Some of this information will not be new to many of you, as much of it is what has been presented publicly over the past couple of months.  However, I wanted to write a summary that made no assumptions about what parents know or do not know as many of you do not have the time or resources to follow the budget process on a daily basis.

Please note that, as always, I am providing this information based on what I have learned through various meetings and correspondence, therefore I cannot vouch for its overall accuracy.  I am trying to provide to you the facts that were told to me.

The City Council received the budget and a preliminary briefing from the Mayor’s budget office on April 8.  The Council released its preliminary schedule for budget hearings on April 8 as well.  I have included the schedule for hearings involving BPS in this update.  The April 8 briefing is the source for most of the information included in this update.

Finally, I will continue to give you updates as we learn anything new. Please e-mail your specific questions to john@connollyforboston.com, and I’ll try to get answers to you asap.

BPS Budget Update as of April 8, 2009

• The proposed City Budget was delivered to the City Council this morning.
• The City Council was given an initial briefing on the proposed City Budget this morning.
• The Mayor’s Administration & Finance Department has made the materials from this morning’s budget briefing to the City Council available online at: http://www.cityofboston.gov/AdministrationFinance/pdfs/FY10%20Budget%20Presentation%204-8-09.pdf
• The proposed City Budget is $2,425,140,000.  (This amount includes stimulus money.)
• The BPS Budget is $817,121,930 and is included as part of the whole City Budget. (This figure does not include Title I or IDEA stimulus money.)
• The BPS Budget is 34% of the proposed City Budget.  This is the same percentage as FY2009 City Budget.
• The BPS Budget has been decreased by $16.2 million, or 1.9%, from the FY2009 budget appropriation.
• The BPS Budget of $817,121,930 has been increased by $4.5 million from the amount approved by the School Committee.  I am tracking down information on the increase, but I believe it has to do with changing unemployment costs since School Committee approval.

Teachers and Teaching Positions

• The BPS budget includes 365 lay-offs.
• 212 are BTU members (134 teachers and 78 paraprofessionals).  The remaining 153 positions are central staff or non-classroom positions that are being cut.
• The administration stressed in the briefing this morning that a wage freeze would save the 212 positions.
• The reduction in 134 teaching positions is broken down as follows:

o    2 Music
o    3 English as a Second Language
o    5 Social Studies
o    5 Sheltered English Instruction
o    6 Art
o    9 Math
o    9 English
o    10 Guidance Counselors
o    14 Reading
o    15 Computer
o    17 Small programs, which includes 2 vocational teachers and 1 business teacher
o    17 Elementary
o    22 Special Education

City Council Budget Hearings on BPS Budget

• The City Council’s Ways & Means Committee conducts budget hearings on the City Budget between April and June.
• The tentative schedule for the budget hearings involving BPS are as follows:¹

o    5/1/09 –  9:30 AM, BPS: FY10 Overview

o    5/1/09 – 1:00 PM, BPS: External Funds and Federal Stimulus

o    5/8/09 – 9:30 AM, BPS: Capital Budget

o    5/8/09 – 1:00 PM, BPS: Special Education

o    5/15/09 – 9:30 AM, BPS: Pathways to Excellence

o    5/15/09 – 1:00 PM, BPS: Pathways to Excellence cont’d

o    5/29/09 – 9:30 AM, BPS: Teaching & Learning

o    5/29/09 – 1:00 PM, BPS: Teaching & Learning cont’d

o    6/2/09 – 9:30 AM, BPS: Graduation for All

o    6/2/09 – 1:00 PM, BPS: Family and Community Engagement

o    6/12/09 – 9:30 AM, BPS: School Assignment & Transportation

o    6/12/09 – 1:00 PM, BPS: School Assignment & Transportation cont’d

o    6/19/09 – 9:30 AM, BPS: To Be Determined

o    6/19/09 – 1:00 PM, BPS: To Be Determined

• The budget hearing schedule is subject to change.
• The final day of hearings is “To be Determined” because the Council will likely address any open issues related to BPS at that hearing.
• The hearings are in the City Council Iannella Chambers on the 5th floor of City Hall.
• The hearings are open to the public and they are televised on City Council Cable Access Channel 51.

