Nov 12, 2024 Budget Work Session

[Budget Work Session on November 12, 2024.]

[00:00:05]

HEY. GREAT. HEY. GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY. LET'S GET THROUGH THE FORMALITIES, BECAUSE THIS IS A OFFICIAL MEETING. GOOD AFTERNOON. I CALL TO ORDER THIS BUDGET WORK SESSION OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF HARFORD COUNTY ON 12TH OF NOVEMBER, 2024 AT 2:30 P.M. THIS WORK SESSION WILL BE CONDUCTED IN A HYBRID FASHION. MISS ROLLO, PLEASE TAKE ROLL CALL. MISS ALVAREZ. PRESEN.

MISS BRUCE. HERE. MISS COKER. YES. DOCTOR MUELLER. HERE. MISS SUZUKI. MISS PERRY. MISS PERRY IS ABSENT THIS EVENING. THIS MORNING OR AFTERNOON? SORRY ABOUT THAT. MR. SEWELL. HERE.

MISS STRAUSS. HERE. VICE PRESIDENT. HAHN. VICE PRESIDENT HAHN IS ABSENT TODAY. PRESIDENT.

BOYNTON. HERE. AND SUPERINTENDENT WILSON. HERE. THIS COMPLETES THE ROLL CALL.

THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON. BOARD. THANK YOU FOR MEETING AT THIS QUITE UNUSUAL TIME. MIDDLE OF THE DAY. SO WE'RE DOING SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THIS YEAR. WE'RE KICKING THINGS OFF IN A WAY THAT WE HAVEN'T DONE IT IN PAST YEARS. I THINK THAT TODAY'S EXERCISE, AND YOU'LL SEE IT IS AN EXERCISE. YOU WILL BE GETTING UP AND WALKING AROUND AND IT WILL BE FAIRLY INTERACTIVE. WILL BE QUITE INSIGHTFUL. WE'VE GOT SOME BIG CHALLENGES COMING UP WITH THE BUDGET. I DON'T EXPECT US TO COME UP WITH ALL OF THE SOLUTIONS TODAY, BUT TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF WHAT WILL PROBABLY BE A LONG JOURNEY OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS. SO WITH THAT IN MIND, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO DOCTOR PAULSON FOR SOME INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS, AND I WILL JUST REMIND EVERYONE, IF YOU SPEAK, TRY TO SPEAK INTO A MIC. THIS IS A RECORDED AND LIVE BROADCASTED SESSION. DOCTOR PAULSON. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. SO I'LL BE BACK ON STAGE HERE IN A FEW MINUTES. BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU. THIS IS WE'RE GOING TO RUN THROUGH SOME EXERCISES TODAY, BUT I GUESS JUST TO PUT THINGS IN CONTEXT. SO WE'RE KIND OF IN A PLACE WHERE WE'RE DEVELOPING THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDED BUDGET. AND SO THIS IS KIND OF OUR DATA GATHERING TIME. AND SO TODAY ISN'T ABOUT GETTING ANSWERS NECESSARILY, BUT IT'S ADDING TO THE DATA THAT WE'VE ALREADY GATHERED. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE SURVEY THAT'S BEEN OUT.

I'M GOING TO SHARE SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE'VE SEEN THERE. I'M GOING TO SHARE SOME SLIDES WITH YOU ABOUT OUR BUDGET AND WHAT TO EXPECT. AND SO AGAIN WE'RE KIND OF LOOKING FOR A LITTLE BIT OF YOUR IDEAS ABOUT WHAT WHERE THIS BUDGET MAY BE GOING, BUT ALSO HELPING YOU GET A SENSE OF THE CHALLENGES WE'RE FACING IN THIS BUDGET. AND SO WITH THAT SAID, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO KATIE. SHE HAS A COUPLE ACTIVITIES AND THEN I'LL BE BACK FOR A PRESENTATION A LITTLE BIT.

ALL RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. I'M KATIE RIDGEWAY, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND I AM FACILITATING PART OF YOUR WORKSHOP TODAY. AND TO GET US STARTED, WE DID WANT TO TAKE A FEW MINUTES ON THE AGENDA TO SHOW YOU WE HAVE. AND WE HAVE THIS ON THE SCREEN FOR PEOPLE WATCHING AT HOME. WE HAVE KIND OF A WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE BUDGET? THIS IS WE'RE CALLING IT A PRETEST. YOU WILL NOT BE SHARING WHAT YOU KNOW AND DON'T KNOW. YOU DON'T HAVE TO TURN IT IN. YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET THE CORRECT ANSWERS. IT'S NOT GRADED. IT'S NOT GOING TO SHOW UP ON HACK. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET AN NIH OR YES, YOU'RE NOT.

NONE OF THOSE THINGS. BUT AND THEN ANYONE WATCHING CAN FOLLOW ALONG AND LOOK AND SEE AND JUST TAKE A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? WHAT DO I KNOW ABOUT THE BUDGET? AND JUST TAKE A COUPLE OF MINUTES. LET THE RECORD REFLECT. MR. PERRY'S HERE AS WELL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

[00:05:23]

[00:10:03]

THAT WAS THE OTHER ONE I THOUGHT OF. THERE'S OTHER KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADE CLASSES I SEE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE NOW. THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. THAT'S THAT'S WHERE I KNOW BECAUSE THESE HAVE BEEN. YEAH. THOSE SHOULD BE HIGH IN PRIORITIES. BUT I MEAN, I DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW ABOUT NO KINDERGARTEN. YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE CLASS SIZES ARE NOW. SO THAT'S KIND OF A HYPOTHETICAL. YEAH I KNOW. SO THE GOAL IS JUST TO GET 5% RIGHT OKAY OKAY. I THINK WE CAN LET THEM GO. YEAH. HOW ABOUT THAT. RIGHT. YEAH. EXACTLY.

OKAY. LET ME JUST KEEP MOVING. YEAH. WE'LL HAVE ONE FOR NOW. YEAH OKAY. WOW. I SEE YOUR TEET.

THAT'S IT. I DIDN'T WANT TO LIVE HERE. OF CLASSES ARE NORMALLY SMALL ANYWAY, RIGHT? WHY. MEAN, LIKE, SO THAT'S ABOUT 5%. WHAT DO YOU MEAN? IF YOU GET UP TO A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE, YOU MEAN LIKE. YEAH, THAT WOULD BE HEADQUARTERS THAT WE USE 5%. NO, I'M JUST TALKING ABOUT. OH. OH THAT'S THE. SO IF YOU MADE THAT CHANGE, THEN THE TOTAL CHANGE. SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET THESE TO ADD UP TO BE -5% I THINK THAT'S NEGATIVE FIVE. YEAH. RIGHT. SO WE'RE AT 1.30 NO NO NO THE NUMBERS ARE COMPETING FOR OUR BUDGET. IT'S JUST NUMBERS OKAY. RIGHT RIGHT. THIS IS JUST NUMBERS ASSIGNED IN ORDER TO GET TO I MEAN IF YOU LOOK AT 1.1. RIGHT, 1.8 THIS IS 1.8, RIGHT.

RIGHT. THIS IS 1% POSITIVE, RIGHT? THIS IS 1.8 NEGATIVE. SO WHY IS IT MY DELTA NEGATIVE 1.50 OKAY I THOUGHT THAT WAS. THIS HAS GOT TO BE. AT THE SAME TIME THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU KNOW UNDER ENROLLED OR SOMETHING GRADE LEVELS. OH I REMEMBER GOING TO SCHOOL. YEAH. ME TOO.

YEAH I HAD LIKE THIRD, FOURTH. I THINK I WAS LIKE.

[00:20:25]

[00:20:37]

YOU CAN PUT A LITTLE STAR RIGHT. ON THE STAR. SO WHILE YOUR TEAM MEMBERS IS MAKING YOUR MARKS, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO NEXT IS TO HAVE EVERYONE THINK ABOUT THEMSELVES AS EITHER A TEACHER OR A STUDENT. SO I'M GOING TO HAVE YOU BE A TEACHER, OKAY? AND I WANT YOU TO RELOOK AT EVERYTHING THAT YOU PICKED AND DECIDED AND THINK ABOUT IF YOU WOULD DO ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY, BECAUSE NOW YOU'RE A DIFFERENT PERSONA. YOU ARE EITHER A TEACHER OR A STUDENT, AND WOULD YOU MAKE ANY CHANGES TO WHAT YOU WERE DOING? SO TAKE A FEW MINUTES IN YOUR GROUP TO SAY, WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT? IF, AS A TEACHER OR A STUDENT, YOU CAN PICK WHO YOU WANT TO BE, A TEACHER OR A STUDENT? CAROL, YOU CAN BE A STUDENT BECAUSE YOU WERE A TEACHER. NO. WHAT? WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT? STUDENT I SHOULD BE LOOKING. WE GOT IT, MSB MAYBE AS A TEACHER.

THAT ONE. RIGHT? JUST.

[00:25:23]

POINT 5% FOR INCREASED CLASS SIZES IN ELECTIVE COURSES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS BY TWO. POINT 3%. REDUCED CENTRAL OFFICE STAFF SUPPORT BY 5%. 1.1%. SAVINGS. ELIMINATE STIPENDS FOR HIGH LEVEL DEGREES OR CERTIFICATIONS FOR ALL STAFF. THAT WOULD BE AN UNPOPULAR. 1.4% REDUCED TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAYS BY TWO DAYS POINT 2%. REDUCE ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS AT SCHOOLS UNDER 300 STUDENTS, POINT 4% APPLY A PROPORTIONAL 2% REDUCTION TO ALL NON SALARY BUDGETS, POINT 3% INCREASE RENTAL FEES FOR SCHOOL FACILITIES AND POINT 3% ELIMINATE EXTERNAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. THAT GOT US TO TWO AND A 5.5%. AND THEN WE ADDED IN. WE FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO INVEST IN ONE AREA, WHICH WAS AN ADDITIONAL 0.5%, TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL MATH SPECIALISTS IN ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS SO THAT SHOULD GET US TO 5%. AND YOU SAID WHEN YOU CHANGE PERSPECTIVES, YOU KNEW WHICH ONES YOU WOULDN'T LIKE AS AN EDUCATOR OR STUDENT, BUT YOU KEPT YOUR. YEAH, I THINK THE BIGGEST ONES FOR EDUCATORS WERE PROBABLY CUTTING THE TWO DAYS OF PD, BUT THE BIGGEST ONE WAS THE. THE. YEAH THE STIPENDS. YEAH.

AND FOR THE STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, CHARGING THE ATHLETIC AND EXTRACURRICULAR FEES WAS KIND OF THE FIRST THOUGHT. BUT THEN THE PARENTS PAY THAT. SO BUT IN MANY CASES SO IS IT REALLY THE STUDENT THAT WOULD BE AFFECTED BY THAT. SO YEAH. DID YOU GUYS HAVE SOME SIMILAR THINGS, DIFFERENT THINGS. SURE. SO WE HAD A FEW THINGS. ONE OF THEM WAS REDUCED 3% AND REDUCED CENTRAL OFFICE SUPPORT BY FIVE. AND A REDUCED 1% CHARGE. TRANSPORTATION FEES. WE CREATED OUR OWN AND SIMILAR TO ONE THAT WAS ALREADY STATED, BUT IT WAS A REDUCE OF 0.5% FOR COLA. YOU CAN FLAT COLA HAVING A FLAT COLA. WE HAD A REDUCTION OF 1.1%, WHICH WAS ELIMINATE STIPENDS FOR HIGH LEVEL DEGREE OR CERTIFICATIONS FOR ALL STAFF, REDUCE OF 0.5%, INCREASED CLASS SIZE AND ELECTIVE COURSES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS BY TWO. A REDUCTION AND 0.4% FOR REDUCED TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAYS BY TWO AND THEN A REDUCTION OF 1.8% FOR FREE SALARIES FOR ONE YEAR ALL INTO WHICH WE WERE ADDING THE 0.5% FOR REDUCING THE GRADE SIX OR GRADE THREE AND SIX LEVELS FOR ELA AND MATH. BY THREE. AND THEN THERE WERE TWO THAT YOU SAID YOU LIKED LESS AS A YES, AS A TEACHER, RIGHT? I, I WASN'T A FAN OF THE FREEZING THE SALARIES. AND THEN REDUCING THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAYS BY TWO. AS A STUDENT, I DIDN'T REALLY SEE ANY CHANGE IN WHAT WE DID. OKAY, GREAT. THANKS. ALL RIGHT. CAROL AND WADE. YES. SO WE HAVE. SOME OF THESE WE HAD

[00:30:05]

