Budget Consideration Presentation

The presentation that was shared with Staff Monday January 25th and Tuesday January 26th can be found at Staff Presentation .

Budget Update

When you read the items below you will note the cuts from expenditures in general fund are more significant than initially thought. I would be less than honest if I did not tell you these cuts will impact how Whitko educates students. I want you to continue to offer your suggestions as "Everything is on the table from if and how we do preschool to how AP Calculus is offered and everything in between." We will look at how schools are configured for example is K-2 and 3-5 more efficient at the elementary? Should grade 5 attend the WMS building. What about the middle school concept or junior high? How about middle and high school daily schedules? How about semester or trimester? What about administrative and support costs? It is all on the table! So send your ideas to me. Share your ideas with your principal or director.

I also want you to know " Nothing has been decided and when it is the affected person or persons will hear it from me." If you hear it from some other source it is just a rumor and like all cases some rumors may be true others may be false. When we have some better ideas as to the reductions being proposed I will let you know.

WCTA is working along side us to help in this very difficult process so feel free to share your ideas with your representatives if that fits your position.

Here is the current budget scoop we need to trim between $450,000 and $830,000 for 2010 and another $290,000 for 2011 as the stimulus money will not be available also the $504,000 cut in 2010 will not be made up in 2011. This is much more that was supposed in the earlier blog. So over two year we are talking $1.25 million Like I said, we together will figure this out and stand tall as Whitko always does.

State Suggested Savings

Below are the State Board of Education Cost Saving Considerations given in testimony December 2009 and the Citizens Checklist form the Governor to the State Board and some initial comments related to each item. Obviously nothing is off the table completely but the issue is cutting General Fund Expenditures or increasing General Fund revenue by between $465,000 for 2010 and then another $300,000 for 2011.

Budgetary/Administrative Considerations
· Eliminate insurance payments for all school board personnel –not applicable our Board does not have this benefit
· Increase insurance deductibles – This is a negotiated Item
· Investigate moving to state employee health benefit plan or another shared plan –The State Plan would cause an increased cost not a savings
· Guarantee ALL school employees contribute equally and equitably to insurance plans – This is already true
· Freeze all expenditures at current levels – Some items are beyond our control. We already based the 2010 budget on 2008 expenditures
· Roll back budgets to prior year where appropriate-Essentially done
· Reduce all non instructional budgets – Could save portions of the categories below
o Substitutes from non-federal, non-grant funds -
o Cut non-essential travel -
o Library Materials –
o Dues and Fees –
o Summer Grounds and Painting Help –

· Consider participation fees or eliminating extracurricular activities. pay for play will be reviewed
· Creation of nonprofit foundation or endowments to support school district – Have tried to create one with no real traction
· Suspend all capital outlays until budget plan is determined This state reduction is not a Capital Projects issue it only effects General Fund and we can’t move fund between what the state calls silos so this would not help at all.
· Eliminate pay for membership into professional organizations or associations –Small amounts of funding go to this. Right now the associations are the only ones communicating with us on the cuts. We get news from them that the State has never told us about. Not all of us read the Indianapolis Star.
· Shared legal and other professional services – No impact we already do this
· Utilization of technology to deliver instructional materials – Save instructional cost and copying
· Require electronic funds transfer for all payroll and payments – minimal savings
· Limit or eliminate subscriptions and publications – see above
· Eliminate cell phone, Blackberry and pager costs – Some savings but a negotiated item
· Utilize community resources to create efficiencies and supplement programs – Unsure what resources could be used but investigating.
· Explore volunteerism within the local community – great idea
· Examine all vendor contracts in excess of $1,000 – Current practice
· Renegotiate purchasing agreements – Current practice
o o Buy bulk
o o Buy online
o o Cooperative purchasing agreements
o o Pursue inter-local agreements
o o Purchase from state QPA's

Personnel/Staffing Considerations – We will review all options but initial thoughts are below

· Suspend Hiring – This is essentially in place already we all prefer attrition
· Initiate rigorous contract negotiations within the confines of local fiscal health – No doubt this will be explored
· Freeze salaries at current levels – Done
· Suspend salary increment for biennium – Negotiated Item
· Roll back salaries to previous year levels - Negotiated Item
· Eliminate any overtime pay – not applicable
· Examine retire to rehire opportunities – not currently (legal) or acceptable in the rules from TRF and PERF if the rules change?
· Examine early retirement incentive -This presumes we have funding to create the incentive and if we had that we would not have a problem
· Furlough non instructional employees - not reasonable as who does their work?
· Reduce central office staff - we already did that last year and cut other staff salary expenses the year prior
· Reduce all administrative and clerical staff - again who does their work?
· Reduce or eliminate paid lay staff - this would impact extra-curricular positions
· Examine need for all ancillary staff – classroom assistants, resource assistants again who does their work?

Operating/Capital Project Considerations
· Close underutilized buildings - NA
· Reduce or mothball square footage in existing buildings - done
· Track and monitor monthly utilities and other fixed costs - done
· Consider budget plans or prepaid plans - done
· Examine the outsourcing of transportation, cafeteria and janitorial services – again this change impacts different funds with the exception of janitorial but who then cleans the buildings?
· Reduce or eliminate school vehicle inventories (helps with initial purchase only and then we would pay to have snow removed and other maintenance items addressed)
· Monitor school facility usage for the potential of establishing hours of operation - Done
· Sell or lease surplus property or facilities - NA
· Freeze all building projects that are not general fund budget neutral - NA
· Freeze all nonessential building upgrades - Again this is a different fund and does not impact these current needed reductions

Policy Considerations
· Shared services inside and outside school districts – already doing this
· Evaluate benefits of school consolidation – we already are sharing services, would consolidation save operating costs?
· Operating referendum - This could be considered
· Written policies to support anonymous reporting and investigation of claims of fraud, waste and abuse – In place in Whistle-Blower policies
· Investigate programs designed to retain and recruit students - Recruit away from ?
· Examine corporations grade level delivery system - Some investigation of a K-2 and 3-5 arrangement has been brought up. Other options do not seem remotely feasible
· Increase student/teacher ratio; larger classes; team teaching – Has been happening slowly
· Examine partnerships with local government - We do partner with the city on things like salt and sand.

Legislative Considerations (These are out of our hands)
· All for transportation and capital funds to be used for 2010 General Fund shortfall
· Allow a levy access transfer
· Local Option Income Tax (LOIT) for schools
· Delay circuit breaker
· Require a state hiring salary freeze for all state-funded employees
· Change referendum language


Indiana State Board of Education Citizens’ Checklist
The Governor asked Citizens to use this checklist to determine if your school corporation has taken these actions to increase savings and efficiency. (These are covered above)
· Refrain from all salary and benefits increases for all school employees
· Reduce insurance costs by changing plans, including joining the state health plan
· Reduce school administration and school board compensation packages
· Suspend 403(b), 401(a) and 457(b) matches for all employees
· Institute a corporation hiring freeze
· Eliminate memberships in professional associations and reduce travel expenses
· Effectively outsourced transportation and custodial services and direct savings to the Rainy Day Fund
· Sold, leased, or closed underutilized buildings
· Reduced or rolled back operational and programmatic budgets to previous year levels
· Reviewed school consolidation options within the corporation and between corporations.