Source: Handout at BOE Meeting 1/25/2005
Notes captured by District from 1/18 workshop

BOARD OF EDUCATION

BUDGET WORKSHOP

TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2005

KEY POINTS/COMMENTS:

PUBLIC:

· Important you also mention items from the Measure A list

· CSEA feels list was not compiled fairly, and that bargaining units were “shut out” of the process

· Disturbing that administration has not had to face the same cuts as classified – administration should take their fair share

· Particularly unsettled over the Public Relations Officer position – how do you justify keeping this position?

· Assumed there was no overtime in District; surprised to see a recommendation of a 5% scaleback

· Utilizing Measure C for equipment – should have been coming out of the right account from the beginning

· Summer differential pay – shouldn’t this have been the practice all along?

· ELD – want cutback on administration hours and alignment of job title

· School closure – concerned because charter schools have first rights; put Island into closed school campus and get rid of portables

· No evidence supporting continuance of CSR; test scores aren’t skyrocketing because of CSR. May make a difference elsewhere in CA, but not in Alameda

· Special Ed program has at least 1 too many management-level staff

· Assign 2 principals to 4 schools

· Eliminate 1 VP position at EHS per staffing ratio

· Eliminate ASTI program – when these students become juniors and seniors, money will be going to College of Alameda, not District. Prove the program is worth it

· Administrator spending most of his time at ASTI and some other administrator is taking his responsibilities…get rid of administrator in that department

· Reduce OT by additional 10%

· Sub custodian only $13 per hour, OT custodian $30 per hour; be money smart

· Increase charge for facilities usage – heard from MOF that our rental charges are very low, comparatively speaking

· How many consultants does/has the District use, for what purpose, and at what cost?

· Have meeting on West End to allow those community members to participate

· What about Even Start? Where will they be located if school closes?

· Every Child Counts and Child Care Planning Council want to work with District and WCDC to help apply for grants. Supported by Assemblywoman Wilma Chan

· CSR concern from parent; if discontinued, parents will have a hard time keeping their children in public school

· Concern for teacher layoffs – effects kids in the long run

· If sports funding cut, coaches may think it’s not worthwhile to put all the extra effort into the teams and sports would be lost. EHS could conceivably lose 8 programs

· Don’t forget domino effect of cuts. Money is out there – grants are available

· Data that 300 kids lost from Harbor Island Apartments really true? EHS lost only 16 net students from that housing area. Thinks District is looking for “pity vote” by using that number

· Inconceivable to cut counselors and expect them to be able to service students – important to kids and families

· Don’t cut JROTC

· Don’t cut Paden 6-8 Academy. Program makes Paden unique. Students had expectation they would graduate from Paden and they would miss out on social studies and science curriculum, which is looped in a 3-year cycle. Good option available – if you take away, will drive students to private schools

· Don’t see enough cuts at the top – we have Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Public Relations Officer, Directors, etc. What about hidden costs – car allowances, etc.

· JROTC – every year you ask the same question and receive the same answer. The District only pays $40K max for the program – Army picks up the rest. Benefits over 175 students – last year, graduation rate of 100%; attendance rate of 98%

· Last 3 items supposed to be farthest away from the classroom – but anything that effects the teachers effects the students

· Can’t afford to have program encroachments – live within our budgets so we’re not cutting instruction; articulate percentages in terms of cost savings and overall amounts; prep time item a bit misleading to talk about those in terms of preparation loss; pitting of programs against one another

· Ongoing budget committees that work year-round with community reps from all groups to avoid a knee-jerk reaction

· How will these ideas be translated into additional budget items for Board consideration?

· Think about how we can raise some money – let parents know about the 1% attendance increase; parents don’t realize impact of missing a day; K-5 prep time also allows kids to have a break from their regular teacher in elementary school

· Charge parents $35 when their kids miss a day of school – at HS level, sure students don’t realize skipping school plays with peoples’ jobs and livelihoods; charge for summer school for students who haven’t been recommended by administration or teachers; don’t reduce ELD Department – in critical need of staffing and qualified teachers and supplies; lots of simple measure we can take to save money – don’t keep computers on overnight to avoid having to reboot in the AM; control amount of papers and supplies used – lots of waste

· Wny calculating Counselors time this new way instead of by enrollment? Very different to have 1 person for 3 hours at a school of 200 vs 400 students

BOARD:

· Why not reduce OT by 100%? Why only 5%?

