Introduction There are many wonderful and productive initiatives in place in the Southington Public Schools. Much of what can be observed in our schools mirrors what we know to be best practice; what we have seen elsewhere across the state and throughout the country. It is not uncommon for professionals from other districts to inquire about Southington’s process or ask to come observe in one of our schools and in our classrooms. For example, we have recently been asked to form a group consisting of former Teachers of the Year to consult with and to advise at the state level. We were asked to do so because of the notable success and accomplishments of Southington’s Teachers of the Year in the selection process year after year, which certainly is reflective of the high degree of professionalism and excellence embodied by our professional staff on a daily basis. The task set out for our Leadership Team was to construct a plan that will support our efforts to build and sustain excellence in every facet of our organization. The Southington Public School system is a rich resource for this community, our community. Our community members, our students and our families deserve the best possible school system we can provide.
CENTRAL OFFICE Timothy F. Connellan ~ Superintendent of Schools
Karen L. Smith ~ Assistant Superintendent of Schools
David Derynoski Zaya Oshana Patricia Johnson Terry Lombardi Patricia Queen
Margaret Walsh Director of Pupil Personnel
Sherri DiNello Director of Business and Finance
Peter Romano Director of Operations
Kimberly Hunt Personnel Manager
Jamie Olander Director of Technology
Vacant Accounting/Purchasing Manager
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Members of the Board of Education support the efforts of the members of the district leadership team and understand the process that allows the experienced professional staff to identify needs and solutions to address those needs.
Southington High School Dr. Martin Semmel
Principal Assistant Principals Michael Halloran
Dianne Holst-Grubbe Brian Stranieri Richard Terino
Director of Alta Jess Levin
Kennedy Middle School Steven Madancy
Principal
DePaolo Middle School Frank Pepe
Principal Susanne Vitcavage Assistant Principal
Christopher Palmieri Assistant Principal
Derynoski Elem School Jan Verderame
Principal Kelly Nichols
Assistant Principal
Flanders Elem School Patricia Mazzarella
Principal
Hatton Elem School Sally Kamerbeek
Principal
Kelley Elem School Marilyn Kahl
Principal
Plantsville Elem School Stephen Bergin
Principal
South End Elem School James Quinn
Principal
Strong Elem School Linda Lackner
Principal
Thalberg Elem School Megan Bennett
Principal
District Coordinators Stephanie Lawlor
Language Arts
Proposed Budget 2015-2016
Athletic Director Eric Swallow
Dale Riedinger Mathematics
Special Education Carol Bagwell
Sandra Kujawski Beth Ozkan
John Duffy Science
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Budget building process Intention - to develop multi-year view of needs Purpose – to continue the work in developing: best practices in instruction vis a vis Common Core Standards best practices in the integration of technology into the curriculum best practices in instructional support as embodied in the Educator Evaluation and Support Plan Started in September/October Administrators asked to identify needs across all schools and programs Extensive review of administrators requests Blending of needs with the continuation of existing programs and services Incremental approach to meeting the identified needs – we will never be able to fund all of our identified needs in one or two years
Difference
Current Budget
Proposed Budget
87,072,005
90,197,401
3,125,396
$
$
$
3.59%
Operating Budget
2015-2016
2014-2015
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Operating Budget Proposal Current budget of just over $87 M Proposed budget of $90.2 M Difference is approximately $3.1 M Percent Increase = 3.59% How did we get to the proposed budget?
Administrative Leadership Team
$ 7,024,966 Identified Needs Submitted
Budget Impact 8.07%
Budget Preparation
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Administrative Leadership Team – Identified Needs The process began in September/October with discussions Superintendent’s need and desire to gain a longer view of the status of district programs Administrators were asked to identify needs in all programs across all schools and across the district Funding required to meet the needs identified by the ALT ≈ $7M Impact on the budget ≈ 8.07% We know that we cannot meet all of these needs in one year and possibly not in two years so we need to take an incremental approach to addressing our needs. We know that education is a “people” profession and as we will see in a minute, a large portion of any budget is comprised of personnel related costs.
New Personnel Needs
$ 1,749,316
Budget Impact 2.0%
Administrative Leadership Team
Budget Preparation
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Personnel Of the needs identified by the ALT, personnel needs for continuous improvement were estimated at just under $1.75M Impact on the budget = 2.0%
Comparison of Personnel Requests – Administrative Team – Superintendent - Board The custodial position is the product of an existing reallocated position. Funding for all other positions with the exception of the coaching positions comes from reductions in existing programs and services, at the Board’s direction. The funding for the coaching stipends is new and the positions are considered necessary for student safety due to high participation rates. In addition to personnel, there are two other key areas to highlight.
