Budget Support

The Blaine School District Board of Directors held a special meeting on March 10, 2009, for the purpose of collecting staff and community feedback on proposed program adjustments for the 2009-10 program year. While we do not yet have revenue numbers from the State Legislature, we are anticipating that there will be a significant decline in the level of funds that we receive, for at least the next two budget years. The Board is considering both program reduction and revenue generating alternatives, to help offset a revenue/expenditure gap which we believe could range from $865,000-$1,240,000. If we lose additional funding in the area of I-728 (Student Achievement Initiative), this gap could be even larger.

The following summary represents the highlights of the discussion that took place with the Board during the special meeting, as well as reference to specific feedback that was received from those in attendance. The Leadership Team will continue to work toward the strongest possible resolution to the severe fiscal challenges that are upon us. The Board of Directors has scheduled an additional meeting for staff and community input on April 14, from 4:30-6:00pm. Comments, suggestions and concerns specific to the 2009-10 budget development should be directed to Blaine School District Superintendent, Ron Spanjer, or Blaine School District Business Manager, Donna D’Angelo, at the Blaine School District Office (332-5881).

Summary of Program Adjustment Considerations
Staff and Community Forum March 10, 2009

Proposed Area of Reduction or Revenue Increase	Clarification	Comments
Non employee related costs; supplies, services, travel, capital expenditures. $205,000-$355,000	15% reduction for 2009-10. Level I includes reductions for Buildings, Central Support, Food Service, and the Transportation Department. In addition, Levels II/III include Utilities, Maintenance, Fuel, and Special Education.	No additional comments surfaced.
Timber Ridge $100,000	Assumes a net savings with the closure of Timber Ridge High School at the end of the 2008-09 school year.	Program alternatives to be presented to the School Board for initial review on March 23.
Athletics $80,000	15% reduction of budget/reduction of varsity asst coaches/reduced transportation costs/elimination of ‘C’ Teams. The Board was asked to consider two revenue generating options: ‘Pay to Play’ fee for student athletes and a nominal facility use fee for non-district youth sports groups.	The importance of retaining ‘C’ Teams was articulated. Athletic Director Wayne Vezzetti clarified the question of how removing Saturday games is a cost savings. The labor costs decrease due to not having to pay overtime to custodians and bus drivers, and the gate receipts are generally larger during the week as well.
Family Service Center $25,000	Readiness To Learn (RTL) Grant elimination in 2009-10. Levels I/II assume FSC will become levy funded. Level III assumes the program would be eliminated unless other funding is secured.	No additional comments surfaced.
Stimulus SPED $100,000	1/3 of the potential level of federal stimulus is being planned to offset program reduction. The stimulus must be appropriated by the State Legislature.	Until the State Legislature defines a distribution plan, the actual revenue School Districts will receive is unknown. We remain cautiously optimistic that we will experience a net $100,000 offset to program reduction needs.
Capital Reserve Adjustment $!00,000	Level III anticipates $100,000 of one time expenditures from cash reserves for M&O capital needs, technology and curriculum materials.	No additional comments surfaced.
Reduce Fiscal Review Set Aside $50,000	The Fiscal Review Committee process surfaced program needs and initially $100,000 was planned to pay for some of these items. Level II/III reduces the amount to $50,000. Actual priorities are under consideration.	No additional comments surfaced.
Enrollment Adjustment $50,000	Assumes loss of 10 fewer students	We are concerned about being budget dependent on projected enrollment variances that are this small.
Certificated Staffing $200,000	Teaching/Teaching Support (2.5 FTE Adjustment/Enrollment Driven) 1.0 FTE Elementary/2.5 FTE High School. 1.0 FTE increase at the Middle School.	The District continues to make every effort to account for the I-728 reduction in areas other than additional certificated staff reductions. The 9-12 alternative high school students returning to the District will drive some increase in certificated staffing levels. It was shared that staff appreciates the effort the District is making to keep teaching staff reductions as small as possible in this process.
Classified Staffing $160,000	Total of 40 hours recommended. 7.5 hr – Central Support 8.0 hr – Transportation 6.0 hr – Custodial 8.0 hr – Food Service 2.0 hr each – High Sch. /Middle Sch. 1.0 hr each – Elem. Sch./Primary Sch. 5.0 hr – Categorical (Title/SPED/LAP/ELL)	These totals could be offset in Title I and Special Education, depending upon state guidelines for federal stimulus allocation and expenditure.
Athletics Revenue $21,940	“Pay to Play” implications. Addresses fee for student athletes in order to supplement the expenditures for ‘C’ Teams. This area also includes consideration of an event card for faculty to be available at a nominal fee.	It was suggested that perhaps we should look at this option regardless of the ultimate status of the ‘C’ Team issue. The additional funds could be used for uniforms, etc. Should we look at increasing the cost of ASB cards and how do we compare with other Whatcom County Districts? Staff attendance at games was discussed with a suggestion that a season ticket for staff would encourage attendance. Some districts don’t charge staff at all for attendance at home games.
Food Service Revenue $20,000	Increase in the price of meals effective with the 2009-10 school year to offset some of the increases in food/labor costs. Breakfast would increase .15 and lunch .25.	There was agreement with the need to increase prices. We would like to see what neighboring districts charge once prices have been established.
Facilities Revenue $17,600 when fully implemented.	Proposal of a facility use fee for non-district groups. As we consider a ‘Pay to Play’ fee for student athletes, it is also appropriate to consider a nominal facility use fee for non-district youth sports.	It was suggested that this fee is probably overdue and we should consider it regardless of what the outcome of ‘C’ teams is. The applicable Youth Program would have to pay the fee or it will need to be passed on to the parent in the form of increased registration fees. The difference in proposed fee per participant was determined by the amount of facility use by the sport. Some sports use buildings while others use only fields, and some only for practice. It was suggested that maybe we could look at incremental steps to introduce the fees.