ResourcesSuperintendent Budget Message - Jan. 27, 2010
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APS Teammates:
As part of Trust, Teamwork and Transparency, I would like to provide you with another update on the APS budget. As I’ve shared before, APS is facing $18 to $20 million in state K-12 reductions. Our top priority will continue to be student achievement. I assure you that the budget process that we have undertaken in APS is thoughtful, collaborative and transparent.
This week, the APS Leadership Team and I met with Principals, Aurora Education Association Leaders, Classified Employee Council Officers and others to discuss proposed budget reductions for 2010-11.
On Thursday, January 28, I will provide a podcast update on the proposed budget reductions for 2010-11 for you to review. I will also provide a link to the new budget Web site, which will have additional information and a survey starting tomorrow where you can share your views. We will also launch an online Budget Forum (Hotline) to answer questions that you may have.
The goal is to keep all staff informed about our budget situation and the process for reducing our budget due to state cuts. In addition, I want to ensure you all have a voice and that staff have the opportunity to provide feedback on proposed reductions.
We are also developing a Special Budget Advisory Committee made up of representatives from all employee groups, parents and community members. This committee will advise us on the budget reduction process.
Below are the currently proposed reductions, listed alphabetically and not in any priority, that are under consideration and have been analyzed to meet the $20 million budget shortfall for 2010-11 and $30 million-plus total over the next three years. We have already gotten some ideas on other areas (and we need any other ideas which you can submit in the survey) to consider and I will include them in future updates as we have time to analyze and discuss. Remember, by law we have to have a balanced budget so we have to make the budget cut that is given to us–right now we are planning for the number to be $20m.
Please look for the podcast starting tomorrow.
Thank you.
JB
| Proposed Reduction | Savings |
| Cancel the current contract for the Achieve 3000 on-line literacy program. | $ 486,000 |
| Cut all professional development funding for administrators and professional technical staff equal to 2% of salaries. | 250,000 |
| Cut school administration by 1 FTE at each of the secondary schools and reduce assistant principals at the elementary level by 50%. | 1,500,000 |
| Cut two FTE literacy coaches being paid from the general fund. | 125,000 |
| Eliminate all field trips district-wide. | 70,000 |
| Eliminate all mileage reimbursements for all employees. | 200,000 |
| Eliminate all purchases of scheduled re-adoption textbooks/instructional materials for one year. | 1,400,000 |
| Eliminate all staff development provided by external vendors. | 950,000 |
| Eliminate costs for all travel, entrance fees, and registration fees. | 780,000 |
| Eliminate increases in health insurance premiums by changing the benefit configuration such as co-pays, deductibles, and provider. | 2,400,000 |
| Eliminate scheduled salary steps and horizontal advancement for education for all employees for one year. | 2,500,000 |
| Eliminate the general fund subsidy for the Young Parenting Program. | 356,000 |
| Eliminate 6th grade athletics district-wide. | 30,000 |
| Implement a selective hiring freeze for the remainder of the 2009-10 budget year. | 400,000 |
| Implement two furlough days during the year from available non-instructional days. This is one-time savings and does not reduce ongoing base expenditures. | 2,000,000 |
| Increase class size by 1 student. | 4,000,000 |
| Increase instructional contact time at the secondary level to be more equitable district-wide. | 4,000,000 |
| Increase the square footage covered by custodians by 2,000 square feet. | 172,000 |
| Redirect all funds generated from facility rental from schools to the general fund. | 300,000 |
| Reduce all salary schedules and pay for all employees by an amount equal to inflation that is currently -.4%. | 750,000 |
| Reduce all non-school division budgets by 2%. | 2,200,000 |
| Reduce health insurance costs by reducing the portion paid by the district from 95% to 90% and increase the portion paid by the employee from 5% to 10%. | 800,000 |
| Reduce staff equitably in all employee groups by 2.5%; licensed, classified and Admin/PT. | 4,500,000 |
| Reduce TE allocations to schools by an amount equivalent to a paraprofessional position at each school and increase teacher supervision. | 750,000 |
| Reduce teacher salaries by not hiring new teachers due to an enrollment increase of 650 students this year. Adjust the staffing formula factor and maintain the same student/teacher ratio or class size that exists today. | 2,000,000 |
| Reduce the allocation to the Capital Reserve budget for one year. This is one-time funding and does not reduce ongoing base expenditures. | 1,000,000 |
| Reduce the general fund subsidy to the APS Education Foundation by 50%. | 100,000 |
| Reduce transportation costs by increasing the walk distance for students by ½ mile. | 200,000 |
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