¹The City Council’s budget hearings take the City Departments separately.  The Youth Fund and Boston Center for Youth and Families have hearings separate from BPS.

Some of this information will not be new to many of you, as much of it is what has been presented publicly over the past couple of months.  However, I wanted to write a summary that made no assumptions about what parents know or do not know as many of you do not have the time or resources to follow the budget process on a daily basis.

Again, what is presented is what we know based on what has been presented to the council and to you by BPS.  I cannot vouch for the numbers.  The Council will get its chance to ask detailed questions about the numbers presented once the City budget is submitted to us.

Finally, I will continue to give you updates as we learn anything new.  If you have friends who want to receive regular budget updates, please have them email me at john@connollyforboston.com.

BPS Budget Update as of April 3, 2009

• On Wednesday, March 25, the Boston School Committee unanimously voted to approve the FY10 recommended BPS Budget.
• The FY10 BPS Budget totals $812,618,679 representing a 2.5% decrease from the FY09 BPS Budget of $833,298,768.
• The adopted budget entails a reduction of 536 positions, which includes 212 classroom positions made up of 134 teachers and 78 teacher aides.
• The FY10 BPS Budget restored transportation of private and parochial students.
• BPS stated in a memo to the School Committee, “Based on a recent legal opinion, Boston Public Schools has been advised that we must continue to provide transportation services to students who attend private and parochial schools. As a result, planned savings of $1.4 million have been restored to this budget.”
• The School Committee did not vote on the proposed 5-Zone transportation plan.
• Superintendent Johnson announced that a revised proposal to reform the transportation zones will be presented to the School Committee on June 3 and voted on by the School Committee on June 24.
• If the School Committee approves a new transportation plan, it will not take effect until the school year beginning September 2010.

Teachers and Teaching Positions:  Excessed vs. Non-Renewal vs. Laying Off

• There are three important statuses involving a teacher or teaching position at a school: “Excessed” “Non-Renewal” and “Layoff”.
• Layoff means that a teacher has lost his or her job for budgetary reasons.  The school keeps that teacher’s teaching position technically, but the position remains unfilled for budgetary reasons.
• The current BPS Budget gap results in 212 unfunded teaching positions. If these teaching positions remain unfunded, it will result in Layoffs for those 212 teachers and paraprofessionals.
• Excess of a teaching position means the position is being removed from the individual school’s budget.  A teacher whose position is excessed goes into a pool of teachers who may fill existing positions at any school based on qualification to teach a given subject area and seniority.
• Non-Renewal means that a teacher will not be brought back at a given school the next school year even though the teaching position may still exist.
• Non-Renewal can happen for a number of reasons including poor performance or a provisional teacher or more junior teacher being Non-Renewed if a more senior teacher qualified in the same subject area has had their position at another school excessed.  Being laid off is a reason for Non-Renewal.
• BPS mailed notices of Excessed teaching positions on Tuesday, March 31 after three extensions.
• There were 465 Excess notices sent eliminating 325 teaching positions and 140 paraprofessional positions.
• BPS informs me that the Excessed positions are different from the 212 teachers facing Layoffs if the budget gap remains.
• Provisional teachers will be informed around April 15 if they face Layoffs or Non-Renewal.
• BTU teachers being laid off must be informed by June 1.
• BTU teachers being non-renewed must be informed by June 15.
• It has become apparent that these dates are all subject to extension and or rescheduling, but the dates above are the present timeframe.

Stimulus Update

• Massachusetts will receive $994 million in federal recovery money for education, also known as the State Stabilization Funds, of which 81.8%, or $813 million, must be spent on public education (K-12 and higher ed.).
• $336 million will be spent over two years for districts below “foundation budget” levels.
• $324 million will be spent over two years on higher education.
• The use for the remaining $153 million over two years is presently undetermined/unknown.

Your Questions asked by e-mail or at meetings

• There are approximately 78 teachers eligible for retirement presently.
• BPS has received 59 early retirement notifications as of this date.  This is lower than in a typical year.

Some of this information will not be new to many of you, as much of it is what has been presented publicly over the past couple of months.  However, I wanted to write a summary that made no assumptions about what parents know or do not know as many of you do not have the time or resources to follow the budget process on a daily basis.

