Post by doctorwho on Mar 24, 2009 14:51:26 GMT -6
Just received this - the question is who is on this committee- and are they taking applications for spots on the committee. It has been a while since this has been held.
btw- This was one of the things Jerry Huang said he wanted to re-institute if elected - I am glad to see this initiative start
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As the United States faces the economic crisis of our lifetime, Indian Prairie administration has been working on a plan to weather whatever financial hardships may come our way in the near future. At the April 13 Board of Education meeting, we will discuss the district's budget and how we are preparing for the future.
The district has been "tightening its belt" for the past two years. We've achieved savings of close to $5 million through changing healthcare providers, new contracts for custodial and banking services, restructuring our debt, and joining forces with District 203 to purchase a computerized financial system at a substantial savings. We also proactively looked at staffing ratios and made adjustments a year ago, so we don't anticipate major teacher layoffs next year.
This past year we decided to move to the National School Lunch Program starting in 2009-10, which will generate additional revenues of approximately $500,000. Revenues will also increase as the district begins to receive general state aid from the all-day kindergarten program next year.
In developing next year's budget, the district set a goal of reducing an estimated $6 million in expenditures. This will be accomplished with across the board reductions, including staffing and central office administration, using funds from the Federal stimulus package, and reducing our fund balance. We are focusing on reallocating existing resources to increase efficiency while protecting core academics. It's important to know our plans do not impact class sizes or programs offered to students.
You may have read that school districts will receive funding over the next two years from the Federal stimulus package. We anticipate we may be able to use $1 million from the stimulus package to reduce expenditures next year. Although certainly helpful, these funds would fall short of addressing all the district's financial concerns in the near future.
Our concerns include the following:
Property taxes represent our number one revenue source. Growth in property taxes is capped at the overall Consumer Price Index, which for 2009-10 is 4.1 percent and for 2010-11 is capped at 0.1 percent. This, coupled with very little new property growth, leaves our local revenues essentially flat.
Our number two revenue source, the State of Illinois, is currently two months behind on $5 to $6 million of reimbursements to our district. Questions remain as to whether the state will have the monies necessary to meet their commitments for the current school year. We are particularly concerned about state funding for next year. Over the past month, Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes has publicly stated that he anticipates an $11 billion state shortfall next year.
In examining ways to best address these concerns, the administration used the following three principles as a guide: protect the academic quality that has been built over the years, ensure students have access to the courses and programs they need, and focus on the district's mission.
We also asked our Citizens Financial Advisory Committee to reconvene to provide guidance during these tough financial times. This volunteer group of financial experts has provided valuable advice and recommendations to the administration in the past. We can think of no better time than now to ask them to once again volunteer their time.
The materials and video from our budget presentation will be available on our website after the April 13 board meeting. We will continue to bring you information as the budget process moves forward.
Stephen Daeschner, Superintendent
David Holm, Assistant Superintendent
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School District 204
www.ipsd.org
780 Shoreline Drive
Aurora, IL 60504
USA
btw- This was one of the things Jerry Huang said he wanted to re-institute if elected - I am glad to see this initiative start
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the United States faces the economic crisis of our lifetime, Indian Prairie administration has been working on a plan to weather whatever financial hardships may come our way in the near future. At the April 13 Board of Education meeting, we will discuss the district's budget and how we are preparing for the future.
The district has been "tightening its belt" for the past two years. We've achieved savings of close to $5 million through changing healthcare providers, new contracts for custodial and banking services, restructuring our debt, and joining forces with District 203 to purchase a computerized financial system at a substantial savings. We also proactively looked at staffing ratios and made adjustments a year ago, so we don't anticipate major teacher layoffs next year.
This past year we decided to move to the National School Lunch Program starting in 2009-10, which will generate additional revenues of approximately $500,000. Revenues will also increase as the district begins to receive general state aid from the all-day kindergarten program next year.
In developing next year's budget, the district set a goal of reducing an estimated $6 million in expenditures. This will be accomplished with across the board reductions, including staffing and central office administration, using funds from the Federal stimulus package, and reducing our fund balance. We are focusing on reallocating existing resources to increase efficiency while protecting core academics. It's important to know our plans do not impact class sizes or programs offered to students.
You may have read that school districts will receive funding over the next two years from the Federal stimulus package. We anticipate we may be able to use $1 million from the stimulus package to reduce expenditures next year. Although certainly helpful, these funds would fall short of addressing all the district's financial concerns in the near future.
Our concerns include the following:
Property taxes represent our number one revenue source. Growth in property taxes is capped at the overall Consumer Price Index, which for 2009-10 is 4.1 percent and for 2010-11 is capped at 0.1 percent. This, coupled with very little new property growth, leaves our local revenues essentially flat.
Our number two revenue source, the State of Illinois, is currently two months behind on $5 to $6 million of reimbursements to our district. Questions remain as to whether the state will have the monies necessary to meet their commitments for the current school year. We are particularly concerned about state funding for next year. Over the past month, Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes has publicly stated that he anticipates an $11 billion state shortfall next year.
In examining ways to best address these concerns, the administration used the following three principles as a guide: protect the academic quality that has been built over the years, ensure students have access to the courses and programs they need, and focus on the district's mission.
We also asked our Citizens Financial Advisory Committee to reconvene to provide guidance during these tough financial times. This volunteer group of financial experts has provided valuable advice and recommendations to the administration in the past. We can think of no better time than now to ask them to once again volunteer their time.
The materials and video from our budget presentation will be available on our website after the April 13 board meeting. We will continue to bring you information as the budget process moves forward.
Stephen Daeschner, Superintendent
David Holm, Assistant Superintendent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
School District 204
www.ipsd.org
780 Shoreline Drive
Aurora, IL 60504
USA
. We know how that turned out.
Group think! Not this time around.