SO WE HAD YOU KNOW SIMILAR WE INCLUDED THE CHARGE OF ATHLETICS AND EXTRACURRICULAR FEES, COMBINED GRADE LEVELS AND UNDER-ENROLLED ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. BUT WE DID NOT GO AS FAR AS TO CLOSE UNDER-ENROLLED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OR SCHOOLS. WE HAD INCREASED RENTAL FEES FOR SCHOOL FACILITIES. WE HAD INCREASED CLASS SIZES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS BY TWO, INCREASE EMPLOYEE SHARE OF BENEFIT COSTS BY 5%, NOT 15%. SO WE TOOK THAT FROM A 1.7 TO A 0.6 CHANGE. WE INCLUDED CHARGE TRANSPORTATION FEES. OH I'M SORRY, WE DID CLOSE 200 ROAD SCHOOLS. WE DID GO PRETTY FAR ON THAT ONE, AND WE HAD ELIMINATE ALL SUMMER ACTIVITIES OR COURSES FOR STUDENTS. BUT WE ALSO AGREED WITH PROVIDING AN ADDITIONAL MATH SPECIALIST IN ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS. BUT WE'RE HOPING IT DOESN'T COST AS MUCH AS YOU'RE PREDICTING, BECAUSE THAT WOULD UNBALANCE OUR BUDGET. SO DID ANYTHING CHANGE WHEN YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT FROM A TEACHER OR EDUCATOR OR STUDENT PERSPECTIVE? OH YEAH. OH YEAH, FROM THE STUDENT PERSPECTIVE, I DIDN'T WANT TO CHARGE ANY ATHLETIC FEES OR TRANSPORTATION FEES OR ANY OF THAT. AND FROM THE TEACHER PERSPECTIVE, WELL, AND FROM THE STUDENT, I DIDN'T CARE IF THEY CUT TEACHER SALARIES. DO I CARE? YEAH. WHEN WE WHEN WE LOOK AT IT FROM THE STUDENT PERSPECTIVE, WE WERE ABLE TO CUT BASICALLY 9% OUT OF OUR BUDGET. YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THINGS THAT MAY NOT SEEM TO DIRECTLY IMPACT A STUDENT, AT LEAST MAYBE IN THE FIRST YEAR. NO. OKAY. AWESOME. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. WELL, NOW THAT I WILL COLLECT YOUR CARDS AND SO THAT WE CAN LOOK FOR PATTERNS AND SEE THINGS THAT PEOPLE HAVE INDICATED AND FROM THAT, NOW THAT YOU'VE GOT, YOU'VE STARTED THINKING ABOUT TRADE OFFS. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO HEARING ABOUT OUR BUDGETS AND THE TYPES OF TRADE OFFS THAT WE ARE FACING AND OUR BUDGET. SO I WILL I GUESS I FEEL COMPELLED TO PUT ONE LITTLE REMINDER OUT THERE THAT THAT EXERCISE EVERYONE JUST ENGAGED IN WAS HYPOTHETICAL, AND THE PERCENTAGES WERE ALL HYPOTHETICAL. SO YOU DON'T ALL GET QUOTED. YOU KNOW, BY PEOPLE COMING AND GIVING COMMENT ON YOUR DECISIONS FOR THAT PARTICULAR EXERCISE, BECAUSE THAT REALLY IS JUST TO KIND OF GET THE THINKING AROUND THIS. BUT, I MEAN, I THINK THE TYPES OF DECISIONS YOU MADE ARE UNFORTUNATELY IN LINE WITH SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT. ONE THING I WANTED TO SHARE BEFORE I GOT INTO THE HEART OF THE SLIDES, I WAS JUST WITH THE SUPERINTENDENTS LAST WEEK AT OUR FALL MEETING, AND THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF INDICATION THAT STATE FUNDING IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO WATCH VERY CAREFULLY. AND IN FACT, THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET COMES OUT BEFORE WE EVEN PRESENT OUR BUDGET TO THE COMMUNITY, BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW IF THERE MAY BE SURPRISES IN THAT. I KNOW THERE'S A LOT HAPPENING IN ANNAPOLIS AROUND, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THIS BUDGET, AND WE JUST DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT, THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN IN STATE FUNDING FOR EDUCATION. SO. THAT'S LIKE THE THIRD WEEK OF JANUARY, I BELIEVE. I DON'T KNOW THE DATE OFFHAND, BUT I KNOW IT'S IN THE SECOND HALF OF JANUARY OUT STATE MIGHT DECIDE TO GIVE US AN EXTRA OF $60 MILLION OR SO UNLIKELY. THAT'S. NO, I THINK IT'S MORE LIKELY GOING THE OTHER DIRECTION. BUT YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN HEARING THAT. SO LET'S GO. LET'S JUMP INTO THESE SLIDES. WE HAVE A SLIGHTLY BRIEFER PRESENTATION HERE FOR YOU TODAY. I DID A LONGER PRESENTATION WITH A GROUP WE WORKED WITH LAST WEEK. AND WE'LL MAKE THAT VIDEO AVAILABLE TO YOU. SO IF YOU WANT TO SEE ALL THE DETAIL IT'S THERE. BUT SINCE THIS AGENDA, WE HAD FIVE HOURS WITH THEM. THIS AGENDA IS SHORTER. SO MY PRESENTATION IS GOING TO BE ABOUT HALF OF WHAT I DID WITH THEM. BUT LIKE I SAID, IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR MORE DETAIL, THAT VIDEO WILL BE OUT VERY SOON. SO LET'S JUMP IN. YOU SHOULD RECOGNIZE THESE. SO ON THE SCREEN THAT THESE ARE THE THREE PRIORITIES THE BOARD ESTABLISHED FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT THIS YEAR. SO MY PRIORITIES ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT WITH FOCUS ON MATH READING AND LANGUAGE ARTS, IMPROVED SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS WITH AN EMPHASIS ON ATTENDANCE AND SAFETY AND INCREASING COMMUNITY AND PARENTAL AND GUARDIAN TRUST THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS AND TRANSPARENCY. SO WE KNOW THAT

[00:35:02]

SOME OF THE GREATEST WE'VE EXPERIENCED I'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS IN BOARD MEETINGS IS WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN OUR PRE-K, K AND FIRST GRADE WITH THE STUDENTS. WE HAVE SOME STUDENTS WHO ARE JUST VERY DYSREGULATED AND TAKING A GREAT DEAL OF SORT OF ENERGY AND RESOURCES TO HAVE THEM BE ABLE TO BE IN A STABLE ENVIRONMENT IN SCHOOL AND THAT. BUT WE'VE HAD OTHER OTHER CHALLENGES AS WELL WITH STUDENT NEEDS. AND THEN FINALLY, THE NEED FOR COMPETITIVE SALARIES AND SUPPORTS FOR CONDITIONAL TEACHERS. OUR SALARIES. WE HAD BEEN HOLDING PRETTY WELL WITH OUR SALARIES, PARTICULARLY OUR STARTING SALARY. WE'VE BEEN MAKING PROGRESS WITH THAT, AND WE'VE CONTINUED TO INCREASE THOSE TO OUR EAST. YOU KNOW, THEY HAD A COUPLE OF VERY TOUGH YEARS, SO THEIR SALARIES HAVE DIPPED BELOW OURS. HOWEVER, TO OUR WEST, WHICH IS WHERE I THINK WE EXCHANGED THE MOST TEACHERS EACH YEAR, THEIR SALARIES ARE INCREASING AND THEY DID PRETTY DRAMATICALLY LAST YEAR. AND SO AND ■IN FACT, WHILE WE'VE BEEN N THIS PURSUIT OF THE $60,000 STARTING SALARY AS REQUIRED BY THE BLUEPRINT, I WOULD ARGUE THAT WHILE THAT WAS MEANT TO BE A DIFFERENCE MAKER IN THE BLUEPRINT OR FOR MARYLAND IN THE BLUEPRINT, I THINK WHAT WE'RE FINDING IS THOSE INCREASED SALARIES ARE CLOSER TO MARKET. IN OTHER WORDS, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN THOSE SALARIES WOULD HAVE BEEN INCREASING AT A SIMILAR RATE IF WE WERE KEEPING UP WITH THE MARKET ANYWAY. AND SO AND SO IT'S GOOD THAT WE'VE GROWN THOSE SALARIES, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT HASN'T REALLY DIFFERENTIATED US. IT HASN'T GIVEN US A HUGE UPPER HAND WITH REGARD TO RECRUITING REGIONALLY BECAUSE OUR NEIGHBORS AND OTHER STATES ARE, BY AND LARGE, KEEPING UP AS WELL. WE'VE SHARED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SLIDES RELATING TO COUNTY REVENUE. I THINK THIS IS THE ONE FOR ME THAT THIS IS THE ONE WE LEFT IN HERE THAT'S MOST COMPELLING. WE'VE LOOKED SINCE 2007 AND 2007. THE GAP BETWEEN WHAT THE SCHOOLS RECEIVED AND WHAT THE COUNTY HAD WAS $234,679,071, BASED ON THE 2007 NUMBERS. AND SO WHILE I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBER THERE EXACTLY, YOU CAN SEE AT THE TIME THE OPERATING FUNDS FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WERE BELOW 200 MILLION.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, LESS THAN 50% OF THE COUNTY'S FUNDS. BUT THEN YOU SEE MOVING FORWARD IN ABOUT 2000, REALLY 2015, 2016, TIME RANGE, TIME FRAME, YOU START TO SEE THE PORTION OF THE COUNTY REVENUE RISING MORE QUICKLY THAN THE FUNDING THAT COMES TO HARFORD COUNTY. SO YOU SEE THAT GAP BEGINNING TO GROW AGAIN STARTING IN TWO. WELL, STARTING AFTER 2015, WHERE YOU SEE IT KIND OF TAKE A LITTLE UPTICK THERE. AND SO WE HAD THIS SLOW AND STEADY INCREASE OF THE GAP BETWEEN WHAT THE WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE BUDGET, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WAS GETTING. AND THEN WHEN YOU

[00:40:04]

[00:45:03]

AND THE STATE DOES GIVE US CREDIT ON THE STATE SIDE OF THE FOUNDATION FORMULA. AND SO WE DO GET ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR EACH OF THOSE POPULATIONS. BUT AGAIN THERE'S AN EXPECTATION THAT WE'RE PICKING UP SOME OF THAT AS WELL. AND SO THE POPULATION THE COST OF THE POPULATION HAS HAS DEFINITELY GONE UP. SO HERE ARE POSITIONS. WE CHOSE THE STARTING YEAR OF FY 18, WHICH IS THE SCHOOL YEAR PRIOR TO MY ARRIVAL. AND OBVIOUSLY A LITTLE OVER TWO YEARS BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC. SO THIS IS JUST A NUMBER OF POSITIONS, AND WE USE THE PURPLE APPLE HERE TO IDENTIFY STUDENT FACING POSITIONS, ESSENTIALLY EVERY CATEGORY EXCEPT FOR ADMINISTRATION. BUT YOU SEE 33.5 ADDITIONAL POSITIONS IN THE ADMINISTRATION. AND I KNOW PEOPLE COME UP WITH EXAMPLES, BUT IN MANY CASES WHEN WE'VE CREATED NEW ONES, WE'VE DONE THAT BY ELIMINATING SOMETHING ELSE. AND SO THE OVERALL FTES HAVE INCREASED BY THREE, THREE AND A HALF, WHERE YOU SEE NEARLY 100 INCREASES IN THE INSTRUCTIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT. SPECIAL EDUCATION IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST DRIVERS WITH MORE THAN 270 NEW POSITIONS IN THAT TIME FRAME. PUPIL PERSONNEL AND HEALTH SERVICES UP BY MORE THAN 12. STUDENT TRANSPORTATION UP BY 47.6. AND ONE OF THE REASONS YOU SEE THAT GROWING SO QUICKLY IS WHEN THE SPECIAL ED IS GROWING SO FAST. YOU IN ADDITION TO NEEDING SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS, YOU ALSO NEED THE BUS DRIVERS FOR THAT. SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THE GREATEST GROWTH THERE. AND THEN OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE. WE'VE INCREASED BY 14 POSITIONS. ALSO. JUST AS A REMINDER, WHEN I ARRIVED IN 2018, OUR EXPENDITURES ON SAFETY WERE UNDER $1 MILLION. SO IN THE LAST SIX YEARS WE'VE EXPERIENCED 186.4% CHANGE IN THAT. AND, YOU KNOW, WE ARE WE ACTUALLY HAVE AN INCREASE, NOT THAT WE'RE EXPECTING MORE POSITIONS, BUT BECAUSE OF THE POSITIONS WE HAVE IN ORDER TO KEEP THE SAME LEVEL OF SERVICE, THE COST OF OUR SAFETY STAFF WOULD GO UP AS IT DOES EVERY YEAR. SO ONE OF THE REASONS WE TALKED SO MUCH ABOUT THE LOCAL REVENUE IS THAT, AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, MOST OF THE DOLLARS WE GET IN INCREASES FROM THE STATE, THOSE THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE BLUEPRINT, ALL YOU KNOW, IF THEY GIVE US A DOLLAR, THEY EXPECT $1.50 WORTH

[00:50:03]

THAT WAS WITH ALL THE INCREASED COST OF THE BLUEPRINT. AND WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THIS IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET SESSION. IT'S NOT PAYING FOR US TO CONTINUE DOING THE THINGS THAT MANY OF THE THINGS THAT WE VALUE LOCALLY. SO THIS IS SIMILAR TO THE SLIDE YOU SAW LAST YEAR. SO WE HAVE THE STATE SHARE THAT THEY'RE PROVIDING, AND THEN THE LOCAL SHARE THAT THE STATE REQUIRES BE ATTRIBUTED. THAT GOES TO SPEND THE BLUEPRINT IS THAT 243,574,370. AND THAT LEAVES US WITH A GAP OF NEARLY $78 MILLION. THAT WOULD BE WHAT WE HAVE TO DO. THE CLASS SIZES WE WANT, YOU KNOW, THE ELECTIVES. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER LOCAL PROGRAMS AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT A LOT OF SPACE. AND I'LL HAVE A SLIDE FOR YOU TWO SLIDES DOWN. WE'LL SHOW YOU WHY THAT IS THE BIGGEST DRIVER OF THESE COSTS IS BECAUSE WE'VE SEEN SUCH RAPID INCREASES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION. YOU KNOW, WE'VE ESTIMATED THAT WE SPEND WELL IN THE FY 25 BUDGET. WILL SPEND 100, $116 MILLION ON SPECIAL EDUCATION. BUT THE STATE AND LOCAL REVENUE, AS IT'S CALCULATED, ONLY ADDS UP TO 54 MILLION. SO WE HAD A SLIDE LIKE THIS LAST YEAR. IF YOU PUT THAT ADDITIONAL $62 MILLION THAT WE'RE THAT WE NEED TO SPEND ON SPECIAL EDUCATION. AND ONE THING I THINK TO MAKE A NOTE FOR ALL OF YOU AT THIS POINT, LEGALLY, WE CAN'T REDUCE HOW MUCH WE SPEND PER PUPIL ON SPECIAL EDUCATION. SO BECAUSE THE FEDERAL MONEY AND SOME PERCENTAGE OF WHAT WE GET IS FEDERAL MONEY, NOT A TON, BUT SOME PERCENTAGES AND THE FEDERAL MONEY REQUIRES THAT WE HAVE A MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT ON A PER PUPIL BASIS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION. SO FOR EVERY STUDENT WE IDENTIFY, WE HAVE TO SPEND THAT AMOUNT AND HAS TO BE AT LEAST FLAT FROM YEAR TO YEAR. SO YOU CAN'T DECREASE YOUR PER PUPIL EXPENDITURE IN SPECIAL EDUCATION. SO THE IDEA OF LOOKING AT THIS PART OF OUR BUDGET THAT HAS SO MUCH MONEY IN IT LEGALLY, IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE CAN REDUCE, AS I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT SPECIFICALLY, THAT'S A STATE LAW. NO, THAT'S FOR THE FEDERAL FUNDING. IT'S FEDERAL FUNDING.

SO YEAH, IF WE DIDN'T MAINTAIN OUR PER PUPIL IN SPECIAL EDUCATION, THAT COULD JEOPARDIZE THE FEDERAL PORTION OF THOSE FUNDS. SO THERE'S NOT A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY FOR US TO MAKE MAJOR CHANGES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION, OR AT LEAST MAJOR REDUCTIONS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION. WE ARE, AS A SYSTEM RIGHT NOW LOOKING AT HOW WE DELIVER OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION TO SEE IF WE CAN USE THOSE FUNDS DIFFERENTLY TO KIND OF GREATER ADVANTAGE WITHOUT GROWING THEM DRAMATICALLY. BUT IF THE POPULATION GROWS AGAIN, YOU HAVE TO DO A PER PUPIL MAINTENANCE. SO IF THE POPULATION GROWS, WE STILL HAVE TO FIND THE FUNDS TO SERVE THOSE EXTRA STUDENTS AT THAT SAME PER PUPIL. SO THAT IS AN AREA THAT WE REALLY NEED TO FOCUS ON. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING ON SEPARATELY ALONG WITH THE BUDGET HERE, TO SEE IF WE CAN AFFECT ANY, ANY IMPROVEMENTS. THERE.

FUND BALANCE AMONG OUR FAVORITE TOPICS OF DISCUSSION. DEBORAH, TELL ME IF I GO OFF SCRIPT. SO UP AT THE VERY TOP. WELL, ACTUALLY IN THE SUBTITLE YOU SEE OUR. OUR FUND BALANCE THAT'S ON OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS IS 82.6 MILLION. BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT'S COMPRISED OF 26.288.

