Budget Error Reconciliation Process 2015-2016

SSC October 20, 2015

Budget Error Reconciliation Process 2015-2016

1.  BACKGROUND

NVMI (and NOVA and Imagine Academy Before that) contracts with an entity called Charter School Management Corporation to provide “back office” services such as financial management, budgeting, cash flow analysis, accounts payable/receivable, etc. The budget is predicated on use of a calculator provided by FCMAT and the CDE (state agencies) that outlines how much a school receives in income per pupil. The original May 2015 draft budget used correct numbers.

As Mark and Kellie worked with CSMC to revise the budget over the summer and fall, at some point, a cell in that calculator for “new” LAUSD schools was “touched in some way and that created a fatal error in per pupil calculations, resulting in the WRONG per pupil income amounts, resulting in more than a $500,000 error, meaning we are now more than $300,000 IN THE RED for the 2015-2016 school year

1. BUDGET BASICS

There are two types of levers in a school budget, indeed any budget – INCOME and EXPENSE – increase income or cut expenses if you need to change the bottom line

INCOME can be affected by

Increasing enrollment (more than $9K per child who enrolls for a year)

Increasing fund raising by parents, students, businesses, etc.

Increasing grants and donations

Increasing attendance rates

1. INCOME

Currently, budget is based on 498 students at 95% attendance daily

If we could get to 535, the $300,000+ deficit would be solved

For each 1% of attendance increase, the 15-16 income would increase by about $35,000

PAC could be asked to raise additional dollars

For each child beyond the 498 we bring in AND KEEP, we get (at this point ¼ of way through the year) about $7K

Could increase legally allowed fees to parents/students (e.g. increase cost of lunch, uniforms, etc.)

1. EXPENSES

The largest expense is obviously personnel

There are six broad areas of personnel at NVMI

·  Administration

·  Teaching faculty

·  Military faculty

·  SPED

·  Campus Safety Staff

·  Support Staff

Beyond personnel, there are two other broad categories – SUPPLIES and SERVICES

Many items in the budgets of these categories have little or no wiggle room once a school year has started – facilities costs, legal fees, insurance, benefits (could be changed for next year but not mid-year), food service expenses, dues and memberships, uniforms, textbooks (already purchased), costs of the move to the new campus, internet/phone costs, etc.

TODAY’S ACTIVITY HAS TWO PARTS

Part one of today’s activity

What should/could we do to increase income through…

*Increased enrollment

·  Bring in more MS and restructure HS staffing

·  MPR: Increase possible but every student in has been balanced by students withdrawing.

·  MPR suggests parents encourage friends to bring students to NVMI. 35 students = problem solved.

·  Parent requested flyers to recruit from GRID Program

·  Flyers at community meetings and city council mtgs

·  Pastor Cruz

·  Recruit through Police Explorer Program and offer rank increase/no entrance camp

·  7th Brigade recruits

·  Flyers at local restaurants and businesses

·  Local military installations and entities to recruit dependents

·  Students recruit from other HS and HS-aged events

·  Emphasize NVMI is a program for girls (although 80% ambassadors are MS girls; add HS girls to ambassadors)

·  Recruit from successfully solicited business sponsors

*Improved attendance rates

·  better attendance incentives (treats; dances; parties; relaxed dress day)

·  perf attendance drawing w/ In-N-Out gift certificates

·  limit # of absences; consequences and/or loss of privileges

·  incentives to squad leaders

·  X-box games raffled off at end of semester

·  Raffle for parents with kids with perfect attendance.

·  if additional legally allowed fees are charges, exempt students with perfect attendance.

*Increased fund raising

·  Yard Sale

·  Bowling nights

·  Roller Skating

·  Chucky Cheese and restaurant fund-raising nights

·  Magazine sales

·  Good Will

·  In-N-Out truck

·  Carnival on PE field

*Increased grants and donations

·  How easy is it to increase grants and donations? MPR admits lack of success in this area, but at NVMI his on-campus responsibilities are high. If MPR could take time out of ALL day-to-day operations, $300,000 could be raised. But NVMI is not ready for that yet.

·  Make donations available as underwriting specific items/positions

·  Parent and/or student contests for donating supplies

·  Sponsorships – e.g. businesses, Target (add logo to sleeve of PT uniform), Home Depot, Lowes, Price Club; Geek Squad Best Buy (IT), etc.

·  Reciprocal with Business – offer services such as color guard, band, etc.

*Increases in legal fees to parents/students

·  charge for bussing

Part two of the today’s activity

What would/could/should be the priorities for budget cuts?

To that end, I have put 18 sheets of paper (corresponding to the next 18 pages of this PowerPoint) with 18 items that COULD be cut entirely or partially to save money.

Each person in the room gets 18 stickers (6 red, 6 yellow, 6 green). Place a sticker corresponding to your opinion on each paper (one sticker per paper) for whether it SHOULD be cut (RED), CUT IF DESPERATE (YELLOW), or SHOULD NOT be cut (GREEN).

1.  SENIOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION

Superintendent (Dr. Ryan) makes $150,000 per year plus benefits. To cut effective 1 November would save school $100,000 in a single cut.

