2019-2020 Budget Year
2019-20 Revised Proposed Budget
2019-20 Proposed Budget
For an accessible format of this document, please contact the district at 503.356.4540.
- Annual Budget Process
- 2019-2020 Budget Year Committee Calendar & Materials
- Superintendent's Revised Budget Proposal - Updated May 31, 2019
- Superintendent's Revised Budget Proposal - Posted May 21, 2019
- Frequently Asked Questions - Updated May 22, 2019
- Superintendent's Message - May 10, 2019
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) related to Superintendent's Message
Annual Budget Process
Each year the school board must adopt a financial plan for the upcoming school year. This is called the Adopted Budget. This plan guides staff in how funds are to be spent for the upcoming year.
The District forms an Internal Budget Team comprised of people from all areas of the District. Principals from all levels (high, middle, and elementary) and bargaining unit representatives are part of this team. They make budget recommendations to Cabinet and the Superintendent. Based on recommendations from the Internal Budget Team, Cabinet, and the Superintendent, the budget team produces a proposed budget.
The superintendent presents the proposed budget to the board in early spring and then receives feedback from staff, parents, and community members. The proposed budget may be modified to reflect feedback and then after reviewing any changes made the school board will approve the proposed budget making it the adopted budget.
Changes to an adopted budget may happen. Those changes are made through a resolution transfer or a supplemental budget and must be approved by the school board..
2019-2020 Budget Year Committee Calendar & Materials
Superintendent's Revised Budget Proposal - Updated May 31, 2019
May 31, 2019
RE: Superintendent's Revised Budget Proposal for Wed., May 22, 2019 Budget Meeting (Updated from May 21, 2019)
Dear BSD Budget Committee,
Let me begin by thanking you for your service to the Beaverton School District and the students in our community. Since the Committee last met, there have been significant developments in the budget process. I would refer you to previous communications regarding our collective bargaining agreement with the Beaverton Education Association (BEA). I also want to publicly thank our community for the outpouring of comments at the prior Budget Committee meeting and online submissions. The passion and advocacy our community has shown is tremendous.
Today, I am making several revisions to my proposed budget for 2019-20. In making these revisions, I have asked Beaverton staff to sharpen their pencils and focus on direct service to kids in the classroom. As I stated in previous communications, my first priority will be to minimize class size increases to the greatest extent possible. Additionally, with the passage of HB 3427, the Student Success Act, we have a responsibility to prepare the District to take advantage of the first major reinvestment in public education in more than three decades. We will either bridge the gap to a $2 billion investment in kids, or we will be creating a glide path to an undesirable lower basis should the measure be referred to the ballot and rejected by the voters.
To that end, I have chosen to focus on the positive and focus our efforts on supporting students. Below I am outlining five major areas of revision to the general fund budget. They are as follows: Budget Corrections; Expiration of the BEA/BSD MOU; Additional Central Office Reductions; Class Size; and Use of Reserves.
1. Budget Corrections: Interim CFO Jim Scherzinger and our budget office team have worked to review and rebuild the District's proposed budget for 2019-20. As a result of firmer projections, revised costing, and other model corrections the following adjustments are being made:
- Reduction of Resources: -$2.8 million
- Increased Expenditures: +$6.1 million
2. Expiration of BEA/BSD MOU: As a result of the July 1 expiration of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between BEA and the District, I have requested that the proposed budget be adjusted to reflect a status quo school year of 175 student contact days, without early release, and 193 teacher contracted days. This results in a reduction of 5 teacher days and 9 classified days of employment for employees on 212-day calendars or fewer.
- Reduced Expenditures: -$9.6 million
3. Additional Central Office Reductions: I have directed District central departments to review their current proposed budgets and provide me with additional reductions in central services and programs. Additional reductions are proposed for Facilities, Community Involvement, IT, Human Resources, and Teaching & Learning.
- Total Reduced Expenditures: -$4.6 million
4. Class Size: Lastly, as a method of prioritizing the classroom experience for students and teachers, I am proposing to maintain teacher staffing ratios at the current (2018-19) levels.
