Providing a Framework to Understand the Challenges of Developing the FY11 Budget

By Patrice Machavern,
Charlotte School Board, Chair

The CCS School Board commenced work on the FY11 budget this fall with a keen awareness of the economic climate and actions pending at the state legislative level related to educational funding.

Every year there are a variety of interrelated variables and factors that impact the outcome; however, this year there were additional hurdles. It is not an understatement to say that this was an extremely challenging year in which to develop the budget.

State tax revenues are declining and the block education grant has already been frozen for next fiscal year. The legislative session, which resumed in January, is expected to make many cuts; some of which will impact education funding. However, the impact of their work will not be known by the time our budget must be finalized. At a recent legislative breakfast, board members had an opportunity to impart to our representatives how actions in Montpelier impact local schools.

In November, the Commissioner of Education sent all school boards a letter outlining the outlook in Montpelier and called on all boards to reduce FY11 budgets in response to fiscal circumstances through cost containment and to present flat lined budgets for the coming fiscal year. He referred to the combination of level funding of the Base Education Grant and increase in the state tax rate as a "fiscal storm that is forcing us ... to constrain state and local education spending". Links to interviews with the Commissioner of Education, Tax Commissioner and Current Realities are available on the Board pages of the CCS web site.

Over the past several months, the board received input and listened to presentations from the areas over which it has the most control; Operations and Maintenance, Technology, Instructional Staffing, Athletics, CSSU services and Special Education. Then in late November, the board directed the administration to utilize all resources available to them and provide recommendations to deliver a budget at or below the current FY10 budget, inclusive of our long term debt obligations, recognizing the current economic climate, coupled with a student population that is projected to remain stable in the coming years.

To meet this challenge would require cuts—painful cuts including reductions in staff. Reductions in staff were guided by the implementation of the final phase of a four-year plan to align classroom teachers with enrollment yet still compare favorably to the Vermont Department of Education’s School Quality Standards for student to teacher ratios. Along with the uncertainty related to legislative action, as a member of CSSU, CCS is in a negotiations year with our professional staff. The exact impact of those financial obligations is unknown at this time.

The budget development process spans months of work. The board will finalize the budget on January 19th. The board's responsibility is to balance the education provided to our students against the reality of what is affordable for the taxpayer. Unfortunately, even a flat budget will result in a tax increase as a result of the state freeze in the block education grant, the proposed 2.5% increase in the base state tax rate and the negligible impact of the common level of appraisal. More than any other time in recent memory, these factors, when taken together with the current economy, have created difficult and challenging times for all members of the school and wider community.

Documents, interviews and presentations to the board related to the development of the FY11 budget may be viewed on the Board web pages under Budget Development at www.ccsvt.us Board members may be reached by group email at schoolboard@ccsvt.us

Respectfully submitted,
Patrice Machavern
Charlotte School Board, Chair