2017-2018 Final Budget Public Hearing Presentation
Spring Lake School DistrictH.W. Mountz School
Dr. Raymond J. BoccutiSuperintendent, Principal, Chief School Administrator
Nick PuleioInterim Business Administrator, Board Secretary
May 4, 2017
Budget Philosophy
● The H.W. Mountz School of the Spring Lake School District is a 2015 National Blue Ribbon Award, Pre-K to 8 educational institution committed to excellence in teaching, learning, and improving student achievement.
● The budget of the school district strongly maintains, and continually improves, the integrity of the instructional program keeping the school district on the cutting edge of preparing our students for the future.
Budget Philosophy● School district is grounded in maintaining fiscal viability
for the future through:● Recognize reality: Costs of expenditures exceed
state-capped increases in revenue● Pursue an ongoing line by line analysis to reduce the gap
each year to achieve a balanced budget● Maintain fiscally responsible reserves for self-sufficiency,
improvements, and unexpected emergencies● Utilize those reserves in conservative, limited, and
responsible measures as carefully guided by the state and auditor
● Maximize revenue, decrease expenditures● Maintain an innovative and progressive instructional
program beyond Blue Ribbon achievement to further excel through Strategic Planning
Budget Timeline (Updated)
Budget Process● Starts with the Administrative
Team:● Historical analysis of three
fiscal years:● 2014-2015 Audited● 2015-2016 Audited● 2016-2017 Budgeted● 2016-2017 Actual● 2017-2018 Projected
● Conservative revenue projections (e.g. non-resident tuition, shared services, etc.)
● Actual expenditure projections with conservative contingencies guided by the state and auditor
Budget - Google Docs
● Collaboration through Google Docs
● One master budget document
● Instantaneous sharing
● Real time updating
● Revision history● Three years of history
● Numerous stakeholders● Accountable individuals with authority
● Corporate knowledge built forward● 880+ accounts
Google Sheets Example
Budget Process (continued)● Zero-based, Administrative Team
review of every line in the proposed budget
● Review of ongoing progress with the Board of Education’s ad hoc Finance Committee:● Vincent Daino – Board President● Alan Ferraro – Board member● Dr. Boccuti – Superintendent● Nick Mackres, Nick Puleio –
Business Administrator/Board Secretary
● Administrative support:● Kerri Walsifer – Assistant
Principal/Director of Student Services
● Christopher Soto – IT Coordinator
Maximizing Revenue● Pursuing grant funding (e.g. IDEA, Title I, Title II,
etc.)
● Spring Lake School District PTA
● Spring Lake School District Educational Foundation (SLED)
● While maintaining best practices in class size, marketing non-resident student tuition
● Child Study Team providing shared services to other sending school districts
● Maintain healthy reserves utilized in a limited, responsible manner as guided and reviewed by the state and auditor
Reducing Expenditures
● Zero-based, Administrative Team review of every line in the budget.
● Optimizing staff size to strongly support the finest possible PreK-8 curricula (e.g. enrollment and program impact)
● The vast majority of the budget is in fixed costs:● Salaries● Benefits● Special education● Tuition● Debt service
● We continue to learn to do more with less!
SPRING LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT
SPRING LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Reserves - Withdrawals
● Fund Balance – Legal Reserve - $511,184
● Tuition Reserve - $80,255
● Maintenance - $75,000
● Capital Reserve - $100,000
2017-2018 Budget Highlights● Commitment to providing professional development
opportunities to continually improve teaching, learning, and student achievement
● Instructional resources that support curriculum and College and Career Readiness
● Nationally recognized PreK-8 educational program with high performance in mandated assessments
● Cutting edge technology that is continually maintained and expanded
● Tax decrease of (0.25%) in 2017-2018 vs. a tax increase of 1.9% in 2016-2017 and a tax increase of 2.9% in 2015-2016
2017-2018 Budget Highlights
● No banked cap withdrawal
● Increase art teacher from 0.6 FTE to 1.0 FTE:
● Continue to right-size the staff● Social Worker from 0.2 FTE to 0.8 FTE● Psychologist from 1.0 FTE to 0.6 FTE● Speech Pathologist from 1.0 to 0.8 FTE
● Increase in buildings and grounds maintenance (e.g. beautification, etc.)
● $10k Reduction in gas and electric for NJ Direct Install
Next Steps
● Continual Administrative Team daily review for additional expenditure reductions
● Continual Finance Committee review of ongoing progress
● Tentative budget adoption – March 20, 2017
● Final budget public hearing and adoption – May 4, 2017 BOE public meeting
Thank you! Questions?
