pupil spending in Livingston, Millburn, West Orange and Montclair. See budgetworkshop011905-final for more detail, as well as Budget101-082003, which compares our district's spending by category and rate of spending growth with a selection of 60+ districts for the period 1996-2003.

and budgetworkshop011905-final for more detail on the local property tax base and budgetworkshop011905-final for a 10-year history of state aid as a proportion of our school budget revenue.

What happens once the Board adopts the budget on March 7?

After the Board approves the preliminary budget, it is submitted to the county superintendent for review and approval.| Once approved, the budget is returned to the Board of Education, which votes on a final version to be submitted to the Board of School Estimate for consideration.| The Board of School Estimate then meets to review, adopt or amend the total budget request.

How can I obtain more information about the budget?

Questions on the budget and any of the background reports may be directed to the Superintendent's office.| He can be reached at (973) 762-5600, extension 1820.

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March 17, 2008 Board Meeting and March 19, 2008 Board of School Estimate Meeting Materials:

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January 28, 2008 Board Meeting:

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February 26, 2007 Board Meeting:

November 20, 2006 Board Meeting:

2006-2007

2006-2007: all years reports

2005-06 Budget Analyses Requested by Board of Education (partial):

2004-05 Budget Analyses Requested by the Board of Education:

Budget Briefs:

2005-2006

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