Budget advisors meet with school board

Yesterday, April 21, the Orcas Island School District (OISD) Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) met with the OISD board to review the budgeted and actual expenditures for the 08-09 school year, in preparation for formulating the school education plan for next year.

Steve Diepenbrock advised the group which included OISD teachers and members of the public, “the situation is dire.” But Diepenbrock and others, including Business Manager Ben Thomas, teacher Marta Branch and Superintendent/HS Principal Barbara Kline, expressed confidence that the board will be able to come up with accurate and reasonable figures for the 2009-2010 budget.

A huge obstacle to finalizing budget numbers is the unknown state revenue amount for the coming biennium. The Legislature is still finalizing the budget, including the education component, and it is also considering revision of the formulae used in funding school districts.

“Since there are so many unknowns in the revenue, we tried to get as clear as possible on the expenditures,” said Diepenbrock.

OISD board member and FAC liaison Keith Whitaker said that the committee worked on the current year’s budget and expenditures “to get a realistic total expenditure for next year.”

Given that much of the budget’s outcome is yet to be decided in Olympia, the BAC and the school board focused on the non-employee-related costs (NERCs) of the school budget at their Tuesday meeting.

The school board’s regular monthly meeting this Thursday, April 23, will hear and discuss the Minimum Education Plan proposed by Kline, which will involve anticipated program cuts in light of a budget shortfall.

The board expects to meet again with the BAC, when more information is known from the state about revenue. May 15 is the deadline for deciding which education programs will be maintained, and the attendant teacher contracts offered.

NERC items identified for further investigation and possible cuts at the Tuesday meeting were:
1) the buildings’ (elementary, middle, high and Waldron schools) maintenance;
2) extracurricular athletics;
3) district’s operating contingency fund;
4) administrative supplies;
5) administrative consultants;
6) district office supplies;
7) district grounds operations;
8) memberships;
9) food service;
10) pupil transportation;

Times are tight,” Kline said, but she praised “the extra brains of the spreadsheet lovers” in assisting the district with managing its expenditures.

Besides Diepenbrock, members of the BAC are: Nancy Loomis, Phil Heikkinen, Carol Sutton, Sam Windsor and Sara Morgan.

The minimum education plan is scheduled for approval at the April 23 meeting, scheduled to begin on Orcas Island in the school library at 5:30 p.m.

Also on the agenda, slated for board action, are:

1)  Discussion of timeline for distribution of OICF funds;

2)  Approve the OISD Agreement with NW Education Service District (ESD) to provide Special Education Staff Stipends;

3)   Approve Business Manager Services Contract with NW ESD;

4)   Adopting I-728 Expenditure Distribution Plan for 2009-10

Earlier in the day, the OISD board will meet at Waldron Island School for a morning session to discuss Waldron School’s budget development.