shenandoah county public schools 2015-16 proposed...

Shenandoah County Public Schools

2015-16 Proposed Budget

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School Board District 1

Karen S. Whetzel, Vice Chairman

District 2 Richard L. Koontz, Jr., Chairman

District 3 Kathryn G. Holsinger, Ph.D.

District 4 Katheryn A. Freakley

District 5

Irving L. Getz

District 6 Rev. Sonya Williams-Giersch

School Administration

Superintendent Dr. Jeremy J. Raley

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Evelyn K. Linaburg

Director of Finance Cynthia F. Page

Director of Human Resources

Dr. Mark A. Johnston

Director of Middle and Secondary Education Dr. David A. Hinegardner

Director of Elementary Education

Chadwick M. Hensley

Director of Special Education Gina M. Stetter

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FY 2015-16 Budget Development Process

• October 2014 Memos to principals and department heads requesting top three personnel needs and top three programmatic needs

• December 2014

Individual meetings with principals and department heads to review needs

• January 8, 2015 Public input on budget and presentation to school board

• January 22, 2015

School Board Work Session

• January 29, 2015 School Board Work Session

• February 12, 2015 School Board Work Session

• February 19, 2015

Presentation of Budget/Funding Request to School Board

• March 2, 2015 Public Hearing on Funding Request

• March 4, 2015


• March 5, 2015 County Administrator presents proposed budget to the Board of Supervisors

• March 12, 2015


• March 19, 2015 Final Approval of Budget by Shenandoah County School Board

• April 2, 2015

County Board of Supervisors establishes proposed Tax Rate for 2016

• April 16, 2015 Public Hearing on Proposed Budget and Tax Rate – Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors

• April 21, 2015

Budget and Tax Rate Adopted by Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors

• July 1, 2015 Beginning of fiscal year

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Budget Message

“What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children.” John Dewey

The ideal expressed by John Dewey was foremost in our planning as we developed the funding request for Shenandoah County Public Schools (SCPS) for 2015-16. The mission of the Shenandoah County Schools is to prepare each student for a future of life-long learning. We engaged our stakeholders including parents, community members, teachers, staff and administrators to develop belief statements about our school division. The Shenandoah County School Board adopted these beliefs statements on February 6, 2014. The belief statements are:

Great communities come from great schools; therefor e, we believe…

• All decisions are based on the best interest of our students. • Meaningful learning occurs only in the presence of meaningful relationships. • Measures of success are unique and individualized for each learner. • Continuous growth and improvement is expected for everyone. • Problem solving is an essential skill. • An atmosphere of respect must exist. • The education of our children is an investment of time, labor, and resources in our

future.

The School Board adopted four essential goals for the ongoing governance of the school division. These goals align with the mission and beliefs of SCPS and are the foundation of this funding request. The School Board’s goals are:

• Student Opportunity and Achievement Empower student learning in an interdisciplinary environment where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons that make connections between school, community, and work, enabling students to be competitive in a global economy.

• Effective Communication Model transparency in external and internal communications to ensure understanding of the excellence of SCPS and the purpose, rationale, and success of new and existing initiatives.

• Staff Excellence Attract, retain, and develop high quality teaching and support staff to ensure staff pride and commitment, leadership, and organizational excellence.

• System Efficiencies Strategically align resources to support the mission, vision, and goals to achieve efficiencies of operations and success.

A primary theme underlying these goals is the recognition that we must prepare our students for the future. If we are not teaching them the skills and knowledge they need to be globally

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competent, we are wasting their time and our resources. We want to provide an education that will equip our students to participate fully in the changing global culture. Because jobs and the necessary skills to be successful have greatly changed in recent decades, instructional strategies must change.

“Preparing contemporary learners to become globally competent is a right now skill. Becoming world-ready is not an enrichment experience, but a necessity.”

Heidi Hayes Jacobs, PhD, Columbia University

Shenandoah County Public Schools teachers and administrators identified cornerstones of education that should permeate the entire curriculum and help our students achieve the education they need and deserve. On October 15, 2014, at the first Business Roundtable, business leaders in our county confirmed that these are characteristics they are looking for in their employees:

• Critical Thinking Analyze, evaluate, and verify ideas, information and/or components to establish patterns, make inferences, draw conclusions, and/or pose questions and articulate understanding based on extensive quality evidence

• Creativity Based on a given set of parameters, generate and develop ideas into novel, fresh or innovative expressions to solve a need or problem or provoke an aesthetic response through verification and revision based on audience reaction