Again, what is presented is what we know based on what has been presented to the council and to you by BPS.  I cannot vouch for the numbers.  The Council will get its chance to ask detailed questions about the numbers presented once the City budget is submitted to us.

Finally, I will continue to give you updates as we learn anything new.  If you have friends who want to receive regular budget updates, please have them email me at john@connollyforboston.com.

BPS Budget Update as of March 20, 2009

• On Monday, BPS will post the proposed BPS School Budget on the BPS website.  It is very likely that this will be the version submitted to the School Committee for a vote on Wednesday, March 25.
• The Mayor has increased the target appropriation to BPS by $25 million from $786 million to approximately $812 million.
• Because of new guidelines from Federal Government, BPS will now use $16 million of Title I and IDEA stimulus funds over two years to keep teaching positions in schools.  The BPS term is teacher “position restoration”.
• Based on my discussions with school officials and media reports, there are 212 teaching positions that stand to be cut as of today.
• The 212 teaching positions are made up of 134 teachers and 78 paraprofessionals.  All of these professionals are members of the BTU.
• The current deadline for written notice of excessed teaching positions (see my March 19 update for definition of “Excessed”) is March 25, 2009.
• The Excessed deadline has been extended twice.

Specific Questions asked at Parent Meetings or in E-mails

• 53 teachers have given early notice of retirement. This is fewer than in a typical year.  I am working on figures for eligibility.
• Food increase costs are largely due to employee costs.
• Title I Funding Formula: BPS uses school-wide projects formula; if 40% or more of students are eligible for free/reduced lunch, school can get Title I money which can be used for improvement of the whole school.
• There are only two schools in BPS that are not Title I eligible: Boston Latin School and the Manning in Jamaica Plain.  This can change yearly as enrollment changes.
• The 5-Zone proposal will not be voted on as part of the proposed BPS School Budget.
• It is possible that a school zone reform plan will be voted on this year separately.
• “Foundation Budgets” are a complicated legislative requirement.  They basically represent a per pupil minimum dollar amount that a school district needs to spend. The per pupil amount varies depending on the student (ie: sped, vocational, kindergarten, etc) and when matched with enrollment numbers creates the “foundation budget”. Other adjustments are also made based on the location of the town (labor market). The DOE has a more complex, thorough explanation http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/chapter70/chapter_cal.html. You can also look on the website to find out how far under requirement a school district is http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/schfin/Chapter70/profile.aspx?ID=317, but the FY09 numbers are budgeted and not actuals so my assumption is that if a school district is under foundation levels, it is because they have not spent this year what their requirement is.

Some of this information will not be new to many of you, as much of it is what has been presented publicly over the past couple of months.  However, I wanted to write a summary that made no assumptions about what parents know or do not know as many of you do not have the time or resources to follow the budget process on a daily basis.

Again, what is presented is what we know based on what has been presented to the council and to you by BPS.  I cannot vouch for the numbers.  The Council will get its chance to ask detailed questions about the numbers presented once the City budget is submitted to us.

Finally, I will continue to give you updates as we learn anything new.  If you have friends who want to receive regular budget updates, please have them email me at john@connollyforboston.com.

Budget Process¹

• The City of Boston operates on a July 1 – June 30 fiscal year.
• Fiscal Year 2010 (“FY10”) begins July 1, 2009 and ends on June 30, 2010.
• The annual City of Boston budget (“City Budget”) includes the Boston Public Schools budget (“BPS Budget”).
• The BPS Budget has its own approval process before becoming part of the City Budget.
• The Superintendent of Boston Public Schools (“BPS”) submits a proposed BPS Budget to the School Committee before the first Wednesday in February.
• The School Committee may adopt, reject, reduce, or increase any item in the proposed BPS Budget.
• The School Committee must vote on the proposed BPS Budget by the fourth Wednesday in March (March 25, 2009).
• If the School Committee does not vote, the proposed BPS budget is automatically approved.
• If the School Committee approves the proposed BPS budget, the Superintendent then submits the approved BPS Budget to the Mayor.
• The approved BPS budget then becomes part of the whole City Budget prepared by the Mayor.
• The Mayor submits the City Budget to the City Council no later than the second Wednesday in April (April 8, 2009).
• The City Council holds public budget hearings from April through June to review the proposed City Budget.  Typically, there are a series of hearings with the Superintendent and other representatives from BPS.
• The City Council has the authority to approve or disapprove the City Budget as a whole. The City Council may reduce or reject an appropriation in the City Budget, but it may not create or increase funding in the City Budget.
• The City Council must adopt or reject the City Budget as a whole or reduce appropriations no later than the second Wednesday in June (June 10, 2009).
• If the City Council takes no action, the City Budget is automatically approved.
• Typically, the City Council rejects the budget before the second Wednesday in June and the Mayor resubmits a revised budget, often addressing concerns raised by the City Council during the budget hearings.
• The City Council must adopt or reject the revised City Budget as a whole before the last Wednesday in June (June 24, 2009)(the last City Council meeting before the start of the new fiscal year).
• If the City Council rejects the City Budget, city officials are allowed to continue to operate; however, no city department may spend more in one month than the monthly average of the past three months.