THE NUMBER IN BOLD THERE. THAT'S HOW MUCH WE ANTICIPATE BEING UNASSIGNED ON JUNE. OH THAT'S WHAT WE ANTICIPATED. WE CALCULATED AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2024. SO AS THIS YEAR GOES ON,

[00:55:03]

NOW, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, THAT MONEY IS GONE. IF WE COME IN UNDER BUDGET AT ALL, WE TRADITIONALLY SPEND BETWEEN 98, 99% OF THE BUDGET THAT WE PLAN. AND SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GETTING BACK 1 OR 1.2%, WE'VE HAD IN A NORMAL YEAR, WE WOULD BRING BACK FOUR TO 6 OR $7 MILLION IN SURPLUS, AND THAT WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO OUR OVERALL FUND BALANCE. SAID ANOTHER WAY, SINCE WE ASSIGNED 30, LET'S SAY WE DID COME IN $5 MILLION UNDER BUDGET AND, YOU KNOW, SPEND $5 MILLION LESS THAN WHAT WE BUDGETED THIS YEAR, THEN THAT 30 NUMBER WOULD ESSENTIALLY MEAN YOU KNOW, WE SPENT 25 AND FIVE OF IT. WE DIDN'T SPEND. AND THAT'S AN INTERESTING THING TO LOOK AT IN THE COUNTY'S BUDGET, BECAUSE YOU LOOK AT WHAT THEY ASSIGNED FOR FUND BALANCE, AND YOU FIND A VERY BIG GAP BETWEEN WHAT THEY ASSIGN AND WHAT THEY ACTUALLY SPEND IN A GIVEN YEAR.

AND WE'LL LOOK AT THOSE NUMBERS AT ANOTHER TIME. BUT AGAIN, OUR EXPECTATION IS TO HAVE VERY MINIMAL SURPLUSES BECAUSE WE BECAUSE THE LAST TWO YEARS HAVE BEEN SO TIGHT, WE HAVE BUDGETED ALL OF OUR LINE ITEMS VERY, VERY CLOSE RATE STABILIZATION. THE 9.8 MILLION THAT I THINK IS THE NUMBER WE'RE REQUIRED TO HAVE IN BY BASED ON OUR OUR HEALTH CARE MO MOU. AND SO THAT'S A NUMBER THAT WE CAN'T TOUCH. IF WE SPEND ANYTHING FROM RATE STABILIZATION, WE THEN HAVE TO REPLENISH BACK TO THOSE LEVELS. STUDENT ACTIVITIES 2.6 $2.7 MILLION. THAT'S MONEY SITTING OUT IN THE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS. THAT'S ESSENTIALLY BEEN RAISED FROM FUNDRAISERS, FIELD TRIPS, WHATEVER. SO THAT'S KIND OF STUDENT SLASH SCHOOL MONEY OR MONEY THAT'S BEEN RAISED BY THEM. BUT THEN AGAIN, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING LEGALLY WE COULD PULL IT IN AND SPEND IT. BUT I'D SUGGEST THAT'S NOT A VERY GOOD IDEA. THAT IS THE STUDENT MONEY. AND IN TERMS OF ANYONE PUT THEIR PUT THEMSELVES IN THE STUDENT PERSPECTIVE ON THIS, I THINK THEY'D HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THAT. FUTURE HEALTH INSURANCE CALL, EMERGENCY FUEL RESERVES, FUTURE LEASE PAYMENTS FOR DEVICES. THESE ARE ACTUALLY ASSIGNMENTS THAT WE HAVE THAT IN A TRUE CRISIS, WE COULD UNASSIGN THOSE AND BRING BACK THOSE FUNDS. BUT YOU SEE, THOSE THREE CATEGORIES ARE ALL THINGS THAT ARE I MEAN, THE MILLION DOLLARS FOR EMERGENCY FUEL RESERVE IS I MEAN, OUR SWING COULD BE FAR MORE THAN A MILLION IN A YEAR. SO THAT'S THAT'S A PRETTY MINIMAL NUMBER. FUTURE LEASE PAYMENTS FOR DEVICES. AGAIN, WE HAD THAT ORIGINALLY IN THERE AS A PROTECTION. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD CHANGE IF WE NEEDED TO. AND THEN AGAIN, THE FUTURE HEALTH INSURANCE CALL, I DON'T THINK, LIKE I SAID, IF WE HAVE IF WE HAVE A CALL, WE HAVE THE RATE STABILIZATION FUND. BUT IF WE LIKE I SAID, IF WE PAY ANYTHING OUT OF THE RATE STABILIZATION FUND, WE THEN HAVE TO REPLENISH IT. SO THIS IS WHAT THAT $5 MILLION WOULD BE THERE FOR. AND I THINK THERE IS A DECENT CHANCE THAT WE WOULD SEE A CALL THIS YEAR IF I HEARD THAT. THAT'S UP IN THE AIR.

YEAH. WE'RE GETTING CLOSER TO THAT END. AS FAR AS CALLS AND SURPLUSES GO. AND THE SURPLUS DAYS THAT WE'VE SEEN ARE OVER. YEAH. SO AND THEN THE BOTTOM, THE NEARLY BOTTOM NUMBER, THE 734,000 TOTAL NON SPENDABLE, I'D HAVE TO HAVE ITS INVENTORY IN THE WAREHOUSE. RANDOM THINGS THAT WE COUNT AS MONEY BUT ISN'T REALLY IT HAS TO BE SHOWN HERE AGAIN FROM A GAAP BASIS. IT'S BASICALLY THE INVENTORY SITTING IN THE WAREHOUSE. SO YOU COULD SELL IT ALL, BUT IT'S NOT THAT MUCH THERE. SO TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF MONEY THAT IN AN EMERGENCY WE COULD USE AT THE END OF THE YEAR IS 26 MILLION. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, NEXT LEVEL EMERGENCY, YOU CAN LOOK AT THAT FIVE ONE AND FOUR. SO 10 MILLION. BUT THAT IS IT. IF ANYONE SAYS THE SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS $82 MILLION IN FUND BALANCE, PLEASE TELL THEM, YOU KNOW, FIVE OF IT'S ALREADY SPENT. 30 OF IT IS IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, TEN OF IT IS ILLEGAL FOR US TO SPEND. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DO NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THAT NUMBER GETS THROWN AT US LIKE WE'RE WE'RE HIDING THAT

[01:00:03]

A LOT OF BUDGETS ARE BUILT WHERE YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, 5% OF THIS DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET AS A CONTINGENCY OR MONEY SITTING IN THE SUPERINTENDENT'S, YOU KNOW, OFFICE FOR WE DO NOT HAVE A DIME SET ASIDE AS CONTINGENCY. THIS IS IT. SO AND AGAIN, AS DOCTOR PAULSEN SAID, MOST OF THAT MONEY CANNOT BE SPENT. YOU HAVE THE UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE AND THEN YOU CAN PLAY WITH THOSE ASSIGNMENTS. BUT IN THE END, AGAIN, IT WOULD BE FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE NOT TO HAVE SOMETHING ASSIGNED FOR EMERGENCY PURPOSES. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE'RE GOING FOR IN GRANTS THAT MIGHT BRING IN MORE REVENUE THAT'S NOT ACCOUNTED FOR HERE? THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE GRANTS. SO THE REVENUE THAT'S AGAIN. THERE'S A WHOLE EXPLANATION FOR THAT. AGAIN, IT'S GAP RELATED.

AND IT'S WHEN WE THIS IS OUR OPERATING FUND BALANCE. SO THAT NUMBER YOU DON'T SEE EXCEPT FOR JUNE 30TH WHEN WE'RE DOING THESE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. SO WE CAN GET INTO THAT ANOTHER TIME. IT DOESN'T PLAY INTO ANY OF OUR NUMBERS. BUT GRANTS ARE TOTALLY ACCOUNTED FOR SEPARATELY. SO IF YOU FOUND NEW MONEY TO BRING IN GRANTS TO SPEND ON SPECIFIC THINGS, THAT'S FINE. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MEDICAL BILLING MONEY THAT COMES IN. IT'S RESTRICTED FUNDS, AND WE DO USE THAT MONEY TO PAY FOR POSITIONS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE TO BE PAID FOR WITH MEDICAL BILLING MONEY. SO TO FIND BUT TITLE ONE, YOU KNOW, IT'S REPLACED EVERY YEAR FOR THE MOST PART. SO YOU CAN REUSE THOSE FUNDS. BUT TO USE IT FOR RECURRING COSTS CAN BE DIFFICULT IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO RECURRINGLY GET THOSE GRANTS. THE FEDERAL TITLE GRANTS ARE THE ONES YOU GET EVERY YEAR TITLE ONE, TWO, THREE, AND FOUR, AND THOSE I MEAN, THEY'RE LESS LIKE GRANTS BECAUSE THEY TEND TO RECUR EVERY YEAR. BUT OF COURSE, WE DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE GOING TO SEE AN IMPACT IN THOSE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. NOW THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A LAG WITH THOSE. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND FUNDING FOR TITLE ONE AND FOR IDA, WHICH IS SPECIAL ED. YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD SEE AFFECTED OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. BUT THAT WON'T HIT US LIKELY IN THIS BUDGET. BUT THEN OTHER GRANTS LIKE COMPETITIVE GRANTS AND STUFF LIKE THAT, IT'S THERE AREN'T LARGE DOLLAR AMOUNTS. WE TYPICALLY CAN'T USE THEM TO SUPPLANT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING. A LOT OF THE GRANTS WE APPLY FOR THEM, YOU HAVE TO SHOW THAT IT'S A NEW PROGRAM, AND IT'S RARE THAT WE FIND SOMETHING THAT WE CAN JUST USE TO PAY FOR SOMETHING. WE'RE ALREADY DOING. YEAH, REPLACE ANY COSTS OF ANY KIND. COULD YOU ELABORATE ON THE 4 MILLION FOR THE DEVICES? YEAH. SO WHEN WE FIRST DID THE DEVICES, WE PAID FOR THEM OUT OF CAPITAL MONEY AND WE PAID FOR THEM OUT OF GRANT MONEY. AND SO WHEN WE HAD MORE FUND BALANCE IN THAT FIRST YEAR, BECAUSE WE HAD WE HAD A NICE SURPLUS THE FIRST YEAR, WE ASSIGNED SOME TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COULD DO ANOTHER GENERATION OF PAYMENTS FOR DEVICES. NOW WE'VE MOSTLY ROLLED THE DEVICE PAYMENTS INTO THE OPERATING BUDGET. SO THEY'RE IN THERE AS A RECURRING LINE. SO THAT ISN'T AS ESSENTIAL TO HAVE THERE AS AN ASSIGNMENT. SO THAT'S WHY I SAID THAT'S ONE OF THE ONES. IF WE NEEDED TO CHANGE IT, WE COULD THE LIFESPAN OF A DEVICE. SO THEY'RE THREE YEARS, FOUR YEARS FOR STAFF, THREE FOR CHROMEBOOKS AND FOUR YEARS FOR LAPTOPS.

OKAY. AND WHEN YOU REDO THAT LEASE, THE NUMBER GOES UP AND THE BUDGET CAN VERY WELL BE ALREADY CREATED. WHEN WE GET THAT NUMBER LATE IN THE SPRING. SO WE COULD POTENTIALLY NEED THAT MONEY FOR A RENEWED LEASE. YOU KNOW, AS THE LEASE PAYMENTS GO UP. SO IT WOULD HAVE TO GO UP IN LINE 4 MILLION, RIGHT? WELL, BUT YOU COULD TAKE A PORTION OF THAT AND IT COULD, YOU KNOW, COVER BECAUSE WE HAVE ROLLING DEVICES COMING ON AND OFF THOSE LEASES. SO YOU COULD USE THAT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, IDEALLY THAT YOU WEREN'T THAT SIGNIFICANTLY OFF BECAUSE ALL OF THE LEASES DON'T END AT ONE TIME. YEAH. DOES THE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM A PROFIT CENTER OR DO WE DON'T DEAL WITH THAT AT ALL. THAT ALL GOES TO THE CONTRACTOR. SO WHEN THE WHEN THE STUDENTS BUY EXTENDED WARRANTIES ON THOS, SO THE THEIR BUYING THERE IS NO EXTENDED WARRANTY. IF THERE'S A WARRANTY ON THE DEVICE OUR TECHS ASSESS THOSE DEVICES. AND IF IT'S A SOMETHING COVERED UNDER WARRANTY, THEY SEND IT OUT TO DELL AND DELL COVERS IT. IF IT'S A BROKEN SCREEN, BROKEN KEYBOARD, WATER DAMAGE, LIQUID DAMAGE, ANY OF THOSE NUMBER OF THINGS WE PAY FOR THAT WE

[01:05:02]

RIGHT. SO ANY PROJECTIONS ON THE INTEREST INCOME ON THE FUND BALANCE FOR THE CURRENT YEAR? YEAH, I JUST LOOKED AT THAT DOING WE INTEREST REVENUE IS STILL HIGH. SO I'LL LOOK WE INCREASED THE BUDGET BY THAT OF A BY $1 MILLION FOR FY 25. SO YOU KNOW IF RATES STAY THE WAY THEY ARE WE'LL COME IN ABOVE THAT AGAIN, WHICH WILL BE GOOD. SO THAT THAT OKAY. SO IT WOULD BE ON TOP OF WHATEVER WE'RE SEEING HERE THEN POTENTIALLY OUR INTEREST REVENUE LAST YEAR WAS WHAT LIKE $5 MILLION. YEAH. YEAH. SO WE HAD EXCESS THAT FELL TO FUND BALANCE AT THE END OF THE YEAR. AND THE SAME WOULD HAPPEN HERE OR IF THAT WAS ON A BIGGER NUMBER. SO WHAT DO YOU ESTIMATE THIS YEAR THEN. 3 MILLION. I'D HAVE TO LOOK AND SEE WHAT WE GOT FOR FIRST QUARTER AGAIN. AND WE EXTRAPOLATE THAT OUT AGAIN. WE DON'T WE DON'T LOOK OR PROJECT BY MONTH OF WHAT WE THINK THE INTEREST RATES ARE GOING TO BE. WE LOOK AT HISTORICALLY WHAT WE'VE RECEIVED AND AGAIN, WHEN YOU WHEN YOU PLAY WITH THE BUDGET IN INTEREST REVENUE, YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL BECAUSE IF RATES DROP DURING THE YEAR AND YOU'VE INCREASED YOUR BUDGET, YOU NOW HAVE TO CUT SOME PLACE IN THE BUDGET IN ORDER TO REDUCE THAT NUMBER. SO WE DID INCREASE IT. THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE NEEDED TO. I WAS NOT IN FAVOR OF IT, BUT I UNDERSTOOD THE NEED AND WHY WE DID IT. BECAUSE THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT INTEREST REVENUE, AT SOME POINT, THOSE RATES ARE GOING TO GO DOWN AND THOSE DOLLARS ARE GOING TO GO DOWN. AND IF WE AREN'T BRINGING IN THAT MONEY, IF WE DON'T HAVE A REPLACEMENT REVENUE SOURCE, THEN WE'RE GOING TO KITTY GOES DOWN TOO. EXACTLY. YEAH. SO EVEN WITH THE PURCHASE ORDERS, I MEAN, THE MONEY IS SITTING IN THE BANK AT JUNE 30TH AND IT'S SITTING IN OUR BANK UNTIL WE HAVEN'T PAID IT YET. OKAY.

