1 / 24

Excellence On The Hill

Meet the priorities set by Watchung Board of Education for SY14-15 budget, focusing on maintaining school excellence, expanding opportunities, and building professionalism.

tonymoore
Download Presentation

Excellence On The Hill

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Excellence On The Hill 2014-2015 BUDGET WATCHUNG BOROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOLS

  2. Budget Timeline School Year 2014-2015

  3. Watchung Board of Education Statement of Priorities for the SY14-15 • Maintaining Our School System • Highly qualified teachers • Strong curriculum including: Algebra II, K-8 World Language classes, Industrial Arts, Robotics • Full-day Kindergarten • Special Education • Intervention and Referral Services • Comprehensive Child Study Team Evaluations • In-Class Support Programs • Replacement Resource Room Instruction • Self Contained Multiply Disabled Class • Related Services: Speech Therapy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Counseling and Transportation • Extended School Year Programs • New IEP Direct Platform for Records Management

  4. Watchung Board of Education Statement of Priorities for the SY14-15 • Maintaining Our School System (Cont.’d) • Gifted and Talented Programs – Grades 3 to 8 • SOAR • Award Winning Future Cities Models – Grades 6 to 8 • Standardized test scores (NJ ASK and NJ Pass) consistently higher than the state, similar K-8 districts and the national means • Tuition-based, inclusive Pre-School program • Award winning Performing Arts ensembles • Active PTO, Educational Foundation (WEF) and Youth Services Commission (YSC) – substantial grants and funding of programs e.g. Narratives of Courage, Pursuit of Excellence, Girls on the Run, Girls on Track

  5. Watchung Board of Education Statement of Priorities for the SY14-15 • Maintaining Our School System (Cont.’d) • Middle School bell schedule is aligned with WHRHS to maximize instructional time • Supplemental instruction and “Pursuit of Excellence” for at-risk students • Safe and Caring Initiatives • Peer Leaders • Community Outreach • 5th Grade DARE • Child Assault Prevention (CAP) • Girls on Track • Girls on the Run • Wide variety of interscholastic sports and clubs

  6. Watchung Board of Education Statement of Priorities for the SY14-15 • Raising Standards & Expanding Opportunities • Textbook reviews and/or purchases for Math (6-8), Spanish(K-5), Social Studies (K-5) and Science • Implementation of wireless technology at Bayberry • Changes in staffing: Addition of a part-time special education teacher, general music teachers increased from .9 to 1.0, speech therapist increased from .6 to .8, increase Spanish teacher as needed at the fifth grade level

  7. Watchung Board of Education Statement of Priorities for the SY14-15 • Building Professionalism • IDE - Learner Active Technology Infused Classroom • Danielson’s Framework for Teaching • Teachscape Teacher Evaluation System • Multi-dimensional Principals’ Proficiency Rubric • Protecting Our Investment • District-wide safety and security upgrades • Roof replacement at Bayberry Elementary (Summer 2014)

  8. Watchung Board of Education Statement of Priorities for the SY14-15 • Planning for the Future • 1:1 Technology Initiative for Students – Grades 4 through 8 • Five-Year Strategic Plan • Demography Study (Five-year projection) • Three-Year Technology Plan (SY13-16) • PARCC field testing to prepare for 14-15 testing • Phillips Field three-year lease and cost sharing agreement • School Climate and Website Surveys

  9. Watchung Board of Education Core Curriculum Content Standards • Curriculum Development • The district will complete a comprehensive review and alignment of all curriculum areas with the NJ Common Core Curriculum Standards during summer 2014. • Math • The district purchased Envision Math with online access for Grades K – 5 in the 2013-2014 school year. The district will be reviewing mathematics textbooks for Grades 6 – 8 during the 2014 –2015 school year. • Science • The district will explore establishing iSTEM labs at the middle and elementary school levels during the 2014 – 2015 school year. • English Language Arts • The district purchased a variety of LA curricula materials for middle school students during the 2013-14 school year. During the 2014 – 15 school year the district will explore K – 8 intervention, remedial, and special education reading programs. • In preparation for the PARCC writing assessments, the district will implement interdisciplinary lessons during its Language Arts writing classes to develop authentic (non-fiction) writing responses.

