Chesterfield County School Board Citizens Budget Advisory Committee

Report and Recommendations Budget Development for Fiscal Year 2018 February 14, 2017

Committee Charge The purpose of the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee as stated in its Bylaws is: “…to assist the Chesterfield County Public School Board in the evaluation and allocation of resources to ensure a high quality, effective, and efficient school division.” The Committee’s work aligns with the “Quality Services and Operations“ Guiding Principle document found in the Design for Excellence 2020 Strategic Plan for these items: • Include stakeholder ideas in the budget process. • Manage resources efficiently. • Demonstrate accountability by using tax dollars effectively and efficiently.

Committee Structure 7 public members • 5 representing each magisterial district • 2 at-large members Staff liaison is Chris Sorenson, Asst. Superintendent for Business and Finance. School Board liaison is Dianne Smith. Committee met 7 times (October 4, 2016 - January 10, 2017)* Committee is scheduled to meet 4 times through June 2017 Meeting materials and presentations are posted on the Chesterfield County Schools website - Budget ‘Quick Links’ •

Information the Committee Considered • Presentations and documents provided by Budget staff. • Discussions with instructional and administrative staff about presentations, priorities, and recommendations. • A meeting with teachers and principals to understand ‘front line’ perspectives, needs, and priorities. • Context and input about issues from Superintendent Dr. Lane and Dianne Smith, a School Board member. • External sources, such as Blueprint Chesterfield. • Perspectives of Committee members.

Overall Comments • Continue initiatives in the 5-year plan including: • Reduction in pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) • Salary increases for staff • Targeting funding to address achievement gaps • Focus on programs and infrastructure projects that were deferred due to funding priorities in/from prior years. • Re-evaluate and determine if multi-year initiatives can be completed earlier. • Delay new and potentially expensive programs until costs are known and funding is available for the Supplemental Retirement Plan (SRP) and the school start time initiative.

Funding Priorities for Fiscal Year 2018 ❖ Targeted reduction of .25 in the pupil-teacher ratio ❖

Staff retention and recognition

$1,635,000

$3,893,000

Provide a 1% salary increase.

❖ Targeted funding for school needs $1,000,000 Increased funding for: full-time substitutes, reading specialists at elementary, middle and high schools, special education, additional school psychologists, and support of ‘safety net’ programs.

❖ Adjustments for school leaders

$ 960,000

Increase salaries of school principals to be competitive with other school districts. Convert 11-month assistant principals to associate principals.

❖ Supplemental Retirement Plan (SRP) $3,100,000 As the SRP documents and funding assumptions are under review, the Committee is uncertain if the proposed $3,100,000 budget increase will meet FY 2018 needs. The proposed increase may not reduce the estimated $83,000,000 plan liability. An approach to reduce the liability would be to dedicate a % of each year’s unspent CCPS operating budget to the SRP until the liability meets a target set by the plan actuary.

❖ Complete school nurse program

$1,600,000

The program to have a school nurse in each school is scheduled to be completed in FY 2020. The Committee suggests the program be completed in FY 2018 or FY 2019.

❖ School start times

$ 500,000

As a final proposal had not been submitted for public comment when the Committee last met, the Committee is uncertain if $500,000 proposed in the FY 2018 Budget is sufficient. The Committee is concerned about the short-term and long-term impacts to the operating and capital budgets by changing school start times.

❖ Early College Academy

$

The Committee is not opposed to the idea of a student achieving a 2-year Associates degree upon high school graduation. The Committee is concerned about recommending $297,000 in FY 2018 due to uncertain costs for other programs. When fully implemented in four years, the program will likely require over $1,000,000 each year, a substantial financial commitment.

0