CORRECT. SO THE I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT HOLDING THOSE OFF. THE REASON THAT NUMBER IS THERE IS BECAUSE FROM A BUDGETARY BASIS, WE ARE USING MONEY FROM LAST YEAR. IF WE DIDN'T HAVE AN ENCUMBRANCE LISTED WHEN IT CAME IN THIS YEAR, WE WOULD BE USING FY 25 FUNDS, WHICH OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T WANT TO DO. SO WE WANT TO BE. SO THE WAY IT'S ACCOUNTED FOR ON A GAAP BASIS IS WE HAVE TO SHOW IT HERE TO REFLECT IN FUND BALANCE, BECAUSE THE MONEY'S NOT BEEN SPENT. JUNE 30TH. AND SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ALSO THE RUNWAY ON THE 30 MILLION FOR LIKE THE REST OF THE YEAR. RIGHT. AND SO I THINK DOCTOR BALLSTON SAID WE'LL PROBABLY END UP LIKE RIGHT AROUND THERE. RIGHT. BUT LOOKING AT THE SITUATION THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE IN POTENTIALLY NEXT YEAR, DEFINITELY NEXT YEAR, IF WE COLLECTIVELY WANTED TO SAY, FOR EXAMPLE, STRATEGICALLY NOT FILL CERTAIN POSITIONS THIS YEAR AS THEY COME OPEN TO ALIGN WITH WHATEVER OUR PRIORITIES ARE, YOU KNOW, HOW HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THAT? HOW MUCH SAVINGS COULD THERE POTENTIALLY BE ON THAT BASED ON HISTORIC AND WOULD THAT BE AN ADMINISTRATION DECISION OR A BOARD DECISION? DOCTOR BOLSON COULD BE ALL OF THE ABOVE. I MEAN, IN THE CURRENT YEAR, WE MAY HAVE TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS.

I MEAN, IN THE END, YOU HAVE TO APPROVE THE BUDGET, BUT I KNOW WE HIRED ABOUT 275 TEACHERS LAST YEAR. I THINK THE TOTAL HIRES WAS SOMEWHERE UNDER IT WAS UNDER 500. I THINK LAST YEAR OF EVERYTHING. SO THAT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF OUR TURNOVER. I EXPECT THIS TO BE A SLIGHTLY LOWER TURNOVER YEAR BECAUSE WITH EVERY DISTRICT FINANCIALLY SQUEEZED RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE THE FEDERAL

[01:10:02]

YOU KNOW, DON'T DON'T ASSUME THAT THERE'LL BE THREE JOBS WAITING SOMEWHERE ELSE. SO WE'RE STILL IN A TIGHT LABOR MARKET FOR TEACHERS. BUT I THINK WE'LL THERE'S A CHANCE WE'LL SEE FEWER. SO I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO EXPECT. BUT LIKE WE SAI, I MEAN, IF WE WERE TO DO THIS WHOLE THING WITH THE EQUIVALENT OF TEACHER POSITIONS, THAT'S 600, THAT'S MORE THAN TWICE WHAT WE HAD LAST YEAR. AND, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BE 20% OF OUR ENTIRE TEACHING STAFF, WHICH IS NOT, YOU KNOW, A REALISTIC WAY TO APPROACH THIS, BUT THIS WAS THIS IS ANOTHER SLIDE TO KIND OF GIVE JUST A SENSE OF SCALE, YOU KNOW, CLASS SIZE IS STILL THE BIGGEST, YOU KNOW, BIGGEST CHUNK OF THE BUDGET. AND THEN TRANSPORTATION IS RIGHT BEHIND IT, WHICH YOU SEE THERE IN ENGLAND. I MEAN, THIS DOESN'T ADD UP TO A WHOLE BUDGET HERE. SO THIS IS JUST PUTTING DIFFERENT PORTIONS OF THE BUDGET IN PERSPECTIVE. SO ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATH, THOSE NUMBERS THERE ARE JUST TO GIVE YOU A SOME CONTEXT, BECAUSE ONE OF THE SURVEY QUESTIONS HAD TO DO WITH IF WE WERE TO PROTECT CLASS SIZE IN ELA AND MATH, YOU KNOW, AND THEN GROW CLASS SIZES AND OTHER THINGS, THAT'S SORT OF THE AREA. OR IF WE WERE TO CUT THOSE LIKE WE DID THE SAME FOR EVERYONE ELSE, YOU SEE HOW MUCH WE'D HAVE TO DRAW ON. AND AGAIN, YOU SEE THE 19.2 MILLION, WHICH IS THE CENTRAL OFFICE AGAIN, ATHLETICS AND EXTRACURRICULARS. WE TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST YEAR. THE MAJORITY OF THE COST THERE IS TRANSPORTATION AND, YOU KNOW, SO CUTTING ALL OF ATHLETICS IS UNDER $5 MILLION. AND, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN IMAGINE POLITICALLY HOW THAT FLIES IN THE COUNTY. I KNOW THE THEME OF CENTRAL OFFICE HAS COME UP A LOT IN THE SURVEYS. CAN YOU DEFINE FOR LIKE THIS NUMBER HERE? WHAT IS CENTRAL OFFICE. SO DOES THAT IS THAT LITERALLY JUST THE PEOPLE THAT LIKE REPORT IN THAT BUILDING OR DOES THAT INCLUDE OTHER FOLKS THAT ARE DEPLOYED TO SCHOOLS, WHETHER LIKE IT'S AN SSL THAT'S ASSIGNED HERE? ERIC, WHY DON'T YOU DO THAT? BECAUSE YOU USED THE COST. YOU USED THE IT'S REALLY DEFINED BY THE STATE. SO THAT'S THE CATEGORY ADMINISTRATION AS THE STATE DEFINES IT. SO WHAT WOULD BE CATEGORY 101, THE MAJORITY OF WHICH ARE IN THIS BUILDING. WHAT ABOUT PRINCIPALS AP PRINCIPALS AND ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS ARE CATEGORY 102 MID-LEVEL ADMINISTRATION. WE WOULD INCLUDE THOSE WITH OUR INSTRUCTIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT BECAUSE THERE ARE INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERS AT THE SCHOOL BUILDINGS. SO THAT 19.2 IS MOST OF THIS BUILDING ESSENTIALLY. AND IN SOME OF OUR OTHER OFFICES THAT AREN'T IN SCHOOLS. YEAH. WOULD THAT INCLUDE LIKE THE DIRECTORS FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATION AND ALL THOSE THAT GO OUT THAT INCLUDE THAT'S INCLUDED IN THIS BUILDING? YES. AND THE CURRICULUM SPECIALISTS AND THE CURRICULUM SPECIALISTS, ALTHOUGH THEY GO OUT ON SITE TO THE SCHOOLS ANYWAY. OKAY. WELL, SO CURRICULUM SPECIALISTS KIND OF SHOW UP IN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT SPOTS BECAUSE. YEAH, BECAUSE SO THERE'S SOME THAT ARE ASSIGNED HERE. THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO SCHOOLS, SOME ARE PURCHASED WITH TITLE FUNDS, SOME ARE PURCHASED WITH. I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER IF THERE'S ANY OTHER. OH, THE IT'S A LOCAL DESIGNATION. OUR PRIORITY SCHOOLS. WE YOU KNOW WE HAVE THE EIGHT PRIORITY SCHOOLS. SO SCHOOLS HAVE A LITTLE OPTION OF HOW THEY WHO THEY HIRE INTO ALL THOSE POSITIONS. SO THE SPECIALISTS ARE THEY'RE KIND OF IN THERE A LITTLE OF EVERYWHERE.

BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF THE SPECIALISTS WOULD ANY OF THE SPECIALISTS BE INCLUDED IN THIS? 19.2 NO, NO. SUPERVISORS. WOULD ANYONE WITH A SUPERVISOR OR MANAGEMENT TYPE TITLE WOULD BE IN THIS 19.2. BUT THE SPECIALISTS WHO ARE ESSENTIALLY TEACHER THERE, THEY SHOW UP IN THE CLASS SIZE OR IN THE IN THE STUDENT FACING BECAUSE WHETHER THEY'RE ASSIGNED HERE OR WHETHER THEY'RE ASSIGNED AT A SPECIFIC SCHOOL, THEY'RE STILL, YOU KNOW, IN THE CLASSROOMS MOST OF THE TIME. SO STAFF LIKE DEBORAH AND ALL OF THOSE WOULD BE IN. CENTRAL OFFICE IN THE 19.2. YEA.

[01:15:02]

LET ME THINK OF HOW WE CAN SHARING A LIST OF EVERY CLASS. OBVIOUSLY THAT'S YOU KNOW, WHAT'S A LOT IF THERE'S A WAY TO SUMMARIZE IT, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, TO SAY, YOU KNOW, OUR CAP. FOR. YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE CAPPING FOURTH GRADE IN YOUR NON SORT OF POVERTY IMPACTED SCHOOLS AND THEY'RE SET AT 29, WHAT'S THE AVERAGE CLASS SIZE IN FOURTH GRADE. AND THEN YOU KNOW, DO WE HAVE A SENSE OF HOW MANY OUTLIERS THERE ARE. BECAUSE WE KNOW THERE ARE EXAMPLES WHERE A FEW OF OUR SCHOOLS HAVE 30 OR 31 IN EACH CLASS. USUALLY THAT'S BECAUSE ENROLLMENT, YOU KNOW, KIDS, MORE KIDS SHOW UP IN SEPTEMBER THAN YOU WERE EXPECTING. AND WE DON'T HAVE THE ADDITIONAL STAFF TO ASSIGN THER. BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS, PARTICULARLY THE SMALLER SCHOOLS, THE CLASS SIZES REALLY CAN FLUCTUATE. YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT GET 21 OR 22 IN A FOURTH GRADE CLASS IN SOME OF THE SCHOOLS. AND OUR HIGHEST POVERTY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS THAT

[01:20:02]

AND THIS WAS THE QUOTE FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE AT MAYBE THIS WAS THE QUOTE DOCTOR WRIGHT HAD ON SCREEN, AND I KIND OF LIKED IT AND I ATTRIBUTE IT TO HER. BUT I BELIEVE OUR JOB AS EDUCATORS SET HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND USE EVERY TOOL WE HAVE TO HELP CHILDREN REACH THEIR GREATEST POTENTIAL. AND THE HIGHLIGHT ON THAT PARTICULAR QUOTE IS, FRANKLY, THE WORD TOOL. I MEAN, OUR BUDGET IS OUR GREATEST TOOL THAT I MEAN, IN MANY WAYS, YOUR BUDGET IS YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN, BECAUSE THAT HELPS DETERMINE EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING. AND WHERE YOUR PRIORITIES ARE GOING. AND SO THAT'S THE BIG CHALLENGE FACING US OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. AND WITH THAT SAID, I THINK I'LL TURN IT BACK TO KATIE. ALL APPEARS WE'RE BACK LIVE. SO BEFORE WE GET INTO THE NEXT ACTIVITY, WHICH KATIE IS GOING TO INTRODUCE, SO JOE SHARED, THIS IS SOMETHING. SO THESE DATA COME FROM SEPTEMBER. NOT QUITE I THINK IT WAS SEPTEMBER LIKE 1415. YOU SAID SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE. SO NOT EXACTLY OUR OFFICIAL COUNT OF THE 30TH, BUT PRETTY CLOSE. AND SO THIS IS ONE OF THE WAYS WE TRACK CLASS SIZE AVERAGE CLASS SIZE. SO IF YOU'RE JUST LOOKING THIS IS JUST ELEMENTARY I'D HAVE TO LOOK AT IT DIFFERENTLY. THE SECONDARY IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMAL. BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE ABOUT ELEMENTARY. SO IF YOU SEE A RED NUMBER, THAT MEANS THE AVERAGE CLASS SIZE IN THAT SCHOOL IS BELOW THE CAP. THAT'S ASSIGNED TO THAT SCHOOL AT THAT GRADE LEVEL, BECAUSE AS IF WE HAVE OUR OUR STAFFING GUIDE, WHICH BASICALLY ASSIGNS A CLASS CAP BY GRADE LEVEL. AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THREE TIERS OF THAT IN ELEMENTARY BASED ON HOW MUCH POVERTY THOSE SCHOOLS SERVE. SO A NEGATIVE NUMBER IS ACTUALLY GOOD IN THIS CASE A NEGATIVE NUMBER IS GOOD. IN THIS CASE, THE NUMBERS IN BLACK INK THAT ARE ABOVE ARE WHERE. WELL, SO IF YOU WERE TO GO DOWN FOR EXAMPLE TO CHURCHVILLE AND DARLINGTON AND LOOK AT FOURTH GRADE, YOU GET A BLACK NUMBER BUT IT'S ZERO. THAT MEANS THEIR CLASS SIZE IS ARE EXACTLY ON THE FOURTH GRADE CAP. YOU KNOW, IF THEY WERE TO ADD A STUDENT, THEY'D GO OVER. IF A STUDENT TRANSFERRED, THEY'D BE UNDER.

CAN YOU SHARE THE TARGET CLASS SIZE WITH THE BOARD? BECAUSE I THINK THAT THERE WAS LIKE TWO DIFFERENT DOCUMENTS OUT THERE. AT ONE POINT, THERE WAS A BOARD POLICY, AND THEN THERE WAS SORT OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE. YEAH, THERE WAS AN OLD THERE'S AN OLD SOMETHING. I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS AN ACTUAL POLICY THAT HAD SPECIFIC NUMBERS BY GRADE LEVEL. WE HAVE WE DO HAVE STAFFING MANUAL. IT'S IN OUR STAFFING MANUAL. I WE'LL HAVE TO SHARE THOSE CHARTS WITH YOU BECAUSE AGAIN IT'S THREE DIFFERENT TIERS AT ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND HIGH. AND THE NUMBERS. AND I DON'T KNOW THEM OFFHAND AS THEY BREAK DOWN. WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT SETS OF CLASS SIZES BASED ON THE POPULATION THAT THE SCHOOL SERVES. SO TAKE WE'LL PICK ALMOST ANY ONE OF THESE SCHOOLS. IF THE CAP AT DARLINGTON FOR EXAMPLE, IS SET AT 29 STUDENTS FOR FOURTH GRADE, AND RIGHT NOW THEY'RE SITTING RIGHT AT 29. IF THEY WOULD GET AN EXTRA STUDENT, YOU KNOW, THEY'D BE OVER. AND IF WE WERE 100% IN COMPLIANCE WITH ENSURING NOTHING GOES OVER CAP AND WE GAVE THEM ADDITIONAL TEACHER, NOW THEY'D HAVE TWO CLASSES OF 15, RIGHT? AND SO THAT BLACK 0.0 WOULD TURN TO NEGATIVE 15. SO IT CAN BE A PRETTY BIG IMPACT. NOW WHEN YOU GO TO A SCHOOL LIKE HOMESTEAD WAKEFIELD FOR EXAMPLE, OR YOUTH BENEFIT WHERE THEY HAVE 7 OR 8 CLASSES AT A GRADE LEVEL. SO LET'S LOOK AT SO YOUTH BENEFIT FIFTH GRADE. THEIR AVERAGE IS 1.8 STUDENTS OVER. SO LET'S SAY THEY HAVE SEVEN I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY THEY HAVE, BUT IF THEY HAVE SEVEN FIFTH GRADE CLASSES CLASS, IS IT. YEAH. THERE'S LIKE 29 IN HIS CLASS OR SOMETHING CRAZY.

