March 19, 2008

Dear APS Teammates:

In the interest of Trust and Teamwork, I want to take this opportunity to be transparent about our District’s budget for the 2008-2009 school year. You need to have the facts so the rumors do not confuse the issue. I want you to know that your District Leadership Team and the Board of Education are working overtime to make sure our kids are minimally impacted as possible and our employees are taken care of to the max extent possible. I trust you know me enough by now that I really care about each and everyone of you and will do my utmost as your Superintendent to keep our students and people as our top priorities in this budget process.

For the last two years, APS has experienced significant student enrollment declines. During that time, we have lost more than 1,000 students. We expect an additional enrollment decline of about 600 students in the 2008-09 school year. Our analysis points to four primary factors: charter school growth, immigration policies, redevelopment of the Colfax corridor adjacent to Fitzsimmons, and the current economic downturn.

These declines have a significant effect on our operating budget. With funding at $6,623 per student, the amount of money we receive from the state will be substantially reduced. As a result, we must all work together to reduce the 2008-09 budget by approximately $10 million. This $10 million reduction has nothing to do with our VISTA 2010 initiatives since that funding came from “one-time” money that gave us a jump start on our transformation, which we definitely need in order to be competitive with charter schools and other school districts.

APS has already started to reduce budgets for this school year. In January, I asked each division to cut their operating budgets by an average of 10 percent. This effort will help meet our current budget given this year’s student declines.

These are some of the ways in which our 2008-09 budget will be impacted:

-Attrition: We may not replace some positions that are vacated due to retirements or resignations. All vacancies will be reviewed on an individual basis to determine those to be filled and those that may not. Supervisors will work with hiring managers to make these decisions. There are no plans to have a Reduction-in-Force.
-Hiring: Due to enrollment declines, we will need approximately 60 fewer teachers in schools. So instead of needing to hire 260-275 new teachers as we typically do annually, we will only need about 200-215 new teachers. This will not change average student/teacher ratios at the district level because we will have fewer students.
-Purchases: We will most likely lengthen equipment replacement cycles and defer purchases where feasible.
-Alternative funding: We are actively seeking alternative funding, such as grants. These one-time only funds will minimize impact on staff, students and some programs. Recent grant awards include:
—-We recently secured a $378,000 grant from the Rose Community Foundation to enhance how we serve English Language Learners.
—-Colorado Trust has provided a $30,000 grant to support immigrant and migrant families in the district.
—-Best Buy has provided Tollgate Elementary a $10,000 grant to support technology initiatives.
—-Rangeview’s “Math Café” received a $10,000 grant from the AARP for the after-school program.
—-North Middle School is one of 15 schools in the country to receive $5,000 from the Discovery Science Channel and Comcast to supplement science education.
-Other reductions: We will have to cut supply and equipment budgets. We will also reduce purchased services, ranging from consultants to conference budgets.

Leadership Team members are working closely with the Board of Education to ensure that our budget will meet the needs of staff and students. We are following our usual practice of projecting and planning for the next fiscal year well in advance. The Board will review the proposed budget on May 20. It will adopt the budget on June 17 and possibly re-adopt the budget on October 7. You are welcome to attend these meetings, held in the BOE Room at 1085 Peoria St. The meetings are generally held at 6:30 p.m.

We are aggressively seeking to increase our enrollment by attracting new families to APS as well as those who have left APS to attend other schools. We are currently conducting an audit that will provide data about how we can keep our families in APS and help us move forward with student recruitment strategies. We need everyone to help us compete on the educational market by spreading the word that APS is transforming to graduate every student with the choice to attend college.

We will continue to keep you updated on the APS budget. I know how hard you all are working–I see it everyday. Thank you for your support as we face budget challenges. Decreasing enrollments and challenging budgets are faced by many districts around the country. We are not unique in this effort but we have an advantage since we are focused with our strategic plan and I am exceedingly confident and optimistic that our financial challenges will turn around in the near term. This is where Trust and Teamwork can really assist us as a “Family” to do what is correct for our students and accelerate student achievement. If we do this, we will have families and future employees banging on our doors to be part of the APS team.

You can view an FAQ & Fact Sheet on the budget at www.aps.k12.co.us/supt/budget.

JB

John L. Barry,
Superintendent
Aurora Public Schools
15701 E. First Ave., Suite 206
Aurora, CO 80011 3
03-365-7800

“There are risks and costs to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.”
John F. Kennedy

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