Supe teaches OP and Health but those could be covered by other existing staff. Supervisory roles could be split amongst existing admin

Director of Administrative Systems (DAS) (Mrs. French) – if this were cut would save about $71K

DAS performs a variety of roles no one else on campus currently has skill set or time to perform (manage computer citizenship records, WASC data, various school systems management – Sat School, Academic Support, and many, many more); cutting the position would mean cutting most of those programs

Remainder of positions are also possible positions to consider cutting (Director of Operations, Dir of SPED, Dean, and Athletic Director (noted in additional slide)

COUNSELING STAFF

Currently two full time counselors plus a part time plus services from various local agencies brought onto campus

Expense of about $200,000 total

Could be cut entirely or partially to save money, but obviously they perform critical roles in support of very needy students, both socioemotionally and academically

2.  MILITARY STAFF

Could cut from two to only one milstaff per company would save about $200,000

Ideally, companies in my plan would have THREE because of work load

Would have to likely eliminate many of the functions currently performed by milstaff because there would be not reasonable way to expect existing staff to pick up slack

3.  SAFETY TEAM

Could make cuts in existing safety team roster of four full time equivalent (each full time equivalent cut would save about $25,000 in salary and benefits.) Obvious implications for school safety, but existing staff could be asked to do even more than they are already doing

4.  SPED STAFF

Could cut instructional push-in assistants (about $33K per year) and/or teachers (about

$60K in salary/benefits)

Would have to continue to ensure compliance with IEPs and state/federal requirements

We currently do much more than the minimum required by law and IEPs

Would impact GENED classroom teachers and students.

5.  ACADEMIC SUPPORT

Could cut before school HW help which costs about $2000

Could cut all or part of after school academic support which costs about $20,000

Could cut Saturday School which costs about $2000

Liaise with local colleges and universities for Academic Support staff

6.  SUBSTITUTES

Could require all teachers to cover for each other when someone is out and not ever hire subs. Current cost is about $30,000

Would definitely add stress to existing teaching staff.

Would probably/possibly still have to hire subs for family leave, disability leave, etc.

1. ATHLETICS – 72K total

Could eliminate athletics for middle school and save about $6000

Could eliminate “optional” portions of athletics for high school for rest of year and save about $15,000

Could eliminate additional intramural purchases and save about $4000

Could eliminate Athletic Director ($45K in salary/benefits)

8.  MERITS

Could eliminate merits altogether, along with merit purchases at HX, including field trips, movie tickets, etc. and save about $40,000

Obviously, eliminating the merit system could potentially have huge impact on cadet morale and esprit de corps.

Would likely have to replace with some other positive behavior supports

9.  FIELD TRIPS

Could eliminate all academic field trips AND all military field trip expenses and save about $25,000. (Obviously a source of joy for many students.)

10.  BAND

Could eliminate the band program altogether, including termination of existing 6th grade music program and high school music theory class.

Would save about $40,000 for rest of the year

Would have to come up with a class for kids to take in lieu of music theory.

Would put kids back into regular companies and eliminate something kids and the community love

Positive effects of music education on behavior, learning, and executive function.

Band director working to make Band program self-sufficient.

11.  DRILL TEAMS, COLOR GUARD, ETC

Could eliminate for rest of year and save about $10,000

Would eliminate something many kids love

Mostly cost for entry fees and transportation. Is car-pooling possible?

12.  COPY MACHINE IN MAIN OFFICE

Could eliminate for rest of year and save about $13,000

Obviously has implications for teachers and staff running things off, but this could still be done

Suggestion to limit if not cut.

Liase with local business for sponsorships

13.  CLASSROOM AND OFFICE SUPPLIES

Could eliminate additional purchases for remainder of the year (much has already been spent in this line item) and save about $10,000

14.  BUS TRANSPORTATION

Currently about 200 students travel to/from school free of charge

Not required to provide this service

Would likely lose enrollment if we cut the service

But could cut for second semester and save about $125,000.

Use smaller buses? Rethink routes? Pay to ride within certain radius.

Charge fees for bus transportation – but FREE for perfect attendance

Busses sponsored by military? National Guard(?) at Sepulveda Basin.

15.  SDC

Could cut SDC class we just started (prior to knowing about the budget error)

Save about $45K in salary and benefits for rest of year

Potentially lose SDC students whose parents feel non-SDC placement is not meeting their child’s needs

16.  OP/Boot Camp

Could eliminate and save about $40K in salary and benefits for rest of year

Would likely lose enrollment of students who “demerit out”

Would impact GENED teachers, who would then get those students back in GENED classroom.

17.  Support Staff

Could eliminate one or more of the main office staff (office manager, attendance clerk, SIS manager) and save about $20K in salary/benefits per person for remainder of year

Could eliminate tech coordinator for remainder of year and not have any tech help other than peers (save about $13K for remainder of year)

Results from assigning 2 points for each green, 1 for ach yellow, and 0 for each red.

1.  Senior School administration / 89 / Comment: Cut salaries
2.  Counseling Staff / 96 / Comment: Part time?
3.  Military Staff / 91
4.  Safety Team / 100 / Comment: Part time w/o benefits
5.  SPED Staff / 90 / Comment: Furlough?
6.  Academic Support / 33
7.  Substitutes / 26
8.  Athletics / 77
9.  Merits / 55 / Comments: Only give donated items; not for uniforms or trips
10.  Field trips / 42 / Comments: Have parents pay (not legal); request donations to offset cost
11.  Band / 75
12.  Drill teams, color guard, etc / 76 / Comments: Donations; parents pay (not legal)
13.  Copy machine / 42 / Comment: go digital
14.  Classroom and office supplies / 11 / Comment: parents donate items
15.  Bus transportation / 43 / Comment: Fees needed
16.  SDC / 54
17.  OP/Boot camp / 64
18.  Support staff / 77 / Comments: Cut SIS

7