· Request a report on Even Start – brief, top-level info such as enrollment, impact, etc., feasibility of relocating to another space

· Regarding 300 student loss, possible to get figures from the schools? At least get a picture school by school, mainly in the West End, related to Harbor Island impact numbers. How has this impacted Special Education?

· Regarding Paden – if you take so many students from Paden and put into Chipman, would like to see figures of how you would save on staffing

· Counselor numbers – you say 11, they say 13. Concern is how much that position actually serves individuals. My inclination is to question a head counselor position – does not serve kids equally. How will these positions serve students, what are they going to be doing, what services are going to be lost?

· ASTI figures – over the long run, what are the chances that the program is going to succeed and make it to another year? Are we just crossing our fingers and hoping it might stay?

· Legal expenses – need comparative figures of in-house legal counsel vs contractual legal services

· Good idea to look at consultants information

· Ongoing budget committee serving year-round is good idea – should seriously consider; makes a lot of sense

· Foregoing any salary increase would be cut farthest away from students and would have biggest impact on budget – if employees willing, we could avoid a lot of painful choices

· If Board agrees to close elementary school, what is value of property and what would we do with property?

· List % of encroachment of programs and what % is based on; total amount of encroachment of all programs – identify by program what the encroachment is on the general fund

· Like to have a short prioritization list of recommended cuts – one list with negotiable and non-negotiable items on it

WRITTEN COMMENTS:

· How much fiscal impact does the loss of student census have in FY 04./05? The $1.44M on the overhead is all FY05/06

· If District is indeed losing 300 students, where are the savings due to reduced enrollment? Helpful if the cost savings associated with reduced enrollment could be broken down

· Concerned about CSR in K-3. If implemented, what is the impact on future enrollment due to children enrolled in private school instead? There is clearly an impact in the classroom – I would consider private school for my 3 children if implemented

· In addition to cutting expenses, how can ASUD increase revenue?

· Is the entire school budget open/public? Difficult to provide input on savings measure without knowing if all possible budget items have been looked at

· Have all options been looked at how to bring in more money? Which items have been looked at, and which items have been dismissed and why?

· Every budget item should be defined in its impact on the classroom – this way cuts can be prioritized to have minimal impact on the classroom/children

· Are there any assets that the District could liquidate?

· Alameda is an affluent community – reduce encroachment of many programs – Paden Academy, JROTC, etc. let the fundraising happen site by site. Athletics at AHS? The SUV-driving parents can help carry the costs. The citizens can help carry the costs.

· Concerned about budget cuts. Children deserve best quality education we can give them. Maintain high caliber of teachers and classified employees – need to keep cuts as far away form the classroom as possible. Cutting prep time, implementing furloughs and freezing salaries, reversion of COLA will drive our fine teachers away. We need to support the level of education that we now maintain

· One thing that makes our schools great is option of different methods of learning at different schools/programs; closing Paden’s Academy would be a mistake. The program helps support students who thrive in a small multi-age environment

· Special Ed is mandated and should not be reduced which would directly affect the students

· Examine cuts made in prior budgets which have been reinstated – why? If they were deemed cuttable before, why shouldn’t we start by eliminating those positions?

· How can one department (fiscal) have unlimited OT?

· Is Michael Johnson’s salary being paid by the grant?

· Where did you get the projected # of 10,425?

· Paden Academy is strong part of Paden community and should not be taken away

· CSR would be a big mistake. I personally see the benefits of the 20:1 ratio

· Health Clerk hours should not be cut – nurse’s office is very busy

· Don’t believe K-5 prep time should be eliminated – extremely important to both kids and teachers

· Don’t cut athletics budget

· Counselors important – don’t eliminate any of them