It is with great pride that we present the school department’s FY ’15 school budget in the amount of $62,070,109, which represents an increase of $1,512,629 or 2.50%. Through the continual assessment of our student needs as well as the review of our programs, we have reallocated resources to provide a high quality education for ALL of our students. In this proposed budget, there are NO reductions of student programs or services.
District-wide the school district continues to experience an increase in our ELL (English Language Learner) population with a projection of 440 ELL students as compared to 2009 whereby the district enrolled 190 ELL students. Also, in this proposed budget, we will continue to develop in-house special education programs, which best meet the needs of our students with disabilities, thus first allowing our students to be educated in their home school and simultaneously avoiding costly out-of-district placements and transportation cost.
This proposed budget continues to fund the myriad of programs including the arts, music, advanced placement, athletics, drama, and CVTE (Career Vocational Technical Education) for our students in grades PreK – 12. Student enrollment continues to be a fluid process. In this proposed budget, I am recommending a reduction of staff at BHS, BIS, and BUES. However, our elementary enrollment is increasing and as those students move through the system, staff may be added in subsequent years. Each year enrollment will be carefully monitored and staff adjusted accordingly. Though conservative budgeting in prior years, we have been able to maintain our staff even though enrollment at various grade levels have decreased. We continue to maintain very favorable student to teacher ratios as compared across the Cape.
While preparing this year’s budget, the following factors were considered:
· The district’s core values
· The School Committee and District Goals
· Budget factors beyond the district’s control (unfunded mandates, educator accountability, mandates on student learning and assessment)
The FY ’14 budget included a 7th grade 1:1 mobile initiative, whereby the school committee appropriated funding in the amount of $241,019 for IPads for every 7th grade student. Included in the FY ’15 budget will be $25,000 to conduct an evaluation of this initiative and the impact technology has made on student learning and achievement.
In order to best meet the needs of ALL students, a reallocation of resources was needed with respect to staffing of specific positions. This proposed budget includes the addition of 20.40 FTE’s (Full Time Equivalents) and the reduction of 18.7 FTE’s, resulting in a net gain of 1.7 FTE.
