FY15 Preliminary Budget Recommendation: Budget Hearing

1
FY15 Preliminary Budget RecommendationBudget
Hearing
Finance Update
Edison K-8 School March 18, 2014
2
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
Summary

• Thanks to the City of Boston, our general fund
  target appropriation for FY15 rose 35.9 million
  to 973.3 million, a 3.8 increase compared to
  FY14
• This comes at a time when other City departments
  are being asked to submit lower budgets than in
  FY14
• However, we continue to face a challenging budget
  situation in FY15 due to rising costs and a drop
  in federal and state funding, resulting in a 71
  million budget challenge
• We have increased by 5 million the resources
  allocated to schools through Weighted Student
  Funding (WSF)
• This budget also enables us to continue our work
  of
• Eliminating the achievement gap
• Implementing the Common Core Standards
• Moving to fully inclusive programs

3
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
Agenda

• What this budget accomplishes
• Where the funds come from and where they go
• Central office budgets
• Next steps and learning more

4
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
We are expanding K1 seats across the city

• We are investing 1.0 million to add 106 new K1
  seats at programs across the city
• As we expand our K1 programming, we are focused
  on maintaining the high quality that has made
  these programs a national model
• We use 3 key criteria to guide K1 expansion
• Programs are sustainable
• Classes are spread across the city
• Additional classes offer a positive increase in
  seats (not a repurposing of existing classrooms)

5
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
extending hiring autonomy to all schools to hire
qualified, diverse candidates early

• 400,000 to support Teacher Diversity Action Plan
• 6.1 million to make our early hiring initiative
  a success

• 1.2 million budgeted centrally to help schools
  offer stipends for close to 1,000 open posted
  positions
• 4.9 million to support professional development
  and transition support for excessed educators
• We are also seeking external funding to support
  this initiative

6
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
introducing a new school choice process

• We are moving forward deliberately to implement
  the new process of student assignment, including
  the recommendations from the External Advisory
  Committee
• More K-8 pathways (Blackstone, Hennigan, Trotter,
  UP Dorchester)
• More inclusive and dual language program options
• Overlays for English Language Learners (ELLs) and
  Special Education to provide services closer to
  home
• The associated costs of these changes are built
  into the school funding process through
  enrollment projections and start-up costs for new
  classrooms
• We are also working toward improving our school
  facilities
• General fund costs for the facilities changes
  approved in November and December 2013 add up to
  approximately 1.6 million in FY15

7
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
preparing to implement the Common Core standards
and PARCC assessments

• 1 million in equipment and another 1 million in
  upgrades to technology infrastructure in
  preparation for the online PARCC assessments

renewing our investments in technology to
support teachers, families, and students

• 1.2 million to support Laptops for Learning
• 675,000 for continued use of the Student
  Information System

investing in upgrades to our facilities

• an increase of 1 million to meet deferred
  maintenance needs

PARCC Partnership for Assessment of Readiness
for College and Careers
8
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
supporting Extended Learning Time (ELT) in
schools across the district

• 2.75 million for ELT at current and former
  turnaround schools and 2.5 million for ELT at
  other BPS schools
• 1.4 million for Acceleration Academies during
  school vacations

and making additional investments in services
for some of our highest-need students.

• 3.2 million for students with Emotional
  Impairment
• 5 million for English Language Learners in
  grades 6-12
• 1.5 million for inclusion specialists in 26
  schools

9
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
Agenda

• What this budget accomplishes
• Where the funds come from and where they go
• Central office budgets
• Next steps and learning more

10
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Where do our funds come from?

Boston Public Schools FY2015 All Funds Budget
11
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
Sources of school funding

• Weighted Student Funding 452M
• Special programs (non-WSF) 28M
• Title I funding 14M
• Standard allocations built into school budgets
  22M
• (nurses, special education coordinators,
  and food services staff)
• Rules-based soft landings 6M
• Buybacks for Autonomous Schools 2M
• Additional adjustments1 4M
• Total 528M
  

1Additional adjustments include EEC/ELC
supplements and other non-rules-based allocations
Notes These figures do not include the school
services that are budgeted centrally. All
figures are current as of January 31st and
may change as the budgeting process continues.
12
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
Agenda

• What this budget accomplishes
• Where the funds come from and where they go
• Central office budgets
• Next steps and learning more