- Increased Expenditures: +$15.0 million
5. Use of Reserves: When combined, the four budget revisions above produce a general fund deficit and as such I am proposing that the District use a portion of reserves to balance the budget and avoid even greater disruption to services to kids for 2019-20.
- Transfer from Rainy Day Fund: +$10.7 million (updated from $9.7 million on May 21, 2019)
This proposed revision maintains the approximately $20 million in programmatic reductions that were a part of the original budget proposal. It also includes the elimination of the 1.5 FTE staffing for PYP/MYP schools. The Beaverton School District has invested in the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Program over the past decade at a level that went above and beyond what is required by IB. Our Teaching & Learning Dept. will provide guidance to PYP schools on how they can continue to meet IB requirements and maintain their certification.
I look forward to presenting this proposed budget revision to the Committee in greater detail on Wednesday evening. Should you have any questions prior to the budget committee meeting, please send them to the budget office so that we can prepare in advance.
Thank you for your support.
Don Grotting
Superintendent
Superintendent's Revised Budget Proposal - Posted May 21, 2019
May 21, 2019
RE: Superintendent's Revised Budget Proposal for Wed., May 22, 2019 Budget Meeting
Dear BSD Budget Committee,
Let me begin by thanking you for your service to the Beaverton School District and the students in our community. Since the Committee last met, there have been significant developments in the budget process. I would refer you to previous communications regarding our collective bargaining agreement with the Beaverton Education Association (BEA). I also want to publicly thank our community for the outpouring of comments at the prior Budget Committee meeting and online submissions. The passion and advocacy our community has shown is tremendous.
Today, I am making several revisions to my proposed budget for 2019-20. In making these revisions, I have asked Beaverton staff to sharpen their pencils and focus on direct service to kids in the classroom. As I stated in previous communications, my first priority will be to minimize class size increases to the greatest extent possible. Additionally, with the passage of HB 3427, the Student Success Act, we have a responsibility to prepare the District to take advantage of the first major reinvestment in public education in more than three decades. We will either bridge the gap to a $2 billion investment in kids, or we will be creating a glide path to an undesirable lower basis should the measure be referred to the ballot and rejected by the voters.
To that end, I have chosen to focus on the positive and focus our efforts on supporting students. Below I am outlining five major areas of revision to the general fund budget. They are as follows: Budget Corrections; Expiration of the BEA/BSD MOU; Additional Central Office Reductions; Class Size; and Use of Reserves.
1. Budget Corrections: Interim CFO Jim Scherzinger and our budget office team have worked to review and rebuild the District's proposed budget for 2019-20. As a result of firmer projections, revised costing, and other model corrections the following adjustments are being made:
- Reduction of Resources: -$2.8 million
- Increased Expenditures: +$6.1 million
2. Expiration of BEA/BSD MOU: As a result of the July 1 expiration of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between BEA and the District, I have requested that the proposed budget be adjusted to reflect a status quo school year of 175 student contact days, without early release, and 193 teacher contracted days. This results in a reduction of 5 teacher days and 9 classified days of employment for employees on 212-day calendars or fewer.
- Reduced Expenditures: -$9.6 million
3. Additional Central Office Reductions: I have directed District central departments to review their current proposed budgets and provide me with additional reductions in central services and programs. Additional reductions are proposed for Facilities, Community Involvement, IT, Human Resources, and Teaching & Learning.
- Total Reduced Expenditures: -$4.6 million
4. Class Size: Lastly, as a method of prioritizing the classroom experience for students and teachers, I am proposing to maintain teacher staffing ratios at the current (2018-19) levels.
- Increased Expenditures: +$15.0 million
5. Use of Reserves: When combined, the four budget revisions above produce a general fund deficit and as such I am proposing that the District use a portion of reserves to balance the budget and avoid even greater disruption to services to kids for 2019-20.
