FY2008 Budget
To The Voters of York:
The FY08 School Budget proposal is being presented to you for your approval on May 19th. It is hoped that the community will view this budget request as reasonable and will support the budget with your vote. The budget proposal was designed to achieve three goals:
Present a budget that reflects the needs of our students and can be supported by the York community
Honor the School Committee’s commitment to stay within the York Tax Relief Task Force model
Focus on the direction defined in York’s Educational Strategic Plan
The FY08 budget reflects a 4.1% increase from the last year’s budget and is below the target established by the York Tax Task Force. Our teachers, administrators and School Committee worked diligently to present this budget at a reasonable level of increase. In summary, the FY08 budget allows for the following:
Implements a Full Day Kindergarten Program
Currently our kindergarten students attend school for less than three hours per day. The new program will expand that time for students to a full school day. At the present time 71% of all school districts in Maine offer full day kindergarten programs. There is considerable research as to why a full day program will benefit kindergarten aged students. The full day program will be optional for parents who choose not to have their child attend school for a full day. Because we are able to shift the teaching positions, the full day Kindergarten prgram can be implemented without increasing any staff positions. Thus implementing a full day Kindergarten program will be cost neutral.
Adjusts Teaching Positions to Accommodate Enrollment Change
The York Schools are experiencing enrollment decline. We currently have 1971 students enrolled K-12 with the projection of 1902 for next year. These changes have allowed us to realign our staff and to support a full day kindergarten program as noted above. This change will be accomplished without increasing teaching positions. We are carefully monitoring our enrollment trends. Affordable housing continues to be a challenge for young families in York and the York Schools are experiencing the impact of this trend. We have been able to accomplish this shift while maintaining our commitment to reasonable class sizes.
Targets Maintenance Needs in all Schools
York has made a considerable investment in our school buildings and we are committed to maintaining the facilities to protect that investment. We are requesting a slight increase in our maintenance article to provide for the needs of our buildings. Included in this request are improvements in all four schools and specific details are defined in the warrant article.
Addresses Increased Energy Costs
Costs for fuel oil, electricity and other energies continue to be a challenge for all of us. The proposed school budget reflects the adjustments needed to respond to this increasing cost. There are specific cost cutting measures in place in our schools which have helped in minimizing the increase. Included in these measures is that we are now seeing the positive impact of our Honeywell energy changes which has proven a significant savings to our energy usage.
Responds to Increasing Special Education Needs
There is one request for staffing within this proposed budget and that is for two Educational Technicians to assist students with Special Education needs. This funding is necessary because the State has eliminated financial support for 3.5 Educational Technician positions. Due to the need and number of students, it was necessary to keep two of the 3.5 positions. Support of this article will allow us to continue to fund these two Special Education Educational Technician positions.
Holds Instructional Expenses Increases at < .5%
We were able to keep instructional expenses at less than .5% of the increase. The request will meet the needs of our students and programs while being held at a minimal increase.
Capital Project
The community will be asked to support one capital project for new bleachers and a broadcast tower at York High School. The bleachers at the High School were originally purchased in the sixties and were relocated from the old High School to the upper field when the school was built and opened in the fall of 1977. At the end of the fall sports season, the bleachers were dismantled because sections had collapsed and were unsafe for use. The tower on the upper field, used for broadcast, game officials and spotters, was considered a hazard by the town’s engineer and was taken down at the same time. The Capital Warrant Article will fund bleachers for 800 spectators and a booth at the top row for broadcast, game officials and spotters. This project would also provide funding for architectural services to design a combination concession/locker room/public restroom facility. The cost of the bleacher project will come from the school’s fund balance and therefore raises no additional tax monies.
Strategic Planning and Student Achievement
The York Schools budget is developed with a priority on our Educational Strategic Plan. Our Educational Strategic Plan is the planning document we use to articulate the future direction of our school. Each year the status of implementation of our Strategic Plan is evaluated and revised to reflect the changes we deem appropriate to keep the York Schools current and directed toward the future. The expectations set forth in the Strategic Plan are ambitious and reflect our commitment to maintaining exemplary schools in York. This will continue to be the focus of our efforts as we seek to continually improve our students’ achievement through high quality curriculum, effective instruction and assessment that assists us in making prudent decisions about educational programming.
York student performance on large-scale assessments continues to be strong. The profile of York students is consistently above national and state averages. Our students continue to do well on measures of achievement, including the Maine Education Assessments (MEA), the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress, and York’s Comprehensive Local Assessment system (CLAS). These measures are designed to assess students’ current levels of performance and provide teachers with valuable information that helps identify different teaching strategies that can be used to help students increase their achievement.
Consolidation
As of this writing, uncertainty exists as to potential changes of school consolidation in Maine. Governor Baldacci has proposed a radical plan to consolidate school districts in Maine. Citing the need to create property tax reform, the Governor has proposed that the number of school district administrations be consolidated. His rationale is that consolidation means efficiency and efficiency means less dollars being spent on education.
His plan has received a great deal of attention in the media and in the legislature. The legislature is currently reviewing all plans and will make a determination on a consolidation plan by the end of this legislative session. The Regionalization Plan is part of his proposed budget and has been submitted to the legislature for action. Currently, his regionalization plan is being reviewed by the legislature for action in 2007.
York has a long history of supporting our schools and has provided necessary support for our children. As a result there have been sacrifices made in York for the purpose of supporting education. These sacrifices have resulted in a strong, effective and efficient school system: a system that focuses on the individual student and provides the support for each student to succeed. With your support we can continue to provide a quality educational experience for all students in York. I ask for your support of the FY08 school budget.
Sincerely,
Henry R. Scipione, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Superintendent Podcast
Monday, April 30, 2007