MAYBE 30. BECAUSE WE PROBABLY HAVE 29 TO 30 DEPENDING ON HOW MANY. SO IN THAT SCHOOL, IF WE WERE ABLE TO ASSIGN ANOTHER TEACHER, THERE, YOU'D NOW DIVIDE THAT TOTAL BY EIGHT INSTEAD OF SEVEN, AND YOU WOULD PROBABLY HAVE IN EXCESS OF, YOU KNOW, 4 OR 5 STUDENTS. THE LARGER

[01:25:04]

THERE. YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT BELOW ENOUGH WHERE IF WE WERE TO TAKE A TEACHER AWAY, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE HUGE CLASSES. I MEAN, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE LOOK AT AS WE'RE BALANCING STAFFING. BUT THESE BUILDINGS ARE STAFFED REALLY PRETTY TIGHT. YOU SEE SOME ANOMALIES DOWN AT SWAN CREEK. BUT THE THING WITH SWAN CREEK IS THAT CHANGES OVER THE YEAR, PARTICULARLY IN THE VIRTUAL, ACTUALLY IN BOTH CASES, BECAUSE WE'RE ADDING STUDENTS THERE ALL YEAR. SO WE WERE TO LOOK AT THE NUMBERS TODAY. THEY WOULD PROBABLY BE VERY DIFFERENT. AND YOU WOULDN'T BE QUITE AS FAR BELOW AT EACH GRADE LEVEL. SO JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU THAT FOR CONTEXT. WE'LL LOOK AND SEE WHAT WE HAVE THAT'S SIMILAR FOR SECONDARY, BUT THAT'S A LITTLE HARDER TO TRACK BECAUSE IT DOESN'T WORK BY GRADE LEVEL. THEY'RE YOUR TEACHERS TEACH ACROSS ALL GRADE LEVELS, AND SO YOU HAVE A LOT MORE COURSES. THIS IS JUST A LOT HARDER TO LOOK AT. BUT THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN WE'LL TRY TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GIVE THAT TO YOU IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE. SO OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO WE'RE GOING TO DO ANOTHER ACTIVITY SO THAT NOW THAT YOU'VE HEARD DOCTOR OLSEN'S PRESENTATION, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TRADE OFFS. WE'VE PUT UP POSTERS AS YOU'VE NOTICED AROUND THE ROOM WITH SOME DIFFERENT DATA ON THEM IN DIFFERENT WAYS TO SHOW THE, THE CONCEPTS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN OUR BUDGETS. AND WE'RE GOING TO TAKE ABOUT TEN MINUTES WHERE YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE US INFORMATION AND PROVIDE US DATA WHERE YOU HAVE POST-IT NOTES, YOU CAN WALK AROUND AND ASK WHAT QUESTIONS, WHAT THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO SEE MORE OF, KIND OF LIKE YOU JUST DID WITH THE CLASS SIZES. WHAT IDEAS YOU HAVE FOR CUTTING THE BUDGET, WHAT IDEAS YOU HAVE OF THINGS THAT WE COULD SHARE DIFFERENTLY, OR WHAT WE COULD DO DIFFERENTLY, AND YOU WOULD JUST PUT IT RIGHT ON THE POSTER THAT YOU HAVE THE IDEA ON, AND IT'S AN INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY WHERE YOU CAN JUST GO, GO PUT YOUR THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS AND IDEAS, AND IF ANYONE NEEDS MORE POST-ITS, I HAVE THEM.

[01:32:38]

SO I'M JUST GOING TO GIVE YOU A QUICK OVERVIEW. SO THE FIRST ONE BASICALLY THE SUMMARY IS SHOULD WE USE ALL OUR FUND BALANCE OR SHOULD WE KEEP SOME RESERVE. AND THE OVERWHELMING 72% SUGGESTED THAT WE SHOULD KEEP SOME OF OUR OWN RESERVE FOR EMERGENCIES AND NOT BE COMPLETELY RELIANT ON THE COUNTY? SHOULD WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY THE NEXT QUESTION WAS PRESENT A BUDGET THAT REFLECTS

[01:35:01]

INCREASE THE EMPLOYEE SHARE OF THE BENEFITS, 38% SAID, YOU KNO, NO COLA. AND THIS UPCOMING YEAR AND 22% SAID, YOU KNOW, FEWER EMPLOYEES. DO YOU PUT THESE OUT FOR LIKE A PUBLIC EVENT? YOU SHOULD MAKE THAT PRINT JUST A LITTLE BIT DARKER. IT'S ACTUALLY VERY HARD TO READ. THESE ARE SCREENSHOTS OF WHAT COMES OFF OF POWER BI. SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LIKE REWORK IT TO, TO CREATE SOMETHING FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD. THIS IS YEAH, A LITTLE HARD TO. YEAH, I CAN'T THAT'S WHY I'M READING THEM. BUT WE'LL AND WE'LL GIVE YOU A PRINTOUT. BUT IT'S ALSO. YEAH IT'S WE'RE GOING TO WRITE WE'RE GOING TO DO A REPORT ON THE BUDGET SURVEY. SO YOU'LL HAVE IT AS A STANDALONE THING. THIS IS JUST FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE BOTTOM QUESTION HERE REGARDING TEACHER COMPENSATION IS SHOULD WE MAINTAIN A CONSISTENT PAY SCALE OR SHOULD WE DIFFERENTIATE PAY FOR TEACHERS IN CERTAIN PRIORITY AREAS. AND SO SOME OF THE SUGGESTIONS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S MATH AND LANGUAGE ARTS, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE OUR GOALS ARE, SHOULD WE INCENTIVIZE THAT.

BUT OTHER THINGS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, SHOULD WE HAVE INCENTIVES FOR PEOPLE TO STAY IN SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASSROOMS. THAT IS A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR US. OR SHOULD WE HAVE INCENTIVES? THERE IS ALREADY THE ONE INCENTIVE WITHIN NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION FOR PEOPLE TO WORK IN HIGHER NEED SCHOOLS. BUT SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'RE GETTING AT. IF WE WERE GOING TO DIFFERENTIATE COMPENSATION, SHOULD WE DO ANY DIFFERENTIATING BASED ON NEED? THE OVERWHELMING THE 60%. SO AT LEAST THE MAJORITY I DON'T KNOW IF THE WORD OVERWHELMING IS RIGHT SUGGESTED IT SHOULD BE CONSISTENT PAY THAT WE SHOULDN'T LOOK AT DIFFERENTIATING SO YOU KNOW, BUT IF WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THIS DIFFERENTLY, IF YOU LOOK AT IT FROM AN EMPLOYEE PERSPECTIVE VERSUS A PARENT PERSPECTIVE, YOU MIGHT SEE VERY DIFFERENT PERCENTAGES. SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN GO INTO WHEN WE SHARE MORE OF THE DETAILS. CLASS SIZE MAINTAIN OKAY. SO THIS I THOUGHT WAS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. THIS IS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT KNOWING THAT WE ARE NOW EMPLOYING. I RECALL SOMETHING LIKE 900 ADDITIONAL TEACHERS. IS THAT CORRECT? THAT SOUNDS HIGH. 215 I THINK WAS THE LAST ONE. OH, THAT'S MUCH BETTER NUMBER FOR LAST YEAR OR TOTAL. OKAY. WE HAVE A LOT OF ADDITIONAL TEACHERS, MORE THAN WE SHOULD. AND SO THIS THIS QUESTION WAS AROUND THE PREMISE.

SHOULD WE FOCUS ON ENSURING ALL HIGHER QUALITY, FULLY CERTIFIED TEACHERS, LESS OF AN EMPHASIS ON ADDITIONAL TEACHERS? THAT WOULD MEAN LARGER CLASS SIZES, BUT THAT WOULD MEAN THAT THE CERTIFICATION, THE TRAINING, THE PREPARATION OF THAT TEACHER IS LIKELY TO BE STRONGER, THAT YOU'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, ENDING UP WITH A TEACHER WHO ISN'T FULLY CERTIFIED. THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, 56% LEAN TOWARD SLIGHTLY LARGER CLASSES AND ENSURING THE HIGH QUALITY TEACHERS. BUT AGAIN, I THINK IF YOU WERE TO SHAKE OUT THE DATA, THAT'S A PRETTY CLOSE SPLIT THERE. AND SO IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE HOW IT DIVIDED. WE LOOK AT IT BY GROUPS. YOU MIGHT SEE SOME DIFFERENCES SO THAT AGAIN JUST HELPFUL TO GET A SENSE OF WHERE THE COMMUNITY IS ON THAT TOPIC. AND THEN THE OTHER ONE SAYS MAINTAIN CLASS SIZES EVEN IF IT MEANS REDUCING PROGRAMS OR COURSE OFFERINGS. AND THAT'S THE GREEN. AND THEN THE OTHER SAYS INCREASED CLASS SIZES TO ENSURE PROGRAMS AND COURSE OFFERINGS REMAIN. AND AGAIN, SO CLOSE 54 TO 46%. YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE THAT YOU'D SEE A HUGE SIGNIFICANCE IN THAT DIFFERENCE. JUST NO. SO WE KNOW THIS IS AN AREA WHERE PEOPLE ARE REALLY TORN. COURSES OR SUBJECTS. WOULD YOU RATHER INCREASE CLASS SIZES IN ELECTIVE COURSES, ARTS, PE, THAT SORT OF THING WHILE KEEPING MATH AND READING CLASS SIZES CONSISTENT OR INCREASED? INCREASED CLASS SIZES ACROSS ALL COURSES SIGNIFICANT 82%. CHOSE INCREASING THE CLASS SIZES IN THE ELECTIVE TYPE COURSES OR THE ALL OTHER COURSES, AND MAYBE

[01:40:04]

THE FIRST PRIORITY. AND SO PRETTY CLEAR RESPONSE ON THAT FROM THE COMMUNITY RESOURCE PRIORITIZATION. SO WE PRIORITIZE RESOURCES FOR SAFETY AND STUDENT BEHAVIOR OR PRIORITIZE MAINTAINING CLASS SIZES. WE'VE GOT A LOT OF NEGATIVE FEEDBACK ABOUT THIS QUESTION. PEOPLE HATE THIS IS A TRADE OFF. BUT THE TRUTH IS THERE'S STILL DOLLAR AMOUNTS ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE.

AND THESE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS WE HAVE TO ASK, YOU KNOW, IN THIS PARTICULAR ONE, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S A NATURAL THING WE PUT SAFETY AND STUDENT BEHAVIOR AT 72% FAR OUTWEIGHS, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIZE MAINTAINING CLASS SIZES. SO WHILE PEOPLE DIDN'T LIKE THAT EXAMPLE AS A TRADE OFF, THAT GIVES US A SENSE OF DESPITE ALL THE DISCUSSION OF CLASS SIZES, THERE'S REALLY STRONG SUPPORT FOR SAFETY AND STUDENT BEHAVIOR. AND YOU KNOW, I AGREE. AND THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. AND SO I THINK A LOT OF US WOULD FEEL THE SAME WAY. DISTRICT SERVICES, WOULD YOU RATHER HC CONTINUE USING INTERNAL HC STAFF AND SEEK SAVINGS ELSEWHERE OR SEEK SAVINGS BY OUTSOURCING USING CONSULTANTS OR OTHER COMPANIES PROGRAMS OR SERVICES? AND SO THERE ARE A LOT OF PLACES WHERE WE COULD DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY THAT ALWAYS IT'S ALWAYS A HARD QUESTION IN ANY COMMUNITY WHETHER YOU'RE GOING TO OUTSOURCE. WE DO HAVE A SMALL OUTSOURCING RIGHT NOW WITH SOME OF OUR CUSTODIANS. YOU KNOW, IF WE WERE TO EXPAND THAT, THERE'S A CHANCE WE COULD SAVE SOME MONEY BECAUSE THE BENEFITS IS REALLY THE PLACE WHERE YOU SOMETIMES SAVE. THERE ARE OTHER THINGS WE COULD OUTSOURCE, WHETHER IT BE, YOU KNOW, COACHING FOR AN EXPERIENCED TEACHERS, WHETHER IT BE, YOU KNOW, OTHER TYPES OF MENTORING, MENTORING FOR, YOU KNOW, OTHER THINGS THAT WE DO THAT, YOU KNOW, OUTSOURCING MIGHT BE A MORE COST EFFECTIVE WAY TO DO SOME OF THAT WORK. SO AGAIN, LEANED IN FAVOR OF NOT OUTSOURCING 59%, BUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, SOMETHING ELSE WE MAY EXPLORE BECAUSE I THINK THAT QUESTION, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS PEOPLE MAY NOT THINK OF AS POTENTIAL SOURCES, PLACES TO OUTSOURCE. SERVICE REDUCTION. WOULD YOU RATHER CPS TARGET SPECIFIC SERVICES FOR LARGER CUTS OR JUST REDUCE EVERYTHING CONSISTENTLY ACROSS ALL AREAS? 62% LEANED IN FAVOR OF TARGETING CUTS AS OPPOSED TO DOING IT ACROSS THE BOARD PROGRAM REDUCTION. WOULD YOU RATHER HC REDUCE COSTS FOR MORE EXPENSIVE SCHOOLS OR PROGRAMS, SUCH AS SMALL SCHOOLS OR THINGS LIKE FIELD TRIPS, OR APPLY? AGAIN, APPLYING ACROSS THE BOARD? REDUCTION IN POSITIONS AT ALL SCHOOLS? AGAIN, THE BIAS HERE, THE FAVORS TARGETING THE CUTS AND THEN THE SMALL SCHOOL AND PROGRAMS WOULD YOU RATHER HC IMPLEMENT NEW OPERATIONAL MODELS, FOR EXAMPLE ONE TEACHER FOR TWO GRADE LEVELS IN SMALLER SCHOOLS OR CLOSE THESE SCHOOLS OR PROGRAMS ENTIRELY 64% IN FAVOR OF NEW OPERATIONAL MODELS. BUT I WOULD HAVE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WHILE THE IDEA OF CLOSING SCHOOLS, IT'S ALWAYS A HARD THING TO THINK ABOUT, ONE OF OUR CHALLENGES TO EVEN CONSIDER CLOSING ANY OF OUR PARTICULAR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, WHICH ARE REALLY THE ONLY ONES WE COULD CONSIDER FOR CLOSING AT THIS POINT. WE HAVE NO ROOM FOR OUR STRIVE OR CPI. CSP, I WAS GETTING MY ACRONYMS ALL MIXED UP. OUR CLASSROOM SUPPORT PROGRAMS. YOU KNOW, EVEN OUR WE REALLY WOULDN'T HAVE A PLACE TO REASSIGN THOSE PROGRAMS. AND SO THAT'S KIND OF A LOGISTICAL BARRIER TO ANY CONSIDERATION TO POSSIBLY CLOSING A SCHOOL. SO YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALWAYS MORE LAYERS AND SO THAT'LL JUST BE SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO BE, YOU KNOW, TUNED INTO STUDENT NEEDS WITH THE GRADUATE. RATHER INVEST HOLISTICALLY IN STUDENT NEEDS ACROSS ALL AREAS OR FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON READING AND MATH. SO INTERESTINGLY, WHILE THE STAFFING PRIORITIZATION LEANED IN FAVOR OF THE MATH AND ELA, THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK ON THIS ONE AND I'D HAVE TO LOOK BY GROUP AGAIN, BECAUSE THIS IS ONE I'D BE REALLY CURIOUS. IT MAY BE DIFFERENT ACROSS GROUPS, BUT THE IDEA OF, YOU KNOW, INVESTING IN MORE THAN JUST READING AND MATH.

