Shortly after this column is published, the Gateway towns will begin their annual town meetings to establish budgets for fiscal year 2016 (July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016). These budgets include both the towns’ budget and the school district’s budget. As indicated in previous columns, this is a difficult year due to the larger than normal number of unknowns, particularly those related to the potential withdrawal of Worthington. Due to the complexity and fluidity of that situation, it wasn’t until after the school committee adopted a line item budget that the administration felt comfortable in developing a budget ‘document’ that includes the narrative surrounding the line item budget. That document is now complete and located on the district’s website as well as on the Superintendent’s Blog.
Unlike previous years’ budget documents that tended to be roughly 30 pages long, the new document adds about a hundred pages of detailed information. This was done to help address some ongoing questions concerning the budget, provide more detailed information on both the budget process and what the budget supports in the schools, and to provide links between expenditures and what happens in schools. While 132 pages seems long, in order to keep the document to a reasonable length we added a number of interactive links for additional supporting information, thus avoiding adding many additional pages that may not be of interest to everyone.
This document is also broken down into manageable sections, i.e., the index is more than 3 pages long and the list of figures is nearly 2 pages long. While we think the entire document is necessary to tell our budgetary ‘story’, the index and list of figures will help individuals with specific interests and questions quickly access the relevant information. I’d also ask that people remember that there is much additional information under the budget and school committee presentation pages on the Gateway website that will provide additional background information on the budget and the school committee’s deliberations.
This document provides a background on the district’s vision, action focus, strategic objectives and findings from community surveys that lay the groundwork for budget priorities. This budget also includes sections on student demographics, student performance, and strategies for improving the district; all-important aspects of the basic reason schools exist. The document also includes financial information, comparisons of finances to other districts and the state, and major revenue sources and expenses by category including an overview of the budgeting process. The second section of the document focuses on how the budget supports individual schools and programs, discusses grants and how they support the district, revolving funds (both their balances and how this funding is used). This section also has two appendices, one on school finance and budget laws, regulations and policies and a second on fund accounting, funds, account structure and a glossary of terms.
While we could point out some of the areas we find interesting, or elaborate on some of the enlightening graphs and figures presented, we’ll leave the exploration and review of the budget to each individual. We hope this provides the information needed to make an informed decision about the district’s budget but are certainly open to additional questions or items needing clarification that may be brought up via email ([email protected]), via written responses, or through the Superintendent’s Blog.