• Collaboration Establish and take on shared responsibility for the creation of a unified product or proposed solution through respectful exploration of a range of ideas, navigation of personal biases and viewpoints to develop a collective plan of action, and completion of individual responsibilities to achieve a common objective

• Communication Strategically use an appropriate format to effectively engage others and monitor the impact of the presentation of information and ideas and the use of appropriate vocabulary

• Problem Solving Independently define a problem and develop and test out an appropriate strategy or procedure to determine the reasonableness and viability of the solution, considering potential ramifications

• Persistence, Initiative and Self Direction Independently select an area of focus, set a challenging goal, plan, organize and take strategic action. Continually seek varied feedback, analyze successes and failure and take action until the goal is achieved or no longer valid

Budget process : Keeping in mind what is best for our students, it is our goal to present a needs based budget. This budget request is not a wish list, but rather a request for items needed to provide the

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students of Shenandoah County the education they need to be globally connected learners and to be successful in the paths they choose. In developing this funding request, the administrative staff asked each principal and department head to identify the three most important personnel resources and the three most important programmatic resources needed in their school or department to enhance student success. Not including any salary adjustments, over $5.7 million in requirements were identified. Requests for personnel included 14 classroom teaching positions, 3 English as a second language teachers to help our expanding population of limited English proficient students, 13.5 other instructional positions and 16.5 support positions. Requests for programmatic needs include requests for facility needs, for vehicles purchases, for instructional supplies for schools, for furniture and equipment at schools, for professional development, for chromebooks, calculators and probeware and other needs.

Through its public hearings and discussions with School Board members, the administration has finalized its list of essential funding requests and presents them to the Shenandoah County School Board for consideration prior to sending forth a request to the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors for consideration.

The total proposed budget for 2015-16 is for $62,208,392. This budget reflects an increase in expenditures over the current budget of $2,770,608 or 4.7%. Revenue to support budgeted expenditures comes primarily from State funding and funding from the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors. Based on Department of Education calculations for our projected enrollments, we expect that we will receive a decrease in State revenue of $95,259. This is based on Governor McAuliffe’s initial budget presented in December 2014. The funding request submitted to the Shenandoah County Board of supervisors is for $27,154,375 an increase of $2,686,880 or 10.98% over the current local appropriation. Details regarding funding from the Commonwealth are included in the summary section of this budget document.

Identified gaps :

The following gaps have been identified as items needed to achieve our goal of educating our students for a global market. The total increase in expenditures for Shenandoah County Public schools for the 2015-16 based on identified needs for the fiscal year are $2,770,608. These requests are categorized by School Board goals:

Student Opportunity and Achievement Teachers for English Language Learners Twelve Month Testing Coordinator (increase from ten month position) Guidance Counselor/Special Ed Teacher at Triplett Tech Spanish Teacher for Northern Campus Increase Speech Language position from one-half to full time Career Coach for Central and Southern Campus (shared) Nursing Assistant Program Instructor Expand Preschool Program Full Time Nurse for Strasburg High School Classroom Teacher at W.W. Robinson 10 month Administrator at W.W. Robinson Division-wide Content Coordinators in Math and Language Arts Full time Librarian at North Fork Middle School Instructional Materials and Supplies

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Furniture replacement Musical instruments Band uniforms Assistive technology devices Instructional programming funds for music and athletics Summer school for English Language Learners Dual enrollment student tuition Biomedical Science Academy Career Cruising software Industry credentialing Instructional Technology Resource Coaches for high schools Network Technician Network access infrastructure - update and expand Staff Excellence Year 2 of Teacher Salary Scale Non-teaching salary benchmarking and scale revision Professional Development Authentic Assessments Curriculum Development Special Education STEM Dual Enrollment Credentials System Efficiencies Bus Leases Mini Vans Utilities cost to replace E-Rate funding Maintenance Department Funding Custodial Support

School Status

SCPS recognizes that there are many measures of student achievement and there are many quantifiable student successes in our school division. However, like all schools divisions in Virginia, SCPS is subject to State Accountability Standards which measure our students’ learning through the use of standardized testing called the Standards of Learning tests (or SOL tests). The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) explains school status as follows: “School accreditation ratings reflect student achievement on SOL tests and other approved assessments in English, history/social science, mathematics and science. Ratings are based on the achievement of students on tests taken during the previous academic year or on a three-year average of achievement.