SO THAT WAS THAT WAS I DON'T KNOW THAT I EXPECTED THAT RESULT. SO THAT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING. AND THEN THE BOTTOM ONE SAYS ACADEMIC. WOULD YOU RATHER CPS MAINTAIN HIGHER LEVELS OF RESOURCES IN SCHOOLS WITH GREATER ACADEMIC NEEDS, OR PROPORTIONATELY REDUCE ACROSS ALL SCHOOLS? AGAIN, YOU SEE 59% IN FAVOR OF TARGETING HOW WE DO THIS BASED ON NEED. IT'S NOT A HUGE DISTINCTION. SO I'D WANT TO LOOK AT THE GROUPS THERE TO. AND I THINK THESE ARE THE LAST TWO CHARTS. CAREER PREPARATION. WOULD YOU RATHER CPS. OKAY. SO THIS WAS MORE OF A CURIOSITY FOR

[01:45:01]

SO. SO IN MY FIRST BUDGET AND START IN 2018, INTRODUCED IN 2019, WE ESSENTIALLY HAD FOUR MOVES TO BALANCE. WE HAD A $30 MILLION FUNDING GAP. WE REDUCED POSITIONS BY A CERTAIN AMOUNT.

WE ASSIGNED A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF FUND BALANCE. WE ASKED FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT FROM THE COUNTY, AND WE REDUCED THE COST OF BENEFITS BY A CERTAIN AMOUNT. AND THOSE FOUR STRATEGIES ADDED UP TO THE $30 MILLION THAT WE NEEDED TO BALANCE THE BUDGET THAT YEAR. THIS YEAR, WE HAVE TWICE AS TWO TIMES THE SIZE OF A GAP, BUT IDEALLY, EVEN WITH A BUDGET THIS BIG. TO GET THIS

[01:50:11]

YOUR SUPERINTENDENT FOR A DAY HELPED ME GET TO 60 MILLION, AND IT'S A TERRIBLE EXERCISE, BUT WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE THERE. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO DO IN THIS HALF SHEET. CAN WE TALK ABOUT WHAT IS IN THE SIX YEAR YET? DID I MISS THAT? WHAT IS IN THE 60. YEAH. LIKE HOW DID YOU GET TO 60 MILLION. OH I CAN BRIEFLY SUMMARIZE THAT. IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD. 30 IS THE FUND BALANCE BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT'S NON-RECURRING. SO OF THE OF THE 60 INCREASE 30 IS IN FUND BALANCE. WE CALCULATE JUST ROUGHLY $20 MILLION SALARY PACKAGE. LAST YEAR I THINK IT WAS 17 OR 18. BUT YOU KNOW IF WE WERE TO DO A STANDARD COLA AND STANDARD STEPS THAT COMES UP JUST AROUND $10 MILLION OR $20 MILLION FOR SALARY PACKAGE. AND THEN THE ADDITIONAL SO THEN THERE'S TEN MORE. WE HAD A NUMBER OF COST INCREASES UTILITIES, HEALTH CARE FOR ACTIVE RETIREES AND PENSION AND PENSION. SO AND NON PUBLIC PLACEMENTS. YEAH. SO THE 11 THE LAST TEN COULD EASILY GROW TO 20 UNFORTUNATELY. BUT WHAT WAS THE LAST TEN. SO THE FIRST 50 IS FUND BALANCE AND SALARY PACKAGE. THE LAST TEN IS KIND OF EVERYTHING ELSE. AND AS WE'RE LOOKING AT THE TRENDS THERE THAT COULD BE MORE THAN TEN. SO THAT COULD TAKE US OVER 60 OKAY. WHEN YOU SAY 30 MILLION IS IN THE FUND BALANCE, ARE YOU WHAT LIKE THAT'S WHAT WE USED. SO THAT'S WHAT WE USED LAST TIME RIGHT. SO WE NEED THAT. THAT'S PAYING FOR RECURRING COSTS ITEMS. SO IF WE WERE GOING TO KEEP THOSE ITEMS WHICH REALLY ARE THE TEACHERS WE TRANSFERRED FROM GRANTS, THEN WE HAVE TO FIND REVENUE DISBURSEMENT. IT WAS A MIX OF THINGS, BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN WE USED THAT LAST YEAR, WE KNEW THAT THAT WAS A ONE TIME THING, RIGHT? ARE WE USING LAST YEAR'S BUDGET AGAINST WHAT WE THINK THE COUNTY IS GOING TO FUND US? IS THAT WHERE THE 60 MILLION IS? DELTA? YEAH, WELL SORT OF. SO THE INCREASES IN OUR BUDGET. SO I MEAN, WHAT DEBORAH JUST SAID IS WE USE $30 MILLION OF NON-RECURRING MONEY FOR RECURRING THINGS. SO WHAT WE ARE BUILDING HERE IS THE RECURRING BUDGET, THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE FUND EVERY YEAR, KIND OF, OR WE EXPECT TO FUND EVERY YEAR. SO WHEN WE SPEND $30 MILLION OF FUND BALANCE, WE KNOW WE DON'T HAVE A REVENUE SOURCE TO REPLACE THAT 30. SO WHENEVER YOU USE FUND BALANCE, YOU EITHER HAVE TO I MEAN, YOU CAN USE MORE FUND BALANCE, BUT YOU SEE HOW MUCH WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, IF WE USE 30 MILLION OF FUND BALANCE, THAT'S GONE. AND WE'RE STILL WE STILL NEED ANOTHER 30, BECAUSE ANY KIND OF SALARY PACKAGE ALWAYS ADDS TO OUR OVERALL BUDGET. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CREATES A REGULAR INCREASES. AND THEN THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE COST INCREASES AS WE DESCRIBED, WHETHER WHETHER IT'S HEALTH CARE, UTILITIES, UTILITIES, ABOUT 3 MILLION. YEP.

PRIVATE PLACEMENTS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION, ADDITIONAL SPECIAL EDUCATION CENTERS, AS WE DID LAST YEAR. THERE'S JUST A NUMBER OF PLACES WHERE THOSE COSTS MIGHT GO UP. AND WE DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THE STATE'S GOING TO PASS MORE THINGS ON TO US. THE 60 MILLION. TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION DIRECTLY, HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY REVENUE FROM THE COUNTY. THIS IS ANOTHER WAY OF PUTTING THE $60 MILLION ASK IS NEXT YEAR IT WILL COST US AN EXTRA $60 MILLION TO RUN THE SAME SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT WE'RE RUNNING THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF THINGS LIKE INCREASES IN HEALTH CARE, SALARY PACKAGE AND THINGS LIKE THAT. WE ARE RUNNING, YOU KNOW, A STRUCTURAL DEFICIT OF AROUND $30 MILLION PER YEAR, WHICH IS THE AMOUNT THAT WE MOVED FROM SAVINGS. AND THAT'S JUST SIMPLY WE ARE YOU SAYING WE'RE INCREASING $60 MILLION A YEAR BY DOING NOTHING DIFFERENT? THAT'S CORRECT. 30 OF IT IS BECAUSE OF WE USED TO BALANCE LAST YEAR. SO WE SO WE LIVE BEYOND OUR MEANS. SO LAST YEAR WAS 40 RIGHT. YEAH. SO WE WERE WE WERE SPENDING MORE THAN WE WERE RECEIVING IN REVENUE. AND WE FILLED THAT HOLE EVERY YEAR. AND WE'VE USED FUND BALANCE EVERY YEAR. IT JUST HAPPENS TO BE THAT LAST YEAR WAS THE BIGGEST NUMBER THAT WE'VE USED IN RECENT TIMES. WE DID LIKE A SIMPLE FAMILY BUDGET. LET'S SAY YOU BUDGET $10,000 A YEAR FOR MORTGAGE PAYMENTS. IT WOULD BE A NICE MORTGAGE IF YOU CAN GET IT RIGHT, BUT YOU BUDGET 10,000 A YEAR FOR MORTGAGE PAYMENTS AND YOU END UP USING $4,000 OF YOUR SAVINGS TO DO THAT. SO YOU'VE USED $6,000 OF YOUR RECURRING INCOME TO PAY FOR YOUR MORTGAGE AND FOR OUT OF SAVINGS THAT THE FOREIGN SAVINGS IS GONE. SO UNLESS YOU HAD A LOT MORE IN SAVINGS THAT YOU COULD USE EVERY YEAR, WHICH IS WE'VE USED FUND BALANCE EVERY YEAR. SO THAT'S BEEN GOING DOWN, BUT THAT'S NOT BEING REPLENISHED. AND SO THAT'S WHY WHEN YOU START SO TECHNICALLY IT'S NOT COSTING US

[01:55:05]

WELL, AND AGAIN WHEN YOU'RE FLAT FUNDED WHEN COSTS ARE GOING UP BECAUSE THE SALARIES GO UP EVERY YEAR BECAUSE STEPS AND COLAS CAUSE AN INCREASE AND THEN OTHER THINGS, YOU KNOW, THE COST INCREASES VARY BASED ON INFLATION. AND WHILE INFLATION IS A LITTLE MORE UNDER CONTROL NOW THAN IT WAS TWO YEARS AGO, IT'S STILL A THING AND MORE THAN IT WAS TEN YEARS AGO. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A FOCUS ON INCREASE PERSONNEL FOR SAFETY THAT'S NOT ACCOUNTED FOR. YEAH. YES. SO LIKE WHAT WE HAVE POTENTIALLY COMING IN FRONT OF THE BOARD IN DECEMBER IS NOT EVEN IN HERE. YEAH. THAT JUST ADDS TO THE OVERALL ASK. SO JUST FOR HISTORIC CONTEXT AND THIS ARE THE NUMBERS THAT YOU SENT ME A FEW WEEKS AGO. SO THE FUND BALANCE USAGE BY FISCAL YEAR IN FY 22 WAS 3,000,023 WAS 4.8 MILLION. IN 24 WAS 15 MILLION.

AND IN 25 WAS 30.2 MILLION. AND SO NOW WE'RE DOWN TO OUR LAST 25, MAYBE 19. IT WAS LIKE 11.

THAT WAS THE LAST BIG YEAR OF THREE. 11.3 WAS THE REALLY BIG YEAR WHEN THEY KIND OF CLEANED OUT. BUT THAT WAS WHEN WE ONLY HAD 13 TO START. RIGHT. SO, SO JUST CURIOUS, YOU SAID THAT WHEN YOU WERE REVIEWING THE HISTORIC, YOU SAID IN 2009 AND THOSE SUBSEQUENT YEARS THAT WE HAD TO MAKE A LOT OF CUTS, BUT IT LOOKED LIKE REVENUE WAS GOING UP IN THOSE YEARS. SO WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR THAT COST WAS GOING UP? HEALTH INSURANCE WAS A BIG DRIVER, A HUGE DRIVER. HEALTH INSURANCE, TRANSPORTATION AND SPECIAL EDUCATION WERE THE BIGGEST DRIVERS. SO WE HAD MINIMAL COLAS. YEAH, YEAH. FROM 2009 9 TO 2000. AND THAT WAS THE GREAT FINANCIAL CRISIS 2020.

YEAH, WE HAD FEWER FTES EVERY YEAR IN THAT 11 YEAR SPAN. NOW, ONE YEAR WE WENT DOWN BY LIKE 1 OR 2 FTES. BUT MOST OF THOSE YEARS WE WENT DOWN. SO EVEN THOUGH COST WAS INCREASING, WE WERE BEING FUNDED, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT OVER. WHAT'S THAT? FIVE. IT WAS FIVE. YEAH. DIDN'T GET STEPS. THEY ALL GOT THEM ALL BACK AT SOME POINT OR WE MADE ALL OF THEM BACK UP. OKAY. WELL EXCEPT FOR THE PEOPLE WITH LEFT RIGHT RIGHT. WELL, YOU KNOW, WE MADE IT. WE MADE IT UP FROM THE PRESENT ON. WE NEVER MADE IT UP FOR BACK PAY THAT WE. YEAH. RIGHT. RIGHT. SO WE DID GET WE DID GIVE FIVE MAKEUP STEPS AT ONE POINT. AND THAT FINAL ONE TO CAROL'S POINT. BY THE TIME WE GOT TO THE FIFTH MAKEUP STEP, IT WAS A SMALL DOLLAR AMOUNT BECAUSE THERE WEREN'T THAT MANY PEOPLE THAT MISSED FIVE. THAT HAPPENED OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS OR SEVEN YEARS. IT HAPPENED OVER SEVEN YEARS. SO SOME YEARS FOLKS GOT TWO EQUIVALENT, OH, I'M SORRY, THE FIVE WE MISSED FIVE OVER SEVEN YEARS. IT TOOK IT TOOK FIVE YEARS, I THINK I THINK FIVE YEARS TO DO ONE YEAR. YEAH.

ONE YEAR WE DID ACTUALLY DID TWO BECAUSE WE BROUGHT THE FIFTH MAKEUP STEP IN IN APRIL. OH THAT'S RIGHT. YEAH. YEAH. BUT AGAIN IT WAS A SMALL DOLLAR A SMALL DOLLAR AMOUNT BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF STAFF THAT HAD MISSED. ONE OTHER QUESTION. AND THAT IS ABOUT TRANSPORTATION. DO WE HAVE IS THERE SOME STATE LAW OR REGULATION ABOUT LIKE IF YOU LIVE MORE THAN A MILE AND A HALF AWAY, YOU HAVE TO HAVE BUSSES AVAILABLE. SO THERE'S NO SO, SO RIGHT NOW SPECIAL EDUCATION, HOMELESS AND FREE AND REDUCED MEALS. WE HAVE A REQUIREMENT TO TRANSPORT. BUT HOW FAR AWAY CAN THEY BE LIKE IF YOU'RE STATE LAW FOR THOSE POPULATIONS? I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT. I DON'T KNOW I DON'T KNOW THAT I DON'T KNOW THAT THE STATE. IF INSTEAD OF BUSSING KIDS THAT LIVE A MILE AND A HALF AWAY, WE DIDN'T BUS ANYBODY UNLESS THEY LIVED TWO MILES AWAY OR THREE MILES AWAY.

