FY07 Budget Questions and Answers
January 24, 2006
1. You list 1.9 employees under Program Administration? Is that .9 person part-time? If not, where is the other .1 counted?
A: The 1.9 employees represents:
1.0 FTE - Superintendent
0.4 FTE - Asst. Superintendent (remaining .6 appears in Regular Day – Professional Development)
0.5 FTE - Manager of Support Services (remaining is split .15 in maintenance and .35 in transportation)
2. You list one less principal next year for the $34 million budget? If you don't receive the $34m allocation from the Town Manager, will the school department eliminate more than one principal position (for a total of two principals eliminated)?
A: The reduction of one principal is a result of closing the Bradstreet ECC. In this budget, every building would have a full-time principal.
3. Why has the budget for professional development almost tripled since 2004 while the FTE has stayed virtually the same?
A: The line item includes increases in graduate course reimbursement (contracted), financial support for consultants in math K-5 and 6-8, and science K-5, additional expenses in committee stipends (contractual), increased numbers of professional affiliations (e.g. NSTA - National Science Teachers’ Association, NCTM -National Council of Teachers of Mathematics), and new initiatives (e.g., standardized testing, grades 2-12).
4. On page 52 of the budget, there is $2,000 allocated with no line item description.
A: Description was omitted by error. Corrected in final Superintendent’s recommended budget – line item is for high school accreditation.
5. On form C, page 52, there are large increases in the amounts spent for technology equipment and conferences and meetings. What is that money spent on?
Technology Equipment
|
FY06 |
|
FY07 |
|
Budgeted |
$3,000 |
Recommended |
$18,000 |
|
This increase reflects the purchase of three (3) Smart Boards for the Middle School.
Conferences
|
FY06 |
|
FY07 |
|
Budgeted |
$39,156 |
Recommended |
$39,006 |
|
This line item reflects a small reduction.
6. Form C, page 52, the line items for music increased from less than $5k in 2005 to over $24k in 2006 and 2007. Why?
Music
A. This item points to a reporting error. The $4,998 shown in FY05 included only the line total for supplies. The total expenditures for music should have included:
$4,998 – supplies
2,100 – maintenance of equipment
9,000 – textbooks
$14,370 – instructional equipment
$27,183 Total
This line shows the correct total starting in FY06 of $27,453. This total correctly reflects the four lines contributing to the overall sum.
7. Why is $2000 allocated for art textbooks when there have been no art textbooks purchased in FY2004 and FY2005.
A: This is a reporting error, similar to Question No. 6.
8. Why is the budget for Foreign Language textbooks (p.53) cut to $15k when the schools spent $52k in the last fiscal year (FY05)? Are you planning to cut foreign language classes or have you already purchased the bulk of the books needed?
A major purchase of foreign language textbooks was made in FY05 ($51,000). New textbook purchases FY06 and FY07 reflect replacement costs of lost texts and new purchases for additional students.
9. Same question for Science textbooks.
A: A major purchase of science textbooks was made in FY05 ($30,000). New textbook purchases FY06 and FY07 reflect replacement costs of lost texts and new purchases for additional students.
10. You list $1.1 million for tech equipment in FY05 (p54). Did we receive a grant for that? Why wasn't that a capital expense - and not an operating budget item?
A: Clerical error.The budget figure should reflect the total $196,115 NOT $1,196,115. Corrected in Superintendent’s recommended budget.
11. Form G, p.56: why are we increasing the language arts curriculum spending from $4,515 to $54,700?
A: The FY07 budgeted total reflects anticipated costs supporting a new comprehensive pilot curriculum initiative (similar to math in FY05 and Science FY06). English/LA is the next curriculum area in our scheduled sequence for review and rewrite. These costs reflect the needs of a pilot year of study that includes consultant fees and committee stipends (contractual), as well as professional text support material and professional affiliation (NCTE - National Council of Teachers of English).
12. Form G, p.56: what does the $147,578 for professional development include? Does it include professional development for teachers and/or administration? What are examples of professional development covered by this line item? How does this amount compare with professional development spent in the previous four years?
A: Professional Development
|
FY04 |
FY05 |
FY06 |
FY07 |
Budgeted |
$218,000 |
$37,000 |
$28,000 |
$147,678 |
Actual |
$55,000 |
$89,000 |
$46,000 |
Recommended |
Please see question #3.
13. Form A, p. 57: Why is the budgeted amount for administration ($43k) almost 3 X the last known actual expense ($15,620 for FY05)?
A: Please refer to Page 59. The difference is due almost entirely to the amount budgeted for special education legal expenses. The Actual FY05 was considerably less than anticipated due to fewer cases requiring legal assistance. (Note: we have already exceeded the actual FY05 expenditures so far in FY06).
14. What does the school spend for athletic transportation? Where is that counted in the budget? Is it in the transportation budget?
A: The accrued cost of athletic transportation for FY05 was $82,800. These costs are borne in the athletics’ revolving account which is generated by student user fees. The revolving account appears on page 82.
15. What conferences does the custodial department attend?
A: The custodial conference account funds supervisory training seminars, safety training for all custodial/maintenance staff, certification programs in energy management and specialized training for HVAC system maintenance.
16. Where are the actual and estimated revenues for lunch program, community programs, pre-school, kindergarten (ie, green page revenue)?
Actual Revenue |
Projected Revenue |
Projected Revenue |
|
Lunch Program |
$1,655,949 |
$2,047,355 |
$2,252,091 |
Community Schools |
$1,057,564 |
$1,057,564 |
$1,057,564 |
Preschool/Kindergarten |
$711,444 |
$710,544 |
$710,544 |
17. Would the schools consider raising the prices for school lunch to increase revenue and offset costs?
A: The following appears on page 7 of the budget:
It would be my intent that the North Andover School Committee look at possible fee increases in the following areas:
- Preschool Tuition
- Athletic User Fee
- Kindergarten Tuition
- Student Activity Fee
- School Lunch Fee
- Transportation Fee
18. Where is the accounting of the $175k that was donated to the Kittredge school?
A: Page 82 - Donations
Page Last Modified Sun 08-17-2008 00:03