Welcome to a
crash course on school finance, specifically the budgeting process. School budgets are unique creatures and for
many people, even those in education, it can be a very difficult process to understand. Development of a budget starts for us in
October as we start to collect information from our schools and departments.
All of this information is analyzed to ensure that the budget is a reflection
of the strategic goals of the school division.
In December, the Governor releases his budget which then prompts us to start
determining the amount of money we will need from our locality to meet the needs
of the school. However, the General
Assembly doesn’t make their final recommendations on the budget until March 16th
which can alter the Governor’s budget.
That was the case this year.
These changes required us to review our budget and make revisions to our
proposed plan.
On Tuesday
night, May 10, the Board of Supervisors met for final approval of the county’s
budget. Prior to Tuesday, the
Supervisors held several work sessions to gather information in order to make
the most informed decision possible.
They analyzed and researched all department expenditures and requests,
asking detailed questions along the way.
Several members contacted me, as well as School Board members,
throughout the process in order to have a better understanding of our
budget. Because of the diligence and
commitment exhibited by the Supervisors and our Board, we received the majority
of the funding that was requested. The
Board of Supervisors prioritized requests from the schools and the Sheriff’s
Department, all while maintaining no tax increase to the public.
As a Superintendent
and as a taxpayer, I am very appreciative that the process was conducted both
professionally and thoroughly. The School Board and the Board of Supervisors,
as well as county administration, need to be commended for the tireless effort
and responsibility exhibited during this very difficult process.
Our school
division will slowly begin implementing elements of the 5 C’s, STEM
initiatives, and new Career and Technical Education courses, such as nursing,
EMT, and engineering. We will be
painting several buildings this summer, while putting a schedule in place for
painting the remaining schools by doing a few each year. We will be providing new learning spaces for
children and replacing furniture in 4th grade this year with plans
to address other grades annually. We
will have a strong maintenance program and a rotational lease to buy and
maintain buses for the future. The common
theme here is “schedule”. IWCS did not
have a formal plan for addressing these needs and, consequently, they were
often neglected, especially during tight budget times. Fortunately, the timetable we have put in
place will ensure these needs aren’t overlooked in future years.
We started
the budgeting process in October. It’s
now May and we have an approved budget for next year. There was a lot of work, both behind the
scenes and in public, to get us to this point. I would like to extend a big
Thank You to all the individuals involved in this process, including parents,
community, business leaders, and my staff.
I hope this
has given you some insight into what it takes to eventually have an approved
budget. The time and attention we put
into the process allows us to present a budget that accurately reflects the
needs of the division. We owe that to
our students and to all the citizens of this county.
