Hope for this year's budget?

We have to take every email from the Superintendent's Office either with a grain of salt or by holding our breath. Hopefully, this email is different. I read some HOPE between these lines. Is it TOO good to be true??

I have left off the name of my district to protect confidentiality.

To my colleagues,

Today, I am submitting my recommended operating budget for Fiscal Year 2012 to the Board of Education and wanted to take this opportunity to give you a quick overview of my request, and to encourage you to stay involved in the budget process.

Ultimately, our budget is a statement of our values. Fortunately, this is a community that values education and understands that a strong school system is essential to our future. Year after year, our citizens have willingly invested in our schools and, thanks to your outstanding work, they are getting a tremendous return on that investment.

Your excellence has been nationally recognized twice in the past few months. As a recipient of the 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, our district has been recognized for performance excellence through innovation, improvement, and visionary leadership. As a finalist for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, our district has been identified as one of the five best large districts in the nation and honored for improving student performance while narrowing academic achievement gaps.

Our investment is paying dividends, and that investment must continue.

Today, I am recommending a 2.8 percent budget increase that will fund 2.3 percent growth in enrollment. It will also allow us to recover $40 million of the $54 million in federal stimulus funds we will lose. This budget meets the state’s “maintenance of effort” provision, but more importantly, it represents a maintenance of our commitment to the children of our district. We cannot back away from our obligation to provide a world-class education to every student. This is our children’s only chance for an education and we must deliver on our promise in spite of the slow economic recovery.

As you are aware, my recommendation begins the budget process.  There are many uncertainties surrounding the financial situation in our district and our state. I realize that all of you have made very difficult sacrifices over the past few years. I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to protect your jobs, protect your salaries and benefits, and provide you what you need to continue your outstanding work.

I look forward to standing with you in the coming weeks and months and advocating not just for this budget, but for our students.  I will update you throughout the budget process and I encourage you to stay involved. Once again, thank you for all you do to make our district a model school system for the rest of the nation. 

Respectfully,

Superintendent of Schools