Proposal includes full-day kindergarten, nearly full school year, more elementary music and PE
Superintendent Dr. Sheldon Berman has released his budget message and preliminary budget proposal for the 2015–16 school year. The proposed general fund budget for the coming year is $170.1 million.
The proposed budget includes new investments in:
- implementing full-day kindergarten
- restoring nearly a full school year
- expanding specialist (e.g. PE, music) instruction for all elementary students
- expanding planning time for elementary teachers
- expanding special education support
- implementing curriculum and pedagogy aligned to new state standards in language arts, math and science, and
- providing targeted professional development in critical areas.
The 2015–16 proposed budget also continues investments made in prior years, providing a level of stability for district operations, and providing time for these initiatives to begin impacting student achievement and achievement gaps, including in graduation rates. The proposed budget would continue to:
- maintain or decrease class size
- provide full schedules for all high school 9th graders and most other high school students
- provide common high school schedules which has enabled reduction of class sizes and expansion of course offerings without increasing costs
- expand the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program in middle and high schools to build students’ skills and readiness for college and career success, and
- invest in alternative education programs for high school students through the ECCO (Early College and Career Readiness) high school program and the 4J ACTS fifth‐year career technical education program.
The superintendent will present the preliminary budget to the district’s budget committee on May 20. After a series of public meetings, the school board will adopt a final budget on June 24. Key dates include:
May 20 – Superintendent and financial services staff present 2015–16 proposed budget to budget committee
June 1 – Budget committee votes to approve budget
June 17 – School board holds public hearing on budget
June 24 – School board votes to adopt budget
2015–16 Proposed Budget
Other Financial Documents
About the Budget Process