13
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
FTEs (All Funds) FTEs (All Funds) FTEs (All Funds)
Department Name FY14 FY15 Var.
Operations 853.5 842.5 (11.0)
Unified Student Support Services 732.6 706.7 (25.9)
Academics 154.4 137.1 (17.3)
Finance 130.2 127.2 (3.0)
Human Capital 94.4 74.0 (20.4)
Engagement 67.5 58.5 (9.0)
Office of Instructional and Information Tech 67.5 61.5 (6.0)
English Language Learners 41.0 36.0 (5.0)
Office of Data and Accountability 16.0 14.0 (2.0)
Superintendent 11.0 9.0 (2.0)
BPS Adult Education 10.0 1.0 (9.0)
Equity 8.5 7.5 (1.0)
Communications 7.0 6.0 (1.0)
The Boston School Committee 2.8 2.8 0.0
Legal Advisor 2.0 2.0 0.0
Institutional Advancement 2.0 2.0 0.0
Total 2,200.4 2,087.8 (112.6)
14
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
Historically, central office budgets
represent approximately 6 of the BPS budget

• Numbers for FY15 are being finalized
• The percentages are expected to be in agreement
  with historical data

15
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
There are a number of important services to
students and schools in the category of School
Services Budgeted Centrally

• Examples Include
• Therapeutic Services (Occupational,
  District Reserve for Substitute Teachers
• Physical, Speech, etc.) Photocopy
  machines related costs
• Special Education Private Placements Tuition
  reimbursement BTU Guild
• One-to-One Paraprofessionals Athletic
  Coaches
• School Custodians ABA Services
• Maintenance Repairs of School Police
• School Buildings Bus Monitors
• Heat, Light Power for School Buildings
• Testing Supplies and MCAS mailings
• School Library Media and A/V Equipment
• System-wide Instructional Materials Adoption

16
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
Proposed changes in transportation

• Provide MBTA passes instead of yellow buses for
  7th and 8th graders with corner-to-corner service
• Currently, 1,862 students in 7th and 8th grade
  receive MBTA passes, and our proposal would
  expand this program to an additional 4,586
  students for SY14-15
• We also propose to offer MBTA passes for 6th
  graders on a pilot basis
• Reduce MBTA shuttle service to BPS high schools
  within 1 mile of a major MBTA hub
• Continue process of aligning bell times and
  combine bus services for some co-located schools
• Develop a more transparent and rules-based
  structure on transportation by asking schools to
  budget and pay for a la carte services
• Late buses
• Early release transportation that is not weekly
• Service on non-BPS-calendar days
• Field trips and athletics events not already
  budgeted by Athletics department

17
Key Messages - Academics
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Academics
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

• Academic
• Improvement in achievement outcomes must be seen
  immediately
• 76 of BPS students are Black and Latino, so we
  must keep a laser focus on the achievement gap to
  improve district and school outcomes
• Implementing Common Core and PARCC without
  addressing the achievement gap will expand the
  gaps
• Increasing full inclusion without addressing the
  gaps and strengthening core instruction will
  expand the gaps
• Organizational
• Successfully implementing three simultaneous
  transformational changes requires deep and
  permanent systems changes throughout the
  organization
• In addition to systems change, we will require
  shifts in knowledge, culture and technology in
  the organization

18
Establishing a sense of urgency Disrupting the
pipeline
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Academics
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

• Currently, we have
• 2 Level 5 schools
• 5 Level 4 schools
• 2 Level 4 schools with a state approved operator
• 37 Level 3 schools that have been level 3 for two
  years, have scores below the 10th percentile, or
  are designated High Support schools
• Of these
• 5 are pilot schools
• 1 is an Innovation School
• This challenges our
• Capacity to transform the schools at risk of
  becoming Level 4 or 5
• Financial ability to support internal efforts to
  transform schools and external operators
  providing services or taking over schools
• Morale in schools and in the district

