Budget Reduction Tier II Message

 

Dear LPS Staff,

 

I hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable Thanksgiving Break. It is often during times of challenge we come to deeply appreciate the things that matter most, especially family and friends. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, because it is the one celebration that seems to be mainly focused on being with loved ones. Each year, I become increasingly aware of the importance of keeping my priorities in order. As many of you can attest, this can be a real challenge in a world full of competing demands. One of my most important work priorities is to keep you informed as important decisions approach.

 

As you are well aware, we are wrestling with significant financial challenges related to district and state budgets. In an effort to create a sustainable financial future for our school district, it is necessary for us to make some difficult decisions—some of which will directly impact staffing positions and programs.

 

Over the past year, the local, state, and national economies have been hit hard by the recession, and slowing revenues are now impacting school districts across the nation. Couple these factors with the expense of managing a rapidly growing school district, and we have a recipe for challenge that exceeds what most of us could have imagined. However, I want you to know we are committed to doing what is necessary to set our district and our students up for continued success while maintaining acceptable fund balances. 

 

Because of the work of many, we reduced district expenses by approximately eight million dollars in “Tier One” reductions; however, our work is not complete. In the upcoming months, it will be necessary for us to make more difficult decisions to reduce next year’s expenditures by approximately four million dollars. We have already identified just under a million dollars in expenses that do not directly impact staffing positions. Unfortunately, this cannot be said for the remaining number of reductions.  

 

District leaders have been meeting over the past couple of weeks to come up with a plan and timeline for making decisions related to our budget. We will be proposing a list of recommended reductions to the Board of Education at a special meeting on December 14.  As you might know, there are several programs and positions that are being looked at for possible elimination.  Budget reductions that include the elimination of jobs are always painful, but unavoidable…we cannot afford to continue to offer all the programs that currently exist in our district.  Even after the budget reductions, we will continue to have much more for our students than most districts in the nation, but that fact does not make this process any easier. 

 

In addition to the “Tier Two” budget reduction recommendations, we will also include a “Tier Three” list of items to begin discussing. The reason for the third tier list is to allow the district to move quickly if the state would find it necessary to reduce our state allocation a significant amount. There is a fair amount of uncertainty on how the state will handle their budget challenges, and we must be prepared to respond since we do not have the fund balances (savings) to absorb a large state reduction in funding. It is our desire to make decisions as soon as is practical to allow those affected time to look for another position for which they are qualified either within our district or with another district.

 

Communication during times of rapid change can be a real challenge in a large organization, and the budget reduction process causes decisions to be made in a fairly short period. One way you can stay in the communication loop is to visit a special budget reduction Web site that can be found on the district’s homepage. This Web site will be updated regularly and will summarize important decisions. Also, the budget reduction timeline is posted on this Web site.  As always, if you have any questions or concerns, you are welcome to contact me directly. 

 

As we move through the current challenges, we will not stop planning for the future of our students. We are in the beginning stages of creating a district-wide facility master plan that will involve a wide range of stakeholders and will help us identify and prioritize our facility needs for the next 15 years. Additionally, the leadership team has begun strategic planning by first looking at the way we spend our time to ensure we are having the greatest possible impact on students—we are calling this our “Real Work Initiative.” Additional strategic planning steps will be taken as the facility master planning process progresses. I want to thank you for taking time to complete recent surveys that are helping us get better at what we do. We will continue to call upon many of you to help us know how to move the district forward in a way that promotes continuous improvement and ensures our students receive a world-class education.

 

I know budget reductions can be disconcerting and disruptive to a district, and I ask that you do your best to stay focused on the important task of helping students succeed—TELL ME YOU CAN! Our students need us to continue to do everything possible to meet their academic and emotional needs.   I want to say a big “thank you” for doing an exceptional job of keeping your eye on the prize as we have addressed several challenges over the past couple of years. Because of your good work, Liberty remains one of the top performing school districts in the state and is a district to which other school leaders turn for examples of how to teach children well. 

 

Thanks again for all you do for our students and our community.

 

Mike