FY14-15 Budget Update

FY14-15 Budget UpdateFinance Update

Presentation to School CommitteeDecember 4, 2013

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BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance

Overview: FY13-FY15

FY13FY13

FY15FY15

FY14FY14

Fiscal year ended on June 30, 2013

BPS ended the year within budget for the 23rd consecutive year

Current fiscal year, running through June 30, 2014

We are currently facing unanticipated expenditures, and we are taking action in response to these budget pressures

Fiscal year beginning July 1, 2014 and running through SY14-15

We project that rising costs and decreases in external funding will present a challenge

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FY2014 Budget InvestmentsOur FY14 budget funds investments to close gaps and ensure all students are college & career ready

Sustains extended days in Turnaround Schools

Sends $30 million new dollars directly into schools through Weighted student Funding

Invests in schools with high concentrations of poverty

Prepares for new Dual Language, Innovation, and In-District Charter Schools

Supports conversion of two schools to fully inclusive programs

Strengthens support for and development of great teachers and school leaders


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Our current enrollment is close to last year’s enrollment, but lower than we had projected

Projected Enrollment: 58,284

Actual Enrollment: 56,735

District Enrollment Variance : 1,549 (-2.66%)

Projected Enrollment: 58,284

Actual Enrollment: 56,735

District Enrollment Variance : 1,549 (-2.66%)

This variance is particularly driven by a leveling off of our early childhood enrollment

We were prepared to welcome 1,024 new students in grades K0-2 this year, in line with the increases we have seen since FY11

Instead, so far we have seen an increase of 382 students in these grades

3 year

Change % Change

Gen Ed 615 5.5%

SEI 115 4.1%

SPED 318 24.2%

Total 1,048 6.8%

Enrollment Changes in K0-2, FY11-FY13

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There was a great deal of variation in projections between and within schools

Some schools actually enrolled significantly more students than

projected

Some schools actually enrolled significantly more students than

projected

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We currently anticipate a shortfall of approximately $10 million in FY14

As of October 31, our anticipated shortfall is $10.3 million

Major contributing factors include: Cost of opening classrooms beyond what was initially projected for this

school year and additional funding to maintain existing programming

Cost to implement new hiring process, including training for teachers and School Site Councils

Interventions at Madison Park to address staffing, textbook, and equipment needs

Turnaround interventions at English High and E. Greenwood

Continued growth in requirements for therapeutic services for students with disabilities

Transportation costs, including for homeless students, additional bus monitors, and students with private placements

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We are taking action to address our budget pressures in FY14

Implemented a special review process for the hiring of all non-classroom positions in the district Any request for exception will be reviewed and considered

by a subgroup of the Superintendent’s cabinet

Will analyze current spending patterns and make adjustments where appropriate

Working with Veolia to identify opportunities to minimize unanticipated transportation costs

Reviewing the possibility of using external funds to cover any and all expenditures

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We will face approximately $50-60 million in projected cost increases

Major cost components include: Employee step increases: $11.8 million

Health insurance and other benefits: $7.6 million

Collective bargaining: $17.2 million

Investments in Madison Park: $1.3 million

Special education out-of-district placements: $0.5 million

Increase in bus monitors: $0.6 million

We are working collaboratively with the City of Boston finance team to refine our total estimate


We anticipate a challenging budget environment in FY15

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Other challenges will include:

Preparing for Common Core standards and online PARCC assessments (PARCC: Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers)

Costs associated with introducing hiring flexibility in all schools

Expanding inclusive practices to more schools and classrooms

Updating our early literacy curriculum

Providing transportation for homeless students


We anticipate a challenging budget environment in FY15

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We also project a decline of approximately $31.1 million in external funds

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In addition, state Chapter 70 funding provides a declining share of our budget

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BPS FY15 Budget Timeline (tentative)


Mid-Nov. Enrollment projections to schools for review

Develop guidance to schools regarding academic strategy

Dec. 13 Budget allocations provided to schools

Dec. – Jan. Review of Central Office budgets

Jan. 3 School budgets due back to Budget Office

Jan. 9 – 13 Budget Reviews

Jan. 13 – Feb.Probable Org

Feb. 5 Superintendent’s recommended budgetto School Committee

Feb. – Mar. Budget hearings

Mar. 26 School Committee votes on BPS budget12

We will once again fund schools using Weighted Student Funding


Principle Description

Student focused Provides resources based on students, not on buildings, adults, or programs

Equity Allocate similar funding levels to students with similar characteristics, regardless of which school they attend

Transparency Easily understood by all stakeholders

Differentiation based on need

Allocate resources through a comprehensive framework that is based on student needs

Predictability School allocation process is predictable and is structured to minimize school-level disruption

School empowerment

Empowers school-based decision-making to effectively use resources

Alignment with district strategy

Supports the Acceleration Agenda, our five-year strategic plan

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BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Boston ranks #2 among large urban districts that use weighted student funding in directing resources to schools

Source: Geogetown University, Edunomics Lab

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% of School Department Budget (General Fund + Grants)


We are looking closely at enrollment projections and weights as we develop school budget allocations for FY15

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Allocations will reflect projected enrollment and programmatic needs of schools

We are taking this year’s enrollment trends into account as we plan for next year

We continue to review the weights assigned to different student populations to ensure that the weights reflect student needs


Questions?

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For more information, join the Georgetown University

Edunomics Lab for a webinar on Weighted Student Funding

•How allocation models work•Why districts use student-based allocation•What formulas look like

Tuesday, December 10th

1:00 p.m.

Register at edunomicslab.org

Documents

FY14-15 Budget Update