Special Projects Requested by Admin Leadership Team
Proposed by Superintendent
$ 99,434
$ 70,588 Proposed by Board of Education
$ 24,958
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Special Projects This category originally contained several noteworthy initiatives including opportunities for enrichment. The sole project proposed is the completion of a classroom transition at Southington High School from a general purpose classroom to a Physics classroom. The proposal meets a growing demand for specialized classroom space this content area.
Major Projects Requested by Admin Leadership Team
Proposed by Superintendent
$ 958,078
$ 264,356 Proposed by Board of Education
$ 149,093
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Major Projects and Equipment This is another area in which our needs outweigh our ability to address those needs, hence the reason for the difference between the identified needs and those proposed for solutions. Nonetheless there are items and initiatives for which funding should be provided. The proposal includes continued funding for the technology equipment lease which supports this initiative Pre-K through grade 12; replacement classroom furniture; and electrical work to convert remaining fuses to circuit breakers.
Board of Education’s Proposed Operational
Budget
School Year 2015-2016
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Board of Education - Proposed Operating Budget There are three major components that have a significant impact on any school budget.
Salaries
Benefits
61.21%
19.73%
of total budget
of total budget
Major Components
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In the 2015-2016 Board of Education’s Proposed Budget: Salaries comprise 61.21% of the total budget. General education and special education, certified and non-certified, union and non-union. Benefits comprise 19.73% of the total budget. Health insurance, Social Security, Medicare, Municipal retirement and related insurance. Together those two categories comprise 80.94% of the operating budget. Education as a service is people driven.
Special Education
24.60% of total budget
Major Components
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The third major component is Special Education. In Southington, Special Education comprises 24.60% of the operating budget. There have been significant initiatives to provide special education services in as cost effective and efficient a manner as possible. The district must strive to continue on that path to reduce the impact on the budget of what we know are costly but necessary programs.
Major Drivers Wage Increases per Union Contracts
2 %
2.91 %
2 %
2.5 %
1.75-2.69 %
Union Administration
Teachers (SEA)
Maint., Custodians, Secretaries (AFSCME)
Nurses (AFSCME)
Paraprofessionals (UPSEU)
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Major Drivers - Clearly in building a budget the major drivers must always be addressed. In building this budget four key areas were identified as driving increases. For the reasons state above, wages will always be a major driver of changes in the budget. Note the contractual increases.
Major Drivers Salary Increases ~ Existing Personnel
Impact on Budget 1.69%
$ 1,472,549
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Contractual Increases Salary and wage increases for just existing personnel are projected at just over $1.47 M. That increase would be with no new personnel. The impact on the current budget is an increase of 1.69% above the base.
Major Drivers Health Insurance Increase ~ 8.7 %
Impact on Budget 1.07%
$ 931,078
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Health Insurance Increase Health insurance costs are slated to increase 8.7% which results in an increase of $931,078. The impact on the current budget is an increase of 1.07% above the base.
Major Drivers Total Benefits Increase
Impact on Budget 1.37%
$ 1,196,390
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Health Insurance Plus Other Contractual or Mandatory Benefits Payments As noted earlier, there are other types of benefits. When added to the increases in health insurance, the total benefit increase is projected to be just under $1.2 M. The impact on the current budget is an increase of 1.37% above the base.
Major Drivers Salaries & Benefits Existing Programs
Impact on Budget 3.07%
$ 2,668,939
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Salaries and Benefits for Existing Programs and Services When taken together we saw in a previous slide that salaries and benefits comprise almost 81% of the total budget. Therefore it is really no surprise that the increases for existing programs in these two categories are projected at just over $2.66 M with a budget impact of 3.07% on the base - again, for existing programs. There are two other significant drivers to examine.
Major Drivers Total Purchased Services Increase
Impact on Budget .50%
$ 433,081
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Purchase Services Purchase Services is projected to increase by $433,081 with an impact on the current budget of .5%. This area includes Property Services in which we project a significant increase in the cost of electricity ($210,590) although it is very difficult to calculate the 2015-16 use with all of the current variables in play. System-wide transportation is included in this area and an increase of $130,888 is forecast. Tuition for Magnet Schools is another key component of Purchased Services and an increase is forecast of at least $117,851. Computer maintenance software agreements also fall in this category and are projected to increase by $61,368. These four items account for almost all of the increase in Purchased Services. These costs are not optional.
Major Drivers Total Supplies Increase
Impact on Budget .12%
$ 104,223
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Supplies The Supply account is the last significant driver to be highlighted in this presentation. The increase is forecast at $104,223 and the budget impact at .12%. The Superintendent’s request included a 2% increase in supply accounts. That request was reduced overall to current year level funding at the Board of Education’s direction. The increase in this area is due almost entirely to the projected increase for gas heat due to the conversion of J.A. DePaolo Middle School from oil heat.