FY09 City Budget Review/BPS FY09 Budget Review²

• The fiscal year 2009 (“FY09”) City Budget submitted by the Mayor and approved by the City Council totaled $2,302,606,680 (approx. $2.4 billion).
• The FY09 BPS Budget totaled $833,105,384.
• BPS also counts on External Funds to operate during a fiscal year.  External Funds are from non-city revenue sources including formula grants from state and federal govt. and competitive grants from private/non-profit sources.
• FY09 External Funds for BPS totaled $120,817,352.
• The total projected cost to run BPS for FY09 is $952,853,581.

FY09 BPS Budget                                   $833,105,384
+ FY09 BPS External Funds              + $120,817,352
FY09 BPS Total Funds                           $953,958,965

• External funds are not counted in the proposed BPS School Budget submitted to the School Committee.
• Title I funds are considered External Funds and are not included in the BPS Budget submitted to the School Committee.
• Chapter 70 funds, or State Aid to Education, are counted as part of the BPS Budget.

FY10 City Budget Summary and the FY10 City Budget Gap

• Through revenue calculations, the City has projected a $140 million budget gap for the FY10 City Budget as a whole.
• The Mayor will submit the proposed FY10 City Budget to the City Council on April 8.
• Until April 8, we will not be able to know cuts applied to each city department and how a reduction to BPS compares with other city departments.
• The proposed BPS Budget, currently before the School Committee, is for $786,883,901.  This figure does not include External Funds for FY10.
• The proposed BPS Budget calls for a 5.5% decrease from the FY09 BPS Budget.
• The decrease from FY09 (approx. $833 million) less the FY10 proposal (approx. $786 million) totals approximately $46 million.
• The $46 million represents 33% of the City’s projected $140 million gap.

BPS’ Level Service Budget Gap

• If the BPS Budget Gap makes up 33% or $46 million of the $140 million City Budget Gap, what is the $107 million school budget gap?
• The $107 million budget gap is derived from a “Level Service Budget” perspective.
• A Level Service Budget allows BPS or any city department to account for the cost of providing the same services as the prior year.
• Because of cost increases such as wages, benefits, and transportation, there is an increase in the actual cost to maintain a Level Service Budget from one year to the next.
• BPS estimates its increased costs from FY09 to FY10 to be $61.4 million.
• The increased cost plus the proposed BPS Budget decrease of 5.5% or $46 million equals approximately a $107 million gap (the Level Service Budget Gap).

FY09 BPS Budget                                 $832 million
+ FY10 Increased Costs                     +$61 million
FY10 Level Service Budget                 $893 million

FY10 Level Service Budget                  $893 million
- FY10 Proposed BPS Budget          – $786 million
FY 10 Level Service Budget Gap        $107 million³

