Budget Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes - 2.4.2010

BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
February 4, 2010

Attending: 
BAC: Kristy Moore (DAE), Steve Toler, Michael Palmer, Drew Cummings, Gwendolyn Johnson, Sandi Bates, David Hawks, DeShawna Gooch, William Logan, Camille Marlowe, Leah Hahn, Travis Taylor, Renee Wilburn, Mary Jane Palmer, Stephanie Humphrey, Angela Terry, Victor Velaquez, Steve Unruhe, Tracy Bell, Julie Spencer, and Calleen Herbert (PTA Council).

DPS:  H. Hank Hurd, Jennifer S. Bennett, Dr. Mozingo, Dr. Pitman, Dr. LaSane, Eunice Sanders, Stacey Wilson-Norman, Chris Bennett,  Hugh Osteen, Tom Crabtree, Fred Williams, Carolyn Olivarez, Savannah Vanhook, Mike Muirhead, Elaine Roark, Stephen Brown, Barry Bowden, Ron Wahlen

Jennifer S. Bennett opened the meeting at 6:05 pm with a welcome to all in attendance and provided an overview of the meeting’s structure for the evening.

Interim Superintendent Hurd offered brief remarks related to the outlook of the budget for FY 2010-11.  He expressed the Board and Administration’s gratitude for the committee’s work and that they looked forward to receiving their feedback and suggestions.

Jennifer S. Bennett, Executive Director of Budget & Management Services, and Carolyn Olivarez, Finance Officer, presented to the committee the budget forecast presentation that was provided to the Board of Education Administrative Services subcommittee on January 14, 2010.  

Ms. Bennett then dispersed the group into their respective break-out sections:  Instructional Services, Administrative Services, and Information Technology to begin their discussions and provide feedback for the group and the Board. The breakout discussions lasted 50 minutes and were very serious and engaging. 

The group reconvened as a whole at 7:50 pm and reported out their individual group feedback.  Each of the break-out group’s feedback is attached.  The group had a very healthy discussion of how best to present the budget reductions to the public bringing up these key points:

• Defining core instruction vs. the activities that enhance the core (arts, athletics, remediation, etc.
• Current test results are due to programs that have been in place several years and that investment (cost) is now reaping the rewards – it was pointed out that some may conclude that the current year cuts have had no impact since the test results will show improvement and DPS needed to make sure they could clarify that situation.
• The impact of having to end programs due to the budget situation and what the district sees as the consequences.
• Providing parents, schools, and the community with some simple information that they can understand and use in discussions with state legislative members and county commissioners and others related to the impact the budget reductions are going to have in their schools.

Ms. Bennett thanked the committee and staff for their work and participation.  The committee expressed a desire to be involved throughout the budget process and to also, if possible, have a meeting in August to provide the group with an overview of the initial budget and impact. The meeting concluded at 8:30 pm.

Budget Advisory Committee
Instructional Services Break Out

Participants:
BAC:  Kristy Moore (DAE), Steve Toler, Michael Palmer, Drew Cummings, Gwendolyn Johnson, Sandi Bates, David Hawks, DeShawna Gooch, William Logan, Camille Marlowe, Leah Hahn
DPS:  Dr. Mozingo, Dr. Pitman, Dr. LaSane, Eunice Sanders, Stacey Wilson-Norman, Chris Bennett

Transparency and trust is critical.
Comment:  Budget is discouraging news for the community and business community because student achievement is so critical and we need achievement to continue rising, yet the budget is such that this seems like a crisis point.  Is this budget crisis going to set us back as a school district, children, and their future? Due to the budget crisis, we will see a major impact on education in Durham County.

• What can the community do?
• What can the business community do? 
• How can the birth-five work support preparation for schools?

Key Points: 

• Protect essentials (MUST):  Focus on highly qualified teachers and reasonable class size
• What if we closed lower use building(s) to reduce overhead?
• We made need to focus on core essentials rather than expanding things like technology, prof. dev., unit assessments, benchmark assessments, ConnectEd.,

Central Office Departments:  In addition to the principals having discussions with their faculty, has Central Office identified target areas to cut?  Has central office or school staff considered a 10-day furlough or reduction in salary in order to save positions?