Elementary and Middle schools are Fully Accredited if students achieve all of the following pass rates:

• English — 75 percent or higher • Mathematics — 70 percent or higher • Science — 70 percent or higher • History — 70 percent or higher

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High schools are Fully Accredited if:

• Students achieve pass rates of 75 percent or higher in English and 70 percent or higher in mathematics, science and history; and

• Attain a point value of 85 or greater based on the Graduation and Completion Index”

Four schools in the division are Accredited with Warning. Those schools are North Fork Middle School, Signal Knob Middle School, W. W. Robinson Elementary and Strasburg High School. Schools that receive this rating undergo academic reviews and are required to adopt and implement school improvement plans. A school may hold this rating for no more than three consecutive years. If a school does not exit the accredited with warning designation, it moves to the Accreditation Denied Category.

SCPS is also subject to federal regulations regarding student achievement. The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires states to establish Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs) for raising overall reading and mathematics achievement and the achievement of student subgroups. Virginia, under flexibility granted by the US Department of Education, has established AMOs designed to reduce proficiency gaps between students in high-performing and low-performing schools within six years. Schools must develop and implement improvement plans to raise the achievement of student subgroups not meeting annual objectives. Low-performing Title I schools identified as Priority and Focus schools are subject to specific interventions. W. W. Robison Elementary is identified as a Focus School. Per the VDOE, this identification is based on the reading and mathematics performance of students in three “proficiency gap groups” comprising students who historically have had difficulty meeting the State’s achievement standards. In addition, the performance groups, such as white, African-American, Hispanic, economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities are factors in meeting Federal AMOs.

� Prof iciency Gap Group 1 – Students with disabilities, English language learners and economically disadvantaged students, regardless of race and ethnicity

� Proficiency Gap Group 2 – African-American students, not of Hispanic origin, including those also counted in Proficiency Gap Group 1

� Proficiency Gap Group 3 – Hispanic students, of one or more races, including those also counted in Proficiency Gap Group 1

Focus schools must employ a State-approved coach to help the school division develop, implement and monitor intervention strategies to improve the performance of students at risk of not meeting achievement standards or dropping out of school. Closing the gaps identified above will help our schools achieve the Fully Accredited Status, exit the Focus School designation, and provide the educational experiences required for success in the global community.

Funding sources :

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Funding for Shenandoah County Public Schools is primarily from the Commonwealth of Virginia and from the County of Shenandoah with minimal sources of revenue from the federal government and miscellaneous sources. Funding sources are illustrated in the graph above. In the recent recessionary years, State funding was reduced and has not yet returned to its 2008-09 level. Increased federal funds from the stimulus program helped cover the State shortfall in 2009-10 and 2010-11, but federal funding has decreased to its previous level. Funding from the County (the local funding) also helped cover the State shortfall.

Local funds are presented at original appropriation without the inclusion of one time carryover funds for specific projects or capital improvement funds.

$0

$10,000,000

$20,000,000

$30,000,000

$40,000,000

$50,000,000

$60,000,000

$70,000,000

2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16

proposed


Operating Budget

state funding local funding federal funds other

2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 proposed

$55,481,143 $56,518,455 $49,682,796 $51,077,150 $54,681,206 $56,429,648 $59,437,784 $62,208,392

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The revenue sources for the 2014-15 budget are depicted below:

Proposed funding sources for the 2015-16 budget are depicted below:

local funding

41.2%,

$24,467,495

state funding

52.4%,

$31,153,763

federal funds

2.3%,

$1,351,819

other

4.1%,

$2,464,707


Sources of Funds 2014-15

local funding

43.7%,

$27,154,375

state funding

49.9%,

$31,058,504

federal funds

2.1%,

$1,342,320

other 4.3%,

$2,653,193


Sources of Funds 2015-16 proposed

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Enrollment :

Enrollment at SCPS has remained relatively constant over the past six years. Enrollment for 2015-16 is budgeted at 6,000 students. State funding is largely based upon student enrollment.

Funding requests :

The funding requests for 2015-16 for Shenandoah County Public Schools are listed by School Board goals and are detailed below:

GOAL: Student Opportunity and Achievement Empower student learning in an interdisciplinary environment where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons that make connections between school, community, and work, enabling students to be competitive in a global economy.

Instructional Personnel:

• Teachers for English Language Learners

There are students who are English Language Learners in all the Shenandoah County Public Schools. The table below shows that the population of English Language Learners is increasing on the Southern Campus and decreasing on the Central and Northern Campuses.