  10. Watchung Board of Education Core Curriculum Content Standards • World Language • Spanish is the designated World Language for Grades K – 5. Textbooks and curriculum materials for Spanish K – 5 will also be reviewed during the 2014 – 15 school year. • 21st Century Life and Careers • Special attention will be given to areas such as financial literacy and life and careers throughout the district’s mathematics, social studies, and guidance curricula. • A mapping guide with 21st Century Life & Careers will be developed as a stand-alone reference for teachers and parents.

  11. Watchung Board of Education Core Curriculum Content Standards • Technology • The district will be emphasizing digital citizenship in Grades K – 8 commencing with the 2014 – 15 school year. • Special attention will be given to areas such as keyboarding skills and computer literacy skills to advance students’competencies for PARCC assessments during the 2014 – 15 school year. • The district participated in the PARCC pilot program for the 2013 – 2014 school year. • The district will continue to implement its three-year Technology Plan for the 2013-2016 school year.

  12. Watchung Board of Education Enrollment Trend • Enrollment numbers reflect the official count for the NJSMART submission as of October 15 of that year. • The District’s Teacher to Pupil Ratio is 1:19 at the elementary level and 1:20 at the middle school level

  13. Watchung Board of Education 2014-2015 Budget Drivers • • Cost of living increase 1.5% • • Medical health benefits renewal of 6% • • Maximum levy tax cap at 2%; budget reflects 1.8% • • Special Education – non-controllable expenditure • Implementation of our five-year Strategic Plan • Unfunded State mandates • PARCC Pilot - $3,600 • Common Core Curriculum Development and Writing - $21,800 • Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) - $1,250 • Teacher/Principal Evaluation System - $104,000

  14. Watchung Board of Education Summary of Revenue

  15. Watchung Board of Education General Fund Revenue We received $377,339 in NET state aid.

  16. Watchung Board of Education Summary of Expenses

  17. Watchung Board of Education Summary of Expenses (Cont.’d)

  18. Watchung Board of Education General Fund Expenditures Classroom Instruction and Student Support $6,751,837; 60% Employee Benefits $2,476,087; 22% Operations and Maintenance $1,005,579; 9% Administration $946,936; 8% Capital Outlay $100,422; 1% TOTAL $11,280,861; 100%

  19. Watchung Board of Education Special Education Expenses Sp. Ed. And Related Undistributed Exp. $1,884,746 Classroom Instruction and Student Support $6,751,837 Sp. Ed as a % of Total Classroom Instruction and Student Support 27.9%

  20. Watchung Board of Education Tax Impact A taxpayer who owns an average assessed home, defined by the tax assessor as $644,723 for 2014-2015, will pay $120 more per year.

  21. Watchung Board of Education Budget Cost-Saving Measures • • Streamline of Administration staff. • Shared Service with Educational Information and Resource Center (EIRC) for technology services • Participation in PSE&G Direct Install Program • Participation in the Somerset County Solar Installation Grant. • Share Special Education personnel with other districts. • Share Special Education placements with neighboring Boards of Education. • Member district in MUJC for reduced costs in professional development, tuition rates, and transportation services • • Participation as a member in the Diploma Joint Insurance Fund program to reduce insurance costs. • • Shared services through NJ School Boards Association Alliance for Competitive Energy Services (ACES) to reduce gas and electric costs. • • Participation in ACT (Alliance for Competitive Telecommunications) with service provided by X-Tel telephone consortium. • Participation in E-Rate (Educational Rate Program for savings on telecommunications). • Shared services with the Borough of Watchung for snow removal, field maintenance, recreation facilities, CPR training, equipment purchase, and tree removal. • Gasoline/fuel purchased through the Borough of Watchung.

  22. Watchung Board of Education 2014-2015 Budget Summary • • Salary increases are budgeted at 2% for all staff. • Actual medical health renewal is 6% over this year’s cost. • • Budget includes Common Core curriculum writing and development. • • Textbook account is maintained to meet the new Common Core Curriculum Standards. • • Proposed appropriations from current expense for continued implementation of district’s technology plan. • • Proposed allocation of Capital Outlay for equipment purchase. • • Increased allocations for co-curricular Activities. • Budget continues to reflect the Pre-School Tuition Program as a revenue source.

  23. Thank you. Thank You!

More Related