Full Text
School Budget Overview – Fiscal Year 2009 Superintendent’s Introductory Summary William J. Cameron, Jr. Superintendent of Schools On May 20, 2008, the School Committee approved a budget for FY 2009 totaling $44,376,000. This represents an increase of 3.1% over the $43,040,189 that the School Committee approved for FY 2008, and that was subsequently appropriated by the City Council for the operation of the Salem Public Schools from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008. In fact, because of undisclosed deficit spending in FY 2006 and FY 2007, and because of an FY 2008 budget that was seriously unbalanced, the Salem Public Schools spent at a level in FY 2008 that was considerably in excess of the appropriated sum. Due mainly to two factors the extraordinary generosity of Salem’s citizens and of segments of the city’s business, academic, not-for-profit, and charitable communities; and the enactment of special legislation that Gov. Duval Patrick signed into law on January 31, 2008 – the Salem Public Schools operated at an eventually approved FY 2008 funding level of $44,555,484. With this as the basis for comparison, the FY 2009 budget approved by the School Committee on May 19, 2008, represents a decrease of 0.04% from FY 2008’s actual expenditure level. The adjustment to a fiscally realistic, balanced budget has not been painless. Some of what the district has had will now be lost. This includes elementary, middle, and high school teaching positions, central office and building-level administrative positions, and support positions at all levels. Also lost is a sizable share of what was set aside for instructional materials and supplies in FY 2008. Most of what was lost in mid-winter budget cuts has not been restored. Yet through “zero-based” administrative budgeting, and by scrutinizing all proposed expenditures in all areas of the budget, the School Committee has been able to realize savings that, despite requiring reductions, preserve all programs and keep class sizes within reasonable bounds. The development of the FY 2009 budget has been greatly facilitated by close cooperation between the Mayor and the Superintendent of Schools, the City’s Director of Finance, the school system’s Business Officer, central office administrators, and building principals. Among the significant highlights of the FY 2009 Salem Public Schools budget are: • Further improvement of special education programming district-wide • Further improvement in mathematics instruction at the elementary level • Maintenance of high quality art and music programs at all levels • Maintenance of high quality athletic programs at middle and high school • Maintenance of Advanced Placement courses at Salem High School The Salem Public Schools will continue to work as efficiently as possible to offer programming that improves student learning and that offer students opportunities for personal growth and for development as responsible, self-governing citizens. The school budget document presented in Section 8 – Budget Detail, is a line-item summary of the school budget. The complete budget document presented to the School Committee can be found at http://salem.k12.ma.us/Pages/SPS_DistAdmin/finance/0809Budgetdraft. Sec 4 - 1 ---PAGE BREAK--- Sec 4 - 2 ---PAGE BREAK--- Sec 4 - 3 ---PAGE BREAK--- Sec 4 - 4 ---PAGE BREAK--- Sec 4 - 5 ---PAGE BREAK--- Sec 4 - 6