Major Drivers ~ Total Salaries & Benefits
3.69%
Purchased Services
Supplies
2,668,939
433,081
104,223
Impact on Budget
3.07 %
.50 %
.12 %
$
$
$
3,206,243 $
Additional Reductions 80,847) ( .10 %) ($
3.59% Impact on Budget 3,125,396 $
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Major Drivers Summary and Total When totaled, the projected costs of these four major drivers of the budget for existing programs and services is $3,206,243. The impact on the current budget is 3.69% over the current base. Additional reductions in all other areas results in a net total of $3,125,396 and a budget impact of 3.59%.
In an effort to continue “the work”
and address enrollment and participation…
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Continuing the Work – The important work that has been started and has been in progress must continue. In order to continue the work and to maintain the progress and momentum existing programs and services must be maintained. Some additional personnel have been proposed. This is an incremental step toward meeting the needs of the district.
Salaries ~ New Personnel
Amount Impact on Budget
Regular Education $ 36,495 .04 %
Special Education $ 115,913 .13 %
Total $ 152,408 .17 %
Professional Staff
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New Personnel for Both General Education and Special Education. The total increase proposed is $152,408 which is a .17% impact on the budget.
Continuing the Work
Special Education Coordinator
Teachers
Administration
World Language ~ South End .1
1.0
Secretarial
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Continuing The Work The existing Elementary World Language Program is expanding into an additional grade in the 2015-16 school year and therefore requires additional support. The special education position will use funds reallocated from the special education tuition account. This position will allow the district to begin to develop further, in-district programs that will better serve students while avoiding higher costs for out of district placements. Without this special education position it will not be possible to provide the supervision and direction necessary to support the in-district programming noted in 2015-16 and therefore the funds would be reallocated back to the tuition account. This is essentially a cost-neutral position with the potential for greater savings in future years. In order to include these supports in the 2015-2016 proposal, the Board of Education directed the administration to find reductions in funding from existing programs and services.
Music ~ Thalberg
Tutors
Teachers
ELL~ District 1.0
1.0
.2
Coaches Swim & Dive Assistant ~ SHS
Enrollment/Participation
1.0 Cross Country Assistant ~ JFK
1.0 Cross Country Assistant ~ JAD
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Enrollment / Participation Music – Scheduling now requires coverage by an instrumental music teacher. This is an existing service but the staffing must be addressed appropriately to meet enrollment needs. ELL – The number of students has increased dramatically and additional students require services. Similar to World Language, this support was included by reducing funding from existing programs and services. Coaches – These are stipend positions and are considered necessary to ensure the safety of the student athletes. They are necessary as a result of increased participation by students. Girls Swim and Dive – There are fifty student athletes and just one coach. Middle School X-Country – At both schools, there are eighty to one hundred student athletes to one coach.
Common Core State Standards
Smarter Balanced Assessment
Educator Evaluation
Special Education
Continued Mandates
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Why are we proposing this plan? Continued Mandates – The mandates still exist and will continue in place for the foreseeable future.
Continued Improvement of Practice
Technology Integration
Instructional Support and Professional Development
Best Practice
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What must we do to meet the mandates and to provide the best possible learning experience for our students? Best Practice – We must continue to engage in best practice and in some cases learn best practice. Continual improvement of instructional practice is a key ingredient in successful school districts. Continued integration of technology into the curriculum and into the hands of students and professionals is a tool that can be leveraged to improve learning and instruction. Research indicates that the factor most directly correlated with student success is high quality instruction. Professional staff need and want instructional support and professional development so that they can provide the best instructional environment possible. Maintaining our existing programs and services is key to this objective.
Continuation of Current Programs and Services
Incremental Changes to Promote Student Achievement in Core Academics and Activities
Continued Support and Development of Best Practices
Begin to Build Cost-Avoidance into Special Education Programming
Budget Outcomes
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What will result from this budget? Budget Outcomes The district will maintain all current programs and services and be able to sustain the instructional initiatives implemented last year. The district will be able to move incrementally toward meeting the needs identified by the professional staff. The district will be able to provide the type and amount of support necessary to cultivate an educational culture built around best practice and student success. The district will be better able to build programming for students in the community with special needs that will maintain students in town and avoid more costly out of district placements.
8.47% 8.53% 8.55%
7.50%
6.42% 6.99%
2.76%
4.17% 3.82%
3.51%
1.95%
7.58%
5.31% 4.81%
3.50% 3.30%
4.85%
2.40%
3.00%
.22%
3.55%
2.18%
3.37%
BOE Requested Budget vs. Funded Budget
BOE Funded Requested
3.59% BOE
Request
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Budget History Closing Thank you for being so attentive. We look forward to your questions and comments. We would like to ask the Board of Finance to view the budget in the larger context. The individuals who helped to construct this plan collectively have a great deal of experience working in educational organizations and working for excellence. There is nothing in this budget that is not worthy of consideration. Every proposal has merit. We hope that through our discussion and dialogue you will be able to arrive at a level of comfort with the proposal.
