Message from Superintendent Don Grotting
Superintendent's Revised Budget Proposal for Wed. May 22, 2019 Budget Meeting
Tuesday, May 21, 2019 Dear Beaverton Parents & Families,
I want to publicly thank our community for the outpouring of comments at the prior budget committee meeting and online submissions. The passion and advocacy our community has shown is tremendous.
Today, I sent several revisions to my proposed budget for 2019-2020 to the Budget Committee for review at tomorrow night’s meeting. In making these revisions, I have asked Beaverton staff to sharpen their pencils and focus on direct service to kids in the classroom. As I stated in previous communications, my first priority will be to minimize class size increases to the greatest extent possible. Additionally, with the passage of HB 3427, the Student Success Act, we have a responsibility to prepare the District to take advantage of the first major reinvestment in public education in more than three decades. We will either bridge the gap to a $2 billion investment in kids, or we will be creating a glide path to an undesirable lower basis should the measure be referred to the ballot and rejected by the voters.
To that end, I have chosen to focus on the positive and focus our efforts on supporting students. Below I am outlining five major areas of revision to the general fund budget. They are as follows: Budget Corrections; Expiration of the BEA/BSD MOU; Additional Central Office Reductions; Class Size; and Use of Reserves.
Budget Corrections: Interim CFO Jim Scherzinger and our budget office team have worked to review and rebuild the District’s proposed budget for 2019-20. We have incorporated firmer projections, revised costing, and other model corrections to ensure we have a solid foundation.
Expiration of BEA/BSD MOU: As a result of the July 1 expiration of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between BEA and the District, I have requested that the proposed budget be adjusted to reflect a status quo school year of 175 student contact days, without early release, and 193 teacher contracted days. This results in a reduction of 5 teacher days and 9 classified days of employment for employees on 212-day calendars or fewer.
Additional Central Office Reductions: I have directed District central departments to review their current proposed budgets and provide me with additional reductions in central services and programs. Additional reductions are proposed for Facilities, Community Involvement, IT, Human Resources, and Teaching & Learning.
Class Size: Lastly, as a method of prioritizing the classroom experience for students and teachers, I am proposing to maintain teacher staffing ratios at the current (2018-19) levels.
Use of Reserves: When combined, the four budget revisions above produce a general fund deficit and as such I am proposing that the District use a portion of reserves to balance the budget and avoid even greater disruption to services to kids for 2019-20.
This proposed revision maintains the $20 million in programmatic reductions that were a part of the original budget proposal. It also includes the elimination of the 1.5 FTE staffing for PYP/MYP schools. The Beaverton School District has invested in the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Program over the past decade at a level that went above and beyond what is required by IB. Our Teaching & Learning Dept. will provide guidance to PYP schools on how they can continue to meet IB requirements and maintain their certification.
I will be presenting this proposed budget revision to the Budget Committee in greater detail on Wednesday evening.
Thank you for your support.
Don Grotting Superintendent