The board meeting this evening is being presented in two parts. Part one covers the "Budget and LCAP Workshop" which was held from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Part two will cover the regular board meeting which begins at 6:00 p.m. So, here are some highlights from the Budget and LCAP Workshop.
1. LCAP stands for Local Control and Accountability Plan and is a new way of organizing state funding of public schools. Much of the workshop was devoted to explaining these changes, while at the same time outlining specific budgetary issues to be dealt with by the local district over the next couple years. Superintendent Olney presented the entire workshop. Audience members (all employees of the district) were provided with a summary packet. If Mr. Olney approves, I'll post the summary packet on the school website (http://www.trona.k12.ca.us) probably on the Community page.
2. Interesting Facts: Approximately 50% of the district's income comes from royalties. Approximately 64% of the budget is paid as salaries to personnel, which is low compared to most districts where the figure is likely to be about 85%. Enrollment has declined 30% in the last five years from 350 students in 2008/2009 to 244 in 2013/2014. Revenues exceeded expenditures each of the last three years. Seventy-three percent of the students attending TJUSD qualify as low income and this qualifies the district for $176K in supplemental/concentration grant revenue for the 2014/2015 school year. Fiscal year 2013/2014 has the highest ending fund balance of any year in the last ten years with an amount of over $8.5M.
3. ADA calculation is changing to reflect the yearly cost of educating students at different grade levels:
K-3 $7014 per student
4-6 $7119 per student
7-8 $7331 per student
9-12 $8494 per student
4. Upcoming Financial Challenges: Several curriculum (textbook) adoptions, facilities (including $750k for gym roof repairs), increased contributions to STRS (teacher retirement system).
5. Currently $475K of royalty is applied to projected budget. Mr. Olney proposed to increase this to $750K. Also reserve for economic uncertainty will be increased by same amount. This adjustment is proposed since it more accurately reflects current spending patterns. As some of you will recall, FCMAT recommended that royalties not be used to pay for ongoing costs and so only $475K has been budgeted based on previous year royalty income. No year in the past ten years has dipped below $800K and so upping the amount to $750K seems reasonable.
6. The Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) consists of three sections: Stakeholder Engagement, Goals and Progress Indicators, and Actions, Services, and Expenditures. Priorities include teacher assignments and credentials, implementation of state standards, parent involvement, pupil achievement and engagement, school climate, course access, etc. Basically the LCAP is a comprehensive plan for ensuring that school districts meet all their obligations and fulfill their obligations in a very thorough and conscientious manner. Goals include:
a) All students will be prepared for success in college and career.
b) All students in need... will achieve high, rigorous standards.
c) All students will develop skills necessary to be productive members of the community.
d) All students will have access to modern and technologically advanced classrooms.