- Transfer from Rainy Day Fund: +$9.7 million
This proposed revision maintains the approximately $20 million in programmatic reductions that were a part of the original budget proposal. It also includes the elimination of the 1.5 FTE staffing for PYP/MYP schools. The Beaverton School District has invested in the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Program over the past decade at a level that went above and beyond what is required by IB. Our Teaching & Learning Dept. will provide guidance to PYP schools on how they can continue to meet IB requirements and maintain their certification.
I look forward to presenting this proposed budget revision to the Committee in greater detail on Wednesday evening. Should you have any questions prior to the budget committee meeting, please send them to the budget office so that we can prepare in advance.
Thank you for your support.
Don Grotting
Superintendent
Frequently Asked Questions - Updated May 22, 2019
Public Questions (Submitted via District website from April 29, 2019 to May 12, 2019
Superintendent's Message - May 10, 2019
Friday, May 10, 2019
I want to thank the Beaverton community, including our staff, for their careful attention to our budget process and projected shortfall for the 2019-20 school year. I am encouraged by recent news from our legislators that additional funding may be available in future school years to provide the education that we know every Beaverton student needs.
- As we have gone through our budget and bargaining processes this spring, we have worked closely with our Beaverton Education Association leadership. They brought us information about obligations in the 2018-2019 contract. At their suggestion, we also have changed the May 13 Budget Committee Meeting to May 22 to provide the District more time to review and revise the Proposed Budget. As we complete our 2019-2020 budget process, we will make a few adjustments:
- The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for collaboration time expires on June 30, 2019. Pending negotiations, the District’s intent is to return to the original licensed contract language of 175 student days and 193 licensed employee days for the 2019-2020 school year and eliminate early release Wednesdays. The school year would be five days shorter.
- Teachers and administrators will receive a one-time salary adjustment equal to .5% of their annual pay as part of their June 20 paycheck for the 2018-2019 school year. This cost of living increase (COLA) was required as part of the 2016-2019 licensed and administrator contract based on trigger language agreed to in 2016. The classified contract has different provisions and classified staff are not impacted by this adjustment.
- District staff, including newly appointed Interim CFO Jim Scherzinger, will review and revise the proposed 2019-2020 budget. Revisions to the budget will be presented and discussed at future budget meetings scheduled for May 22 and June 17. The School Board will meet on June 24 to adopt the budget.
- District staff will release an updated school calendar for the 2019-2020 school year that includes 175 student contact days and the elimination of early release/collaboration Wednesdays.
As we revise the proposed 2019-2020 budget, I will be focused on staff and students and my highest priority will be minimizing class size increases.
Thank you for all you do for the students of the Beaverton School District.
Don Grotting
Superintendent
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) related to Superintendent's Message
1) When did the District become aware of the contract discrepancies and need to provide the salary adjustment?
A: Wed., May 1, 2019. Through the bargaining process, the District was made aware of the discrepancies. The District and BEA have been working since then to verify the data and plan next steps.
2) Please describe the newly-identified contractual issues.
A: When the 2016 licensed contract was bargained, it contained trigger language related to cost of living adjustments and the addition of three instructional days to allow for the continuation of collaboration time (early release). The recent licensed bargaining process has revealed these triggers were evaluated incorrectly last year.
Contract language: Pg. 41- B. Basic Salaries, paragraph 2
For 2018-2019 the salary is set forth in Appendix A2. In the event the annual increase in the District’s PERS obligation for the 2017-2019 biennium is less than 6.69% percent over the 2016-2017 PERS obligation of 17.05%, the 3% COLA increase for the 2018-2019 school year shall increase by an additional .25 percent for each .25 percent below the 6.69% percentage. In no case shall the COLA increase be more than a total of 3.5%.
The first issue resulted in licensed employees receiving a .5% lower cost of living increase than they were due in 2018-2019. This will be corrected in the June 20 payroll. Our agreement with administrators requires identical cost of living increases as the licensed teachers for 2018-2019. The contract for classified or confidential employees does not require an associated salary adjustment. The cost for these increases is approximately $1.3 million.