[02:00:01]

THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THRESHOLD QUESTION FOR THE BOARD IS WHAT IS, YOU KNOW, AS WE CONTINUE TO DWINDLE DOWN THE FUND ON THE UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE, WHAT IS AN ACCEPTABLE UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE TO MAINTAIN AS THE STATUS QUO MOVING FORWARD? WHEN WE GET TO SOME LEVEL OF NORMALCY AND STABILITY, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A STANDARD ON THAT. I JUST BEFOREHAND, YOU THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS TO LOOK AT IT FROM A TEXTBOOK STANDPOINT. YOU KNOW, AGAIN, YOU CAN 10% IS A NUMBER THAT'S FLOATED AROUND THREE MONTHS OF EXPENDITURES, IS A NUMBER THAT WILL NEVER GET TO THAT. AND THREE YEAH, THREE MONTHS. SO THE COUNTY GOVERNMENTS, I BELIEVE, LOOKED MODELS OF EXPENDITURES. THAT'S WHAT THEY TYPICALLY FOLLOW. BUT THERE ISN'T ANYTHING SPECIFIC FOR SCHOOL SYSTEMS THAT WERE REQUIRED TO DO OBVIOUSLY. SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE WERE AT ABOUT 5%, I FELT OKAY, OBVIOUSLY IN MY ROLE, THE MORE WE HAVE, THE BETTER. YOU KNOW WHAT WE HAVE NOW IS NOT EXCESSIVE BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE MAJOR EXPENDITURE CHALLENGES DURING THE YEAR, FOR SOME REASON YOU MAY NEED THAT. BUT IF WE'RE IN A POSITION WHERE WE HAVE TO USE IT, THEN DOCTOR BOYNTON SAID, WE HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT WE'RE COMFORTABLE LEAVING AND IF THE COUNTY IS STRUGGLING AS MUCH AS THEY ARE FINANCIALLY TO USE ALL OF OUR FUND BALANCE AND EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO GO TO THEM FOR ANYTHING THAT COMES UP, I WOULD SAY WOULD BE DANGEROUS.

I THINK WE SHOULD ALSO LOOK AT TO LIKE WHAT THE FUND BALANCE COULD POTENTIALLY BE USED FOR AND WHAT THE RISKS ARE, AND THEN HOW MUCH OF THAT RISK IS MITIGATED BY THE MONEY THAT WE'VE MOVED FROM UNRESERVED TO RESERVED RIGHT. BECAUSE THERE IS RISK MITIGATION IN MOVING MONEY THAT TO THE ASSIGNED PORTION OF THE FUND BALANCE, LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, HEALTH CARE CALLS OR LAPTOP OR WHATEVER IT HAPPENS TO BE. WELL, WE WOULDN'T NECESSARILY IF WE LEFT SOME BUFFER IN THE RATE STABILIZATION ACCOUNT, WE WOULDN'T NECESSARILY NEED TO HAVE ASSIGNED. BUT BECAUSE THE COUNTY'S SENT US ALL OF THOSE FUNDS, THERE'S NOTHING IN THERE ABOVE THAT MINIMUM REQUIRED AMOUNT. SO AS SOON AS YOU KNOW THAT THAT AMOUNT IS RECALCULATED EVERY YEAR BASED ON THE CURRENT YEAR'S PREMIUMS, WELL, THE 5 MILLION WE JUST PUT IN IS OVER. AND ABOVE. I BELIEVE THAT WOULD BE CORRECT. SO IF YOU HAD THAT FUND BALANCE IN TERMS OF LIKE, WHAT IS OUR ACTUAL RISK? LIKE? I UNDERSTAND THAT SOME PEOPLE SAY, YOU KNOW, HEY, THREE MONTHS WORTH OF EXPENSES, BUT WE'RE THIS ISN'T LIKE A HOUSEHOLD WHERE WE'RE GOING TO ACTUALLY BE LOOKING FOR THREE MONTHS, WHERE WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE FUNDED FOR THREE MONTHS. I THINK IT'S MORE ABOUT WHAT IS THE RISK, RIGHT? BECAUSE WHEN WE RUN, LIKE ALMOST EVERY YEAR, WE COME AT OR EVEN BELOW OUR OPERATING BUDGET, RIGHT, IN MOST CASES. SO LIKE, WE'RE PRETTY GOOD AT LIKE STICKING TO BUDGET, WE'RE NEVER GOING TO BE 25% OVER BUDGET, RIGHT? HOPEFULLY NOT. YEAH. SO IT'S MORE ABOUT THE ABOUT THE UNEXPECTED THINGS THAT COME UP AND SOME OF THAT IS MITIGATED ALREADY IN THE RESERVE FUND BALANCE OR ABOUT GREAT EXAMPLE, SAFETY AND SECURITY, LIKE SORT OF THE UNEXPECTED THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO INVEST IN THAT YOU DIDN'T EXPECT TO INVEST IN. WELL, AND PART OF THAT NEEDS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE CONCERNS WE HAVE WITH OUR CAPITAL FUNDING, BECAUSE OUR REPLACEMENT SCHEDULE IS WELL BEYOND WHAT IT SHOULD BE. AND WE HAVE USED THE FUND BALANCE FOR CAPITAL. YES. AND IF WE AREN'T FUNDED AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND SOMETHING FAILS IN A BUILDING, YOU KNOW, THAT MAY NOT BE ON NEXT YEAR'S PLACE. IF IT'S NOT REPAIRABLE, THEN WE MAY HAVE TO DIP INTO FUND BALANCE. AND THAT COULD BE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS DEPENDING ON WHAT IT IS. YEAH, SO NOT ALL ROOF FAILURES ARE COVERED BY INSURANCE, RIGHT. SO. SO OUR OUR

[02:05:09]

JUST LIKE AT HOME YOU KNOW, YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THE TREE GOES THROUGH YOUR ROOF. YEAH. YOU KNOW FINGERS CROSSED. RIGHT. DIDN'T EXPECT IT IN. IT'S EXPENSIVE. YEAH. SO IS THAT ONE EXAMPLE OF THAT. IS THAT THE WATER ISSUES THAT SOME OF THE SCHOOLS HAS. SO YOU HAVE YOUR TAPS. YES. WE OF AND WE'RE GOING TO COLLECT THEM. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LIKE SAY THEM OUT LOUD.

WE'RE JUST GOING TO COLLECT THEM AND USE IT AS PART OF OUR DATA COLLECTION. SO THAT AS THE SUPERINTENDENT IS PREPARING HIS BUDGET, WE HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE CUT IN THERE. SO DOCTOR BOLTON WANTED TO PUT THE PRETEST ANSWERS UP. SO I'M PASSING OUT THIS. YES A HARD TIME GETTING THE SLIDE 39. HERE, I'LL SHOW YOU SOMETHING AWESOME I WOULD.

SO BEFORE YOU GUYS LIKE WRITE ALL YOUR ANSWERS DOWN, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO ALSO THINK ABOUT A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT MAYBE WE HAVEN'T TOUCHED ABOUT JUST YET. SOME OF THE MORE OUT OF THE BOX THINGS, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN BE SMALL, BUT WE HAVE SO MANY EMPLOYEES THAT WHEN YOU ADD IT UP, IT CAN ACTUALLY BE A SUBSTANTIAL SAVINGS. SO FOR EXAMPLE, LAST YEAR WE DID A TWO STEP COLA, WHICH WAS, I THINK 1.5% THE FIRST YEAR AND 1% MID-YEAR. YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, IF THIS BOARD WANTS TO TAKE THE STEP OFF THE TABLE, I'VE ENCOURAGED TO LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT WE COULD DO A HALF STEP OR A TWO STEP PROCESS BECAUSE THERE IS A TWO STEP MEETING, THE POINT FIVE STEP AT THE START OF THE YEAR AND A POINT FIVE STEP. I KNOW YOU'RE SAYING THE SYSTEMS CAN'T DO THAT, BUT YEAH, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO TALK TO MR. RICHARDSON ABOUT THAT BECAUSE WE AND I, HE AND I HAD A CONVERSATION. THE FREE FLOW OF IDEAS YET. SO WE'LL COME UP WITH THEM AND THEN WE'LL SEE IF YOU CAN DO IT. YOU'RE BETTER DELAYING IT THAN CUTTING IT IN HALF. YEAH. AND THEN THE OTHER THING TOO IS OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SOME WAYS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ARE THERE WAYS THAT WE CAN JUST DO WHAT WE'RE DOING BETTER AND, AND, AND LESS EXPENSIVE? ONE THING THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IS MOVING TO CONTRACTED SERVICES FOR THINGS THAT ARE NOT CORE TO OUR MISSION. I THINK WE'VE STARTED TO DO THAT IN SOME DEPARTMENTS, BUT THERE MIGHT BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO OUTSOURCE OTHER NON-CORE FUNCTIONS OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. GENERALLY SPEAKING, I KNOW THIS IS GOING TO BE A TOUGH ON THE SPOT QUESTION, BUT WHAT SORT OF SAVINGS DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU USE CONTRACTED SERVICES VERSUS GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES? WELL, WE'VE HAD WHEN YOU LOOK AT ON THE INSTRUCTIONAL SIDE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF OUR THERAPIST, BEHAVIORAL THERAPISTS, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS, SPEECH THERAPISTS, YOU KNOW, WE PAY FOR THAT BECAUSE WE CAN'T FIND THEM. SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE PAYING FOR THOSE SERVICES. AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE PAYING IN COMPARISON TO IF THEY WERE OUR EMPLOYEE JANITORIAL, FOR EXAMPLE. THAT'S ONE JANITORIAL IS ONE THAT WE'VE DONE. AND THAT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT TO ANSWER BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FULLY STAFF THE VACANCIES THAT WE HAVE. SO IT'S NOT BEEN A ONE FOR ONE. I THINK A LOT MORE RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION NEEDS TO HAPPEN FOR ANYTHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO OUTSOURCE TO SEE IF IT YOU KNOW, MAKES A DIFFERENCE. WELL, THERE'S I MEAN, THERE'S MULTIPLE WAYS TO LOOK AT OUTSOURCING TOO, LIKE SO GOING TO THAT MODEL, WE DIDN'T SAVE A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY. AND ALSO THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO FULLY STAFF JUST AS OUR FOLKS HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FULLY STAFF AND CUSTODIAL. BUT FOR THOSE THAT WERE STAFFED, THAT TOOK SOME OF THE WORKLOAD OFF OF OUR TEAM, AND THAT WOULD BE A CONSIDERATION IF WE WERE TO STOP OUTSOURCING, RIGHT? THAT'S, YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE THE CUSTODIAL THAT'S THAT'S KIND OF A RESOURCE HEAVY AREA BECAUSE YOU'RE CONSTANTLY DOING PARTICULARLY CONSTANTLY DOING THE SEARCHES AND THAT'S AN AREA THAT TURNS OVER MORE. SO THAT'S A SO EVEN THOUGH THAT ENDED UP BEING, I THINK A LITTLE MORE BUDGET NEUTRAL TO DO THAT, IT WAS A NET BENEFIT TO OUR TEAM BECAUSE IT ALLOWED THEM TO FOCUS IN OTHER AREAS. IF I DO THINK AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S A LITTLE BIT UNPOPULAR, THERE'S ALWAYS INTEREST TO USE LOCAL COMPANIES. BUT THERE ARE LARGE INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES THAT DO THIS THAT WOULD HAVE A MUCH BETTER CHANCE OF WORKING AT SCALE AND AT LOWER COST. YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HAVE A MILLION EMPLOYEE COMPANY, THEIR HEALTH CARE BENEFITS ARE DRAMATICALLY LOWER THAN A PLACE THAT EMPLOYS A FEW HUNDRED. AND SO THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WITH THE RIGHT SEARCH AND THE RIGHT ANALYSIS, WE MIGHT ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO SAVE MONEY WORKING WITH A COMPANY THAT HAS A BETTER ECONOMY OF SCALE. AND SO THERE

[02:10:04]

WELL, IN SOME CASES TAKE FOR CUSTODIANS, FOR EXAMPLE, THEY'RE TOWARD THE LOWER END OF OUR PAY SCALE. AN ORGANIZATION, AN OUT, AN OUTSOURCED ORGANIZATION THAT HAS REALLY GOOD ECONOMIES OF SCALE. IF THEIR BENEFITS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY CHEAPER THAN OURS, THAT COMPANY CAN STILL MAKE THEIR FEE, HAVE LESS OF AN EXPENSE AND BENEFITS AND POSSIBLY EVEN PAY THOSE EMPLOYEES MORE PER HOUR. YOU KNOW, SO THE AND SO WHILE IF PEOPLE WANTED TO STAY WITH US, PARTICULARLY YOUR EMPLOYEES WHO'VE BEEN HERE LONGER AND WANT TO KEEP THEIR BENEFITS, YOU KNOW, WE'D GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT. BUT IF YOU HAD NEWER EMPLOYEES WHO HAD A CHOICE BETWEEN GOING INTO THE, YOU KNOW, THE CPS BENEFITS OR GOING WITH THE MORE PER HOUR, A LOT OF OUR NEWER EMPLOYEES WOULD LEAN TOWARD THE EARNINGS. AND SO THAT WOULD BE A WAY, AN OPTION SO THAT THAT IS ANOTHER POSSIBILITY OF HOW THE OUTSOURCING COULD WORK. BUT WE WOULD NEED, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF WORK. I MEAN, THAT WOULD TAKE A LONG TIME TO GET IN PLACE. I THINK IT'S WORTH LOOKING INTO, AT LEAST FOR FUTURE YEARS, FOR BOARD TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WOULD BE THE BENEFITS OR THE DOWNSIDES AND WHAT WOULD BE THE CHALLENGES. AND, YOU KNOW, IF IT IF IT IS NOT A SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH COST SAVINGS, IT'S PROBABLY NOT WORTH THE HASSLE.

SO WE'D HAVE TO BE LOOKING AT YOU KNOW, I WANTED TO THROW OUT AT LEAST LIKE AT LEAST 10% OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO BE ABLE TO DO IT. AND YOU ALSO HAVE TO FACTOR IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE COST TO ADMINISTER THE CONTRACTS. YEAH, WE WOULD TAKE ALL THAT IN IN THAT COST, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE YOU HAVE A CONTRACT FOR THIS NUMBER OF YEARS AND THEN YOU GET TO THIS AND YOU GOT TO RENEGOTIATE. SO YOU HAVE TO FACTOR IN. THAT'S A LARGE COST. AND AS PEOPLE RETIRE THAT HANDLE THE CONTRACT YOU GOT, YOU HAVE THAT OVER, YOU KNOW. WELL WE CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE PEOPLE THAT HANDLE THOSE TYPES OF CONTRACTS. SO IT'S CAPACITY OF CORRECT. THAT'S HAVING WORKED IN THE AREA WHERE WE HAD CONTRACTORS FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, AND THEN SOMEBODY TO ADMINISTER THAT CONTRACT CONSTANTLY. YOU KNOW.