19
Academics creating a more nimble, data-driven
project-based organization
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Academics
Instructional Compliance Accountability Develop
s, monitors and revises districts academic
strategy to sustain, improve and transform
schools, strengthen teaching and learning to
improve student outcomes. Ensure that the
districts academic strategy is data driven and
in compliance with federal and state law.
Instructional RD Develops analytical capacity
based on national and local research to inform
decisions about curriculum, instruction,
programming, strategies, interventions and
professional development. Integrates bodies of
content knowledge with ELL and special education
expertise at the district that results in a
unified, coherent academic strategy. Academic
Transformation Turnaround Develops and
implements intervention and acceleration
strategies to improve and transform schools.
Academic Intervention teams provide targeted
supports and interventions through expertise in
content, grade level, ELLs and students with
disabilities. Network Structure Supervises and
support groups of 15-17 K-8 schools located in
neighborhoods and communities with unique
possibilities and needs. Supervises and support
high schools providing students with a range of
educational alternatives and interventions in and
outside school.
20
Unifying Engagement offices and services
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance

• Welcome Service, Community Engagement, Family and
  Student Engagement
• Reorganization allows for
• Support to schools through the Network
  Superintendent structure
• A focus on equity
• A focus on support for all Title I schools
• Family and Community Outreach Coordinators
  initiative
• 10 year initiative
• Currently reaches only 20 schools
• Will now reach all schools

21
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
Adult Education

• We currently serve 825 students in our adult
  education programs
• 262 adults in daytime Family Literacy Program
  (87 BPS parents)
• 498 adults in evening academic programs adult
  basic education, ESOL (26 BPS parents)
• 65 students receive skills training and academic
  support in partnership with community-based
  agencies
• BPS proposes to transition Adult Education to be
  solely grant funded
• Grant funds will support family literacy and ESOL
  programming
• We will continue to strengthen family engagement
  through the Office of Engagement, including
  additional ESOL classes and Parent University
• We will also work with other City departments to
  coordinate Adult Ed services for Boston residents

22
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
Alternative Education

• The FY15 budget continues our ongoing investments
  in Alternative Education
• The Re-Engagement Center will retain the same
  level of staffing as in FY14
• We will maintain our partnerships with
  Alternative Education providers
• We are identifying ways to strengthen and
  streamline how we deliver services through the
  Educational Options department

23
Integrating Human Capital functions
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance

• BPS is transforming how we provide human capital
  support and services for schools
• We are merging the Office of Educator
  Effectiveness and Office of Human Resources into
  a single Office of Human Capital
• Allows us to combine all human capital functions
  from pipelines to career ladders in one office
• This includes recruitment, induction,
  professional learning, evaluation, and growth and
  development
• We are working to rethink the roles in this
  office for maximum efficiency and effectiveness,
  especially through a focus on project-based teams
  rooted in the Teacher Diversity Action Plan

24
Developing a new vision for Unified Student
Services
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

• We are unifying student support services to
  improve academic outcomes, provide a coordinated
  and comprehensive approach to student services,
  and support and enhance students physical and
  emotional well-being
• This will
• Improve student achievement and increase student
  outcomes by providing comprehensive and
  coordinated services
• Facilitate improved policy development,
  partnerships, and operating procedures to support
  student gains
• Strengthen school-based teams to improve
  efficiencies in operations and service delivery
• Realign and integrate central office support to
  create cross-functional teams that focus on
  prevention and early intervention versus
  intensive interventions
• Improve data collection, sharing and analysis

25
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
Agenda

• What this budget accomplishes
• Where the funds come from and where they go
• Central office budgets
• Next steps and learning more

26
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
We look forward to discussing the budget with you
in a variety of forums

• Feb 5 Superintendents recommended budget to
  School Committee
• Feb 26 Recommended budget update
• Mar 4 Budget hearing (Hyde Park Education
  Complex,
• 6 pm)
• Mar 12 Budget hearing (26 Court Street, 5 pm)
  and School Committee meeting (6 pm)
• Mar 18 Budget hearing (Edison K-8 School, 6 pm)
• Mar 26 School Committee votes on BPS budget

27
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Finance
For more information
Website bostonpublicschools.org/budget Email bud
get_at_bostonpublicschools.org Twitter bpsbudget

• A number of documents are available on our
  website
• Budget Presentation
• FY15 Budget Memo
• FY15 Allocations
• FY15 WSF School-by-School comparison
• WSF Templates for all schools
• Preliminary budget by Account Code summary
• Preliminary budget by Program Code summary
• Preliminary budget by Department Code summary