Contract language: Pg. 62 - REVENUE, section 1 and section 2
The parties agree if overall revenue levels (as defined below) do not increase a minimum of 4% between 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, we will revisit the 2018-2019 plan to add three (3) additional student instructional days in August of 2018 and the continuation of the early release model. If the parties cannot identify mutually acceptable options, the parties agree to eliminate the 90-minute early release and revert to the 2015-2016 calendar of 175 student contact days and 193 teacher days.
Overall revenue will be defined as Total Formula Revenue as shown on the State School Fund Grand Estimates issues by ODE, for 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, plus projected local option revenue for 2018-2019, and any additional revenue which is expendable through the General Fund.
The second issue was last year’s revenue calculation for the addition of three instructional days. The trigger language required there to be at least 4% growth in revenue estimates between 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. The March 2017 to March 2018 calculation led to an estimate in excess of 4%. Had the District used more recent comparison data, e.g. June 2017 to March 2018 estimates, it would have indicated the 4% trigger was not met.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which is a specific agreement between the District and BEA for collaboration time, expires June 30, 2019. Pending negotiations, the District’s intent is to return to the original licensed contract language of 175 student days and 193 licensed employee days for the 2019-2020 school year and eliminate early release Wednesdays. The student school year would be 9 days shorter and the licensed year 5 days shorter. This calendar adjustment will also impact classified employees who had additional days added to their work calendars.
The savings from the elimination of the nine student days may result in fewer budget reductions than originally anticipated.
3) How will the new school calendar be determined?
A: A new calendar will be developed by District staff to reflect 175 student days and 193 licensed staff days. Classified calendars will be adjusted to reflect these changes.
4) How does this affect the OSEA contract for classified staff?
A: The Beaverton School District has satisfied its obligations for classified or confidential employees and classified staff will not have a salary adjustment as part of their June 20 paycheck. Any changes to the school calendar would impact those classified employees who had additional days added to their work calendars due to the increase in instructional days. The full impact will not be known until the licensed bargaining and the budget process are completed.
5) What are the next steps in the budget process?
A: The Budget Committee, including the School Board, has recommended Superintendent Grotting and staff further review and revise the 2019-2020 budget proposal. There have been enough variables, assumptions and public input to reconsider the budget proposal. Per the Internal Budget Team direction, as funding variables change, the greatest priority will be to reduce class size.
The District has appointed Jim Scherzinger as interim Chief Financial Officer to guide the budget process, effective immediately.
With overall fiduciary responsibility to establish and monitor the District’s budget, the Board and Superintendent have directed District leadership to conduct a review of business practices.
- The District will review and verify the BSD budget data and provide findings to the Superintendent. The review will also provide an analysis of the business practices that led to these contractual miscalculations.
- The District leadership will meet with BEA and OSEA to share the findings of the review.
- The District will fully communicate the findings of the review and recommended steps for improvement to staff and the community.
6) Will a revised budget proposal use resources from the Contingency and/or Rainy Day fund?
A: Board Policy stipulates that the District maintain both a 5% contingency and a Rainy Day Fund (Policy DBDB). The Superintendent may propose that some of the Rainy Day Fund be used as part of the budget proposal. However, the Board holds the final authority to approve use of either fund.
7) When did the new interim CFO start?
A: Jim Scherzinger started work for Beaverton on May 9, following the resignation of the former CFO, submitted on May 8th. Mr. Scherzinger is an experienced CFO serving in leadership roles at the State and local level. He served as CFO for Portland Public Schools and then Superintendent of Portland Public Schools.
8) What role does the School Board play in the annual Budget Process?
A: The Budget Committee, which consists of the School Board and additional budget committee members, approves the annual budget and forwards it to the School Board for final adoption by June 30.
9) What about the biennial budget and HB 3427 which holds promise for stable and adequate funding base for K-12 schools?
A: The Oregon Legislature is poised to approve the Student Success Fund, which would provide a $2 billion biennial investment in K-12 education. School districts expect that the revenue associated with the Student Success Fund would first be available for the 2020-2021 school year.
This FAQ will be updated frequently during the budget process.