Contractual includes: salaries, health benefits, Social Security,
retiree benefits, etc.
Mandated includes: special
education, charter school, transportation, PSERS, etc.
Discretionary includes: books, supplies, advertising, postage, etc.
As of April 9, 2018, there is an
$829,638 gap between our anticipated revenues and our anticipated expenditures
for the 2018-2019 school year.
This gap can be closed via two
different sources - an increase in taxes and/or a reduction in our
expenditures. Many legal mandates, like PSERS costs, increases in Special
Education costs, and contractual obligations cannot be removed from the
budget.
Over the past few years, we have
been able to reduce expenditures through things like rebidding contracts,
addressing delinquent taxes, creative programming, energy savings programs and
attrition. Most of these served as “one time pops” in the budget.
At this point in time, there are no magic tricks left to
pull out of the hat. There are no untapped resources that we can use to
offset expenditures.
We will need to make some tough decisions and keep our
priorities in mind as we make these decisions.
Some
questions we need to examine:
- What can we legally cut from the budget that
still allows us to maintain the integrity and quality of the education we
provide to our students, as per our Strategic Plan?
- How much of a tax increase is fair and is
needed?
- What, if any, combination of reductions and a
tax increase will balance the budget and still provide our students with a
quality education?
Accomplishing this important
goal will require that we all work together.
We must continue to make
decisions that support academic excellence, provide our students with a safe
learning environment, customize student learning, and provide students with
opportunities beyond the classroom walls.
We must also be responsible to all of our taxpayers.
Respectfully,
Peggy DiNinno