For a complete copy of the Recommendations for Budget Reductions report from the Jan. 30, 2013, Board of Education meeting, which includes a description of the approved reductions and information about the financial impact, program impact and implementation timeline for each reduction, click here.
Background Information
The School District of Clayton formed a Long-Term Financial Planning (LTFP) Committee during the 2012-2013 school year to continue its comprehensive review of District expenditures and make recommendations for permanent budget reductions to the Board of Education in January 2013. The District has been studying its expenditures in some form since 2010. As a result of this ongoing work, the Board of Education approved more than $935,000 in permanent budget reductions during the 2011-2012 school year, which were effective with the 2012-2013 school year’s budget. These reductions included:
- two full-time central office administrators;
- one part-time central office position;
- 2.2 full-time certified staff;
- reductions in extra days in teacher contracts and
- cuts to the summer programs, building and Central Office operating budgets.
The District's work with LTFP continued during the 2012-2013 school year based on its need to make permanent changes in both operating expenses and operating revenues. The District was in its fourth year of deficit spending due to increasing expenditures and stagnant revenues. To avoid further erosion of its fund balance and eliminate the need for short-term borrowing, the District’s administration and Board of Education committed themselves to making permanent changes to staffing and programming.
Over the course of the fall 2012 semester, the LTFP committee, comprised of District community members, staff, administrators and Board of Education members, met regularly to examine the staffing and programs across the District. The Board of Education also dedicated considerable time during their meetings to study how the District uses its resources. Over those four months, the District reviewed:
- Revenues and Expenditures
- Fund Balance and Tax Levy Scenarios
- Elementary, Middle and High School Programming and Staffing
- Family Center Programming and Staffing
- Part-Time Temporary Employment
- Field Trips
- Technology Programs and Expenditures
- Maintenance/Operations Expenditures and Various Green Initiatives