SO YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A COST THAT REALLY IS A HIDDEN COST. YEAH. YEAH. SO WE WOULD WANT THAT BAKED IN AS WELL JUST TO GET A FULL UNDERSTANDING. WE CAN RESEARCH THAT IF THERE'S AN INTEREST WITH THE BOARD AND WE CAN DO A LITTLE MORE HOMEWORK ON THAT. AND LIKE I SAID TO ME THAT'S PREP FOR THE FY 27. YEAH. WELL BUT WE'LL HAVE TO WE'LL BE THERE SOONER THAN YOU WANT. I KNOW WE WOULD HAVE TO IDENTIFY THE AREAS THAT WE WANTED TO LOOK AT. I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE WE DO IN BUSINESS, YOU OUTSOURCE ANYTHING THAT IS NON-CORE, RIGHT? SO I WOULD SAY LIKE THE FOLKS IN THE CLASSROOM, I WOULD SAY THAT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING WHERE WE'RE DOING IT FROM NECESSITY. I WOULD SAY WE SHOULDN'T OUTSOURCE THAT. ANYTHING THAT'S NON-CORE TO OUR MISSION, WE SHOULD LOOK AT OUTSOURCING AT LEAST CONSIDER OR AT LEAST CONSIDER. YEAH. AND SEE WHAT OTHER DEPARTMENTS DO, LIKE THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT OF THE COUNTY. IF WE CAN PIGGYBACK ON SOME OF THEM. I'M SURE YOU'VE DONE THAT ALREADY IN SOME CASES, BUT SERVICES MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, DO WE GET ANY SPEAKING OF THAT, DO WE GET ANY MONEY FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR THE SCHOOL NURSES? NO, IT'S DIFFERENT FROM I MEAN, THEY HAVE FUNDED SOME OF OUR THINGS. I MEAN, THEY'RE CURRENTLY FUNDING CHRYSALIS. THEY'RE FUNDING, BUT THEY'RE FLEXIBILITY IN THAT AREA IS DIMINISHING. SO THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE WE HAVE TO BE LOOKING FOR. BUT THE NURSING THING IS IT'S VERY DIFFERENT FROM DISTRICT TO DISTRICT, FROM STATE TO STATE. SOME STATES, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT HIRES ALL THE NURSES AND SOME DISTRICTS, I THINK EVEN WITHIN MARYLAND WE HAVE VARIANTS THERE. WE HAPPEN TO BE IN A PLACE WHERE WE'VE DONE THEM ALL AND THEY'RE NOT COMING FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, BUT IT'S LIKE THE SROS, RIGHT? IT GETS WORKED INTO THE COUNTY BUDGET ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. SO WHAT WE'VE TRADITIONALLY HAD IS, YOU KNOW, WE HIRE THE NURSES AND NOT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT SEEKING TO CHANGE THAT WOULD NECESSARILY BENEFIT US IN ANY WAY. ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU ALL FOR GIVING US ALL THIS INFORMATION AND WORKING WITH US.

I WILL LET OUR TWO LEADERS, THE ONE THING I'D SAY IS FROM TODAY'S EXERCISES, ANY ANY PARTS

[02:15:06]

AND SO THIS TO ME HAS FELT LIKE A REALLY GOOD WAY TO GATHER FEEDBACK. AND THEN OF COURSE, IN THE SPRING YOU GUYS WILL DO YOUR OWN BUDGET INPUT SESSIONS AND IF YOU, YOU KNOW, WANT TO FOLLOW A DIFFERENT MODEL OR YOU NEED FEEDBACK TO COME IN DIFFERENTLY, I MEAN, THOSE COULD BE STRUCTURED ENTIRELY DIFFERENTLY. AND IF YOU WANT TO DO A SURVEY IN THE SPRING, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, SORT OF REFINING THE THINGS THAT THAT YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TIME FOR THE BOARD TO REALLY BE DELIBERATING. FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT HELP TO US, JUST IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING'S GOING TO BE IT'S THOSE TRADE OFFS AND SORT OF PUSHING TO ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER. AND THIS HAS REALLY HELPED GET A SENSE OF WHERE PEOPLE ARE SO THAT WHEN WE BRING A RECOMMENDATION TO YOU, YOU SHOULD SEE EVIDENCE OF THIS CONVERSATION AND EVIDENCE OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE'VE DONE ALREADY WITH ONE COMMUNITY GROUP. AND THEN THE TWO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THAT SHOULD APPEAR IN WHAT WE BRING YOU IS WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO IN ABERDEEN IS THE SAME AS WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE, SIMILAR OR LESS TIME. SO WE WON'T. I'LL HAVE AN EVEN MORE ABBREVIATED PRESENTATION, BUT LIKE I SAID, I HAVE A LONGER ONE THAN EVEN YOU GUYS GOT TODAY. RECORDED THAT CAN GO OUT IF PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO SUBJECT THEMSELVES TO A 40 MINUTE VIDEO OF ME TALKING. I WOULDN'T ADVISE THAT FOR MOST PEOPLE. BUT YOU KNOW, ALL THE POSTERS, THE DATA, THE POSTERS, YEAH, THAT'LL ALL BE THERE. AND SO IT'S JUST A FUN AND THAT'S WHY LIKE WHICH ACTIVITIES, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THE FIRST TRADE OFF ONE BEING SO HYPOTHETICAL, IT GETS PEOPLE'S MIND IN THE RIGHT PLACE. BUT MAYBE WE DO MORE TIME JUST ON THE REALLY THING SPECIFIC TO CPS. SO WE'RE JUST TRYING TO THAT'S THE TYPE OF FEEDBACK THAT WOULD HELP US BECAUSE WE'RE PLANNING ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF FOR THOSE SESSIONS. WE'RE HERE. WE HAD A LITTLE OVER TWO AND A HALF HAVE A NUMBER REGISTERED ALREADY. THERE ARE 25 FOR THURSDAY AND 30 FOR NEXT WEDNESDAY. I WAS JUST JUST CURIOUS BECAUSE I WAS GOING TO SAY WE HAD A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE. I DEFINITELY WOULD DO TWO SETS OF THE POSTERS, BUT IF YOU DON'T, IT'S NOT HUGE YET. AND LIKE WITH THE SAFETY THING, I THE UNFORTUNATE PART WAS OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO FILLED THAT UP, WE ONLY HAD LIKE A THIRD OF THEM COME SO. BUT THAT WILL HAPPEN TO PROBABLY IF WE GET 15 AND 15. THAT'S MORE THAN WE'VE HAD IN ANY PREVIOUS YEAR. AND I THINK WE CAN TURN THAT INTO A GOOD I MEAN, WE COULD TURN IT INTO A FOCUSED TYPE DISCUSSION, JUST LIKE THIS COULD RESTRICT THE NUMBER OF REGISTRANTS. NO, WE LEFT IT WIDE OPEN. YEAH, YEA. WELL, AND THAT WAS LESSON LEARNED. LIKE JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE DON'T COME. SO WE HAD A YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A PLAN THAT IF ALL OF A SUDDEN 400 PEOPLE REGISTER, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT TWO DAYS WE'LL DO IT DIFFERENTLY. WE'LL DO MORE JUST DATA WALK AND PRESENTATION AND LESS TIME FOR TABLE CONVERSATIONS. BUT I DON'T SEE THAT HAPPENING. SO I SEE A SITUATION MORE LIKE THIS BEING WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO. BOARD MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO COME. OH, ABSOLUTELY. ANYBODY. JUST TURN IT OVER TO THE BOARD FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OR FEEDBACK. WE WORE THEM OUT. DOCTOR POINTING. WELL, I MEAN, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT, GREAT START. I THINK IT WAS A HUGE EDUCATION. I ACTUALLY HAVE TO TAKE MY TEST AND SEE HOW CLOSE I GOT TO THE PRETEST. I THINK I GOT LIKE A B+. WE'LL SEE. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I GOT. I LOOKED AT A FEW OF THEM, BUT I THINK THIS, THIS FORMAT, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S SOME LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES OF MAKING IT PUBLIC AND THAT SORT OF THING, ACTUALLY WORKS BETTER. AND I THINK WE SHOULD ACTUALLY LOOK AT DOING SOME OTHER NON-BUDGET SUBJECTS LIKE THIS, MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW, HANDBOOK OR WHAT ELSE HAS KIND OF BEEN OUT THERE, BECAUSE WE COULD BE A LOT MORE PRODUCTIVE THIS WAY. I THINK MAYBE WE GET SOME MORE DONE. BUT LOOK, I MEAN, I THINK SO THE BOARD'S GOT TO MAKE A LOT OF DECISIONS, BUT YOU'VE GOT TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS. I THINK, BEFORE WE DO WITH CONSULTATION BOARD, THE BOARD HAS TO CONSIDER THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, DO WE WANT TO APPROVE THE SUPERINTENDENT'S BUDGET? DEPENDING ON WHAT HE COMES UP WITH OR DO WE WANT TO TAKE ANOTHER COURSE? HOW MUCH DO WE NEED TO KEEP IN FUND BALANCE? THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOU AND I, YOU TOUCHED ON THIS A LITTLE BIT WITH WITH SOME OF THE FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY. YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO FIGURE OUT, I THINK AS WELL IS WHAT DO YOU WHAT DO YOU PUT UP BECAUSE THERE'S, THERE'S PROS AND CONS TO BOTH SIDES. IF YOU PUT A $60 MILLION BUDGET UP, LIKE WE ALL KNOW, THAT'S NOT HAPPENING, OKAY. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE DO WHEN WE DO THAT IS WE CAN CAUSE PROBLEMS DOWN THE LINE BECAUSE I DON'T

[02:20:04]

AND SO THAT WAS THE HARDEST PART OF OUR PROCESS BECAUSE WE KNEW WE WOULDN'T HAVE 30 ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL VACANCIES. SO THAT WAS ONE WHERE WE ACTUALLY HAD TO REASSIGN PEOPLE. BUT WITH THE MAJORITY OF THE TEACHING POSITIONS, WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT WITH TURNOVER AND REASSIGN PEOPLE. BUT THAT REASSIGNING TAKES A LOT OF TIME BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE DEPARTURES DON'T ALL MATCH WHAT THE SCHOOL'S NEEDS ARE AFTER YOU SET THE FORMULAS OUT. SO, YOU KNOW, LET'S SAY WE WERE NOT TO BRING A $60 MILLION ASK. THE ONLY WAY I COULD DO THAT IS IF I'VE ALREADY CUT WHATEVER NUMBER. SO IF WE WERE TO BRING A $40 MILLION ASK, YOU KNOW, THEN I'LL NEED TO HAVE CUT $20 MILLION WORTH OF SOMETHING. BUT IF YOU KNOW, IT'S IF YOU IF YOU KNOW IT'S THAT'S GOING TO COME AND IT GIVES YOU SIX MONTHS TO PREPARE. IS THAT THE RIGHT THING TO DO? I THINK THAT'S A I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S THE TYPE OF CONVERSATION THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE WORKING ON, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE CAN WORK UP CONTINGENCY PLANS, WE CAN DO A COUPLE DIFFERENT A 20 OR 40, 60, JUST VERY ROUGHLY HOW IT WOULD LOOK. YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE BRINGING A $40 MILLION ASK, HOW DO WE THINK WE'D HAVE TO PREPARE FOR THAT? WHAT TYPES OF CUTS MIGHT WE HAVE TO DO BEFORE, YOU KNOW, COMMITTING TO AN ASK OF THAT SIZE? THAT'S THE TYPE OF THING I THINK WE COULD WORK ON WITH YOU GUYS, AND YOU COULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR COMMUNICATING WITH THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS ABOUT THE CONVERSATIONS WE'RE HAVING AROUND THAT TYPE OF THING. SO THAT'S WHERE I COULD SEE THE COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, THE BUDGET COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE HAVING A MORE ACTIVE ROLE AND JUST HELPING US THINK THROUGH THOSE CONTINGENCIES. WE HAVE TO. YEAH, I AGREE, AND WE HAVE A LOT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH THIS YEAR, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, SAFETY OR CURRICULUM OR, OR BUDGET. AND SO NOT EVERY BOARD WE HAVE LIMITED TIME. RIGHT. AND SO NOT EVERY BOARD MEMBER CAN BE IN EVERY MEETING. SO I'M HOPING THAT THE BOTH OF YOU CAN REALLY BE THE LIAISON BETWEEN THE BOARD AND THE ADMINISTRATION TO ATTEND THE MEETINGS, TO BE THE VOICE OF THE BOARD, BRING BACK INFORMATION FROM THE ADMINISTRATION, SHARE IT WITH THE BOARD, THAT SORT OF THING. WELL, IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE, I JUST WANT TO CONCLUDE WITH, I'M GOING TO I LIKE TO KEEP THINGS VERY SIMPLE. I THINK LAST YEAR I TOOK THE WHOLE BUDGET AND BULLET AND, YOU KNOW, JUST PUT IT DOWN TO THREE BULLET POINTS. SO HERE'S HOW I'M GOING TO THINK OF THINGS THIS YEAR ON MY CARD THAT YOU'RE GETTING. I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT BIGGER VERSION OF IT HERE. BUT THIS IS HOW THIS IS ALL GOING TO GIVE YOU. THIS IS THE GUIDANCE THAT I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU FROM

[02:25:03]

THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE UNPOPULAR THAT WE HAVE A LEGAL REQUIREMENT TO DO. I WOULD CALL I WOULD PUT THAT UNDER CORE, BUT YES, IF IT WERE REQUIRED TO DO WHAT THE LAW REQUIRES IT BECAUSE, YEAH, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE TROUBLE IS THE LAW IS STILL INTERPRETED DAILY, PARTICULARLY BY THE AIB. AND SO THERE ARE DEFINITELY SOME CONTROVERSIAL THINGS THAT. SO THAT IS CLEARLY NOT NOT AN OPTION. I WOULD I WOULD PUT THAT UNDER CORE. IT'S PART OF OUR IT'S PART OF OUR CORE OKAY. THAT'S THAT'S HELPFUL GUIDANCE. AND THEN THE OTHER IS THE BOARD PRIORITY. WHAT THE BOARD DETERMINED IS OUR PRIORITIES. RIGHT. SO I WOULD JUST VIEW THINGS THAT MAY BE ANOTHER EXERCISE. BECAUSE WHEN WE START COMING UP WITH THINGS WE THINK, SURE, OUR PRIORITIES ARE NOT I MEAN, THAT'S GOING TO BE A HARD CONVERSATION. AND I THINK A FORUM LIKE THIS IS REALLY THE BEST WAY WE CAN DO THAT. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. SO THERE'S NOTHING ELSE. I GUESS WE'LL

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.