Resource and Revenue Enhancement

• Fund Raising: Consider entrepreneurial method of fund-raising, for example:
• Endowed Principals or Teachers (like UNC Endowed Professors)
• Brick dedications
• Sponsor the Band

Strategies that could help with budget savings:

• What kind of goodwill effort on part of staff who are above the “classroom” level (teacher, teacher assistant) could be offered (ex: donate principal’s longevity – equivalent from local portion of salary)
• Explore areas to reduce “duplication of effort” and embrace “job enlargement” responsibilities to increase efficiencies
• Can volunteers (retirees) help fill some of this void? Coach volunteers for sports?

Be Specific:

• Get the message out about how serious the budget situation is, and be specific about the needs of the district – not general.
• Tap the businesses around each school to tap potential support (long-term)
• Organize the list in such a way to identify essential initiatives that if eliminated will negatively impact student achievement

Budget Advisory Committee
Administrative Services Break Out

Participants:
BAC:  Victor Velaquez, Travis Taylor, Renee Wilburn, Stephanie Humphrey, Angela Terry
DPS:  Hugh Osteen, Tom Crabtree, Fred Williams, Carolyn Olivarez, Savannah Vanhook, Mary Jane Palmer

• Question on minimum number of instructional days.  Possible to reduce the # of instructional days if maintain 1000 instructional hours?  Cost savings from utilities, transportation, and reduction in salary (furlough days). 
• Possibility of a 4-day week to achieve savings?
• 3-tier bus system.  Helps with efficiency, but brings cultural shift.
• Escape clauses in contracts or re-structure to pay more on the back end.
• Potential application in contracts for instructional software
• Renegotiate for less service (i.e. Service Solutions)
• Evaluate software utilization and cost
• Examine cost/benefit of local benchmarks and unit assessments
• Explore on-line textbook adoptions
• Develop a proprietary software solution that eliminates the operating expense for the comparable solution (effectively shifts operating expense to capital outlay with asset on books)
• DPS will have to reduce number of employees
• Can Durham County help to make-up the gap from the state?
• County must maintain a 60-68 million fund balance to maintain AAA bond rating.
• Current fund balance is in the 90 million range
• What are other dramatic cuts DPS can take?
• Summer School – already happened
• Sports
• Reduced bus service
• Arts
• Consider the process that DPS uses to engage the public.  FTE might be too abstract.  Another way to frame is to expose what happens when funding is not at the desired level.
• 50 cents – survival
• 60 cents – adds academic electives
• 70 cents – adds sports
• 75 cents – any level below permanently impacts student learning
• 80 cents – adds arts
• What is Core Instruction?  How can DPS define and show the costs associated with the core and then add to it (like a pyramid) with utilities, etc as base, then core instruction, support staff, then athletics, then arts, etc. so that visually people can see how the costs add-up and then they could see how cuts would begin to eat into those things from the top-down.
• DPS will need to be very specific in what is being cut and the impacts.
• Other suggestions related to cutting costs
• Mandate electronic W-2
• Require direct deposit

 
Budget Advisory Committee
Information Technology Break Out

Participants:
BAC:  Calleen Herbert, Julie Spencer, Tracy Bell, Steve Unruhe
DPS:  Mike Muirhead, Elaine Roark, Stephen Brown, Barry Bowden, Ron Wahlen

• The number one priority that should be focused on above everything else is the replacement of old computers and closing the gap on staff that currently do not have use of a computer. 
• Principals would like clarification around the IT allotment they are to use to replace computers that are now old or do not function anymore.  Which computers are the responsibilities of the school versus the District as a whole?
• Clarification around use and access to computers purchased thru CTE and EC funds.  Many computers are not in use thru the day due to confusion around this area.
• All schools must have a qualified Technician (Ex: Tech Fac) in the school and available so the IT tech can focus on school wide and more complex tech issues.  Not all schools have identified someone for this role which impacts the level of support at the other supported schools.  Need to see a consistent and enforced policy around School based Tech Support
• Support of tech across all schools should have equity in mind.  Currently all schools do not feel the level of support being delivered is being delivered in an equitable manner, meaning some schools get one day a week of support while others get multiple days per week.
• Key software such as the Help Desk software cannot be cut since many software programs are critical and have increased the efficiency of tech support. 
• Provide the Business Council or others with what the IT Standards are for the district computer needs.  With the reduction of the workforce in RTP many of the companies should have an excess inventory of computers that could be donated to the district.
• Collaborate with Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) for college students to help with IT related issues, to assist with install, repair workstations, troubleshooting, etc.
• Currently, we have 4 interns in 3 schools from Duke University. 
• If DPS takes on more interns, they would need a management plan.