Teachers

• In December 2008, the Superintendent asked each headmaster and principal to submit individual school budgets with a five, ten, and fifteen percent cut from the budget the individual school received for FY09.
• In February 2009, the proposals from the headmasters and principals, which contained the elimination of many teaching positions, formed the basis of the first draft of the proposed BPS Budget.
• Some of the proposed reductions violate terms of collective bargaining agreements, accreditation requirements, and/or federal or state mandated graduation requirements.
• There are two distinct factors involving a teacher’s position at a school: “Excessed” and “Non-Renewal”.
• Excess of a teaching position means the position is being removed from the individual school’s budget.  A teacher whose position is excessed goes into a pool of teachers who may fill existing positions at any school based on qualification to teach a given subject area and seniority.
• Non-Renewal means that a teacher will not be brought back at a given school the next school year even though the teaching position may still exist.
• Non-Renewal can happen for a number of reasons including a provisional teacher or more junior teacher being Non-Renewed if a more senior teacher qualified in the same subject area has had their position at another school excessed.
• To date, no teachers or provisional teachers have received written notice that their positions have been excessed or that they have been non-renewed as a result of the budget crisis.
• Some teachers have received verbal notice that their position may be excessed or they may be non-renewed depending on the outcome of the budget crisis.
• The City’s Contract with the Boston Teachers Union (‘BTU”) requires written notice for the non-renewal of a teacher’s contract.  Such notice is to be delivered to permanent teachers on or before June 1. The BTU Contract requires written notice to be delivered to provisional teachers on or before June 15.
• The City’s Contract with the BTU requires written notice to the teacher for the elimination of a position.  The date for such notice has been extended three times, and it could be extended again.
• Presumably, the date has been extended and will be continue to be extended while the City and the BTU negotiate.

Federal Stimulus Money Overview

• BPS is going to receive at least $58 million in Federal stimulus funds over a two year period in the form of $34 million in Title I funds and $24 million in IDEA funds.
• Broadly defined, Title I funds are federal money used to supplement education in schools with significant populations of low-income students.
• Approximately $17 million in Title I funds of the $34 million will be received for FY10.
• Broadly defined, IDEA funds are for special education.
• We do not know the amount of the $24 million IDEA Funds that will be available for FY10.
• The allocation of Title I and IDEA funds to individual schools is determined by legally mandated formulas.
• BPS can reallocate for any purpose any general operating funds dedicated to Title I and IDEA requirements once the stimulus money comes in to cover those requirements.
• The Title I and IDEA stimulus money is a one time source of federal dollars.  The Superintendent wrote in a memo to the School Committee, “This one-time source of federal dollars will not solve our budget challenges, nor will it necessarily prevent layoffs.  It would be irresponsible to use money from the stimulus package to pay for positions that we may not be able to support in future budget years.”  In a letter to BPS employees, Superintendent Johnson wrote, “[W]e do anticipate spending some of the stimulus money to restore positions.  We want to invest in our valued staff; however, we must be careful, knowing that this is one-time revenue.  Using it solely for positions that we may have to eliminate the following year when those federal dollars are no longer available would not be prudent.”
• There are also stimulus funds available in the form of State Stabilization Funds.  However, it is unlikely that BPS will qualify for these funds.
• State Stabilization Funds do not have spending restrictions as the Title I and IDEA funds do.
• To receive State Stabilization Funds, state law requires a school district to be under “Foundation Budget” levels.
• Broadly defined, a Foundation Budget is the minimum amount required to operate a school system at state mandated levels.
• Boston’s BPS funding far exceeds the Foundation Budget requirement, so BPS will not likely be a priority district for state stabilization funds.

Partial List of Sources

• The Boston City Charter.
• Boston City Council Ways and Means Committee Briefing by the Mayor’s finance cabinet, “Wage Freeze Proposal” (January 26, 2009).
• Memo from Superintendent Johnson to Boston School Committee, “FY2010 Preliminary Budget Recommendation: $786,883,901” (February 4, 2009).
• Boston City Council Joint Education and Ways & Means Briefing by BPS, “FY10 Budget Hearing” (February 11, 2009).
• BPS FY2010 Budget Update, “Presentation to the Boston School Committee” (March 11, 2009).
• Boston City Council Special Committee on Federal Stimulus Oversight Hearing, “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Impact for the City of Boston” (March 12, 2009).

¹The Boston City Charter is the main legal authority on city budget process.  The Boston City Charter is not contained within one document. It is a collection of laws that has been amended several times. You can access the City Charter online at: http://www.cityofboston.gov/cityclerk/pdfs/cc_charter.pdf.

² The FY09 City Budget can be accessed online at: http://www.cityofboston.gov/TridionImages/02%20Summary%20Budget_tcm1-3153.pdf.

³ These numbers are approximations and use rounding. The total amount cited by BPS is $107.6 million.