2013-14 2014-15 Campus students teachers ratio students teachers ratio Southern 128 3.0 43:1 135 3.0 45:1 Central 227 4.0 57:1 220 6.0 37:1 Northern 46 1.0 46:1 31 1.0 31:1

The following table shows the current staffing at each school, and the ratio of staff to English Language Learners at each school:

6,002

6,041

6,000 6,001

6,0426,025

6,000

5,900

5,950

6,000

6,050

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

budgeted

2015-16

projected

March 31 Average Daily Membership

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School Staff Student:Staff Ratio Ashby Lee Elementary 2.0 40:1 North Fork Middle 0.5 48:1 Stonewall Jackson High 0.5 51:1 W.W. Robinson Elementary 2.5 45:1 Peter Muhlenberg Middle 0.5 30:1 Central High 1.0 23:1 Sandy Hook Elementary 1/3 75:1 Signal Knob Middle 1/3 12:1 Strasburg High 1/3 24:1

Students are evaluated based on their English language proficiency on a range from Level I (the lowest English proficiency) to Level 6-2 (the highest) and divided into service groups based on that evaluation. The student’s level of proficiency determines the amount of service provided. In alignment with Virginia accountability requirements, it is our goal to move students from Limited English Proficient status to Formerly Limited English Proficient status as this would indicate that students are now proficient in English and should be on par with other students to be successful in our schools. Due to the increasing enrollment of English Language Learners we are requesting three additional teachers for these students. One teacher would be located at Ashby Lee Elementary School, a second would be on the southern campus so that North Fork Middle School and Stonewall Jackson High Schools each have a full time teacher, and the third teacher would be at W.W. Robinson Elementary School. The student:staff ratio at Sandy Hook Elementary School is very high because one teacher serves all three schools on the northern campus. That teacher is counted as a FTE of .33 for purposes of the student teacher calculation. There are 41 English Language Learners on the Northern Campus. At this time the staffing appears to be adequate, but we will continue to monitor.

• Twelve Month Testing Coordinator

Mandated testing has increased each year. In addition to first time SOL tests, students have the opportunity to retake SOL tests which has resulted in standardized tests being offered in almost every month of the academic year. The majority of standardized tests are given in late spring with results being delivered to the school division in the summer months. Data needs have increased with four schools in the Accredited with Warning status. Teachers and administrators are reviewing student performance on a question-by-question level so that they can adjust curriculum and teaching methods as needed. Teachers are also using detailed data on student performance on previous SOLs to assess which students may need remediation to be successful. Analyzing test data can help SCPS identify areas where students perform well and areas where they are not successful. This analysis is critical to shaping the course for continuous improvement to meet student deficiencies. Converting this 10 month position to a 12 month position will permit timely analysis of data and appositive impact on curriculum. This recommendation aligns with recommendations from the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS) study (2014).

• Guidance Counselor/Special Education Teacher at Tri plett Tech

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Last year, we began the process of rebuilding our alternative education program. The addition of an individual who could serve as part time guidance counselor for this program and special education teacher for the students at Triplett Tech would help with the success of the program. A part-time guidance counselor will provide assistance with students in career planning, industry certification testing, SOL testing for alternative education students, and management of scholarships. The guidance counselor would also provide conflict resolution, and group/individual counseling with alternative education students. The counselor could provide assistance to both the principal of Triplett Tech and the Director of Massanutten Regional Governor’s School when appropriate. There are also students with disabilities at Triplett Tech who would benefit from the expertise of a special ed teacher on site. While we are compliant with State and Federal regulations with these students, it is a challenge.

• Spanish Teacher for Northern Campus

The ratio of students to Spanish teachers at Signal Knob Middle School is much higher than the other two middle schools in the division as illustrated in the table below. If this position is funded, the individual would serve Signal Knob Middle School full time, allowing Strasburg High School to have a full time teacher as well. The number of students seeking an Advanced Diploma during their freshman and sophomore grades creates more demand at Strasburg High School for a limited number of classes, which increases class size. School Students Teachers Student:Teacher Ratio Peter Muhlenberg 608 1.0 608:1 Signal Knob 485 0.5 970:1 North Fork 331 0.5 662:1

• Increase Speech Language position from one-half to full time

Shenandoah County Public Schools has had an open half-time position for a speech language pathologist since last Spring and continuing for this entire school year. The school division has had no applicants for the position. It is hoped that by increasing the position from half time to full time that candidates may be attracted to the job. In addition, the increase to a full time position is justified because of the increasing demands for pre-school speech services which are requiring other speech language pathologists to provide additional services for pre-school students. Also, the billing for Medicaid has increased the paperwork required of all Speech Language Pathologists.

• Career Coach for Central and Southern Campus (share d)

Career Coaches are part time employees who provide career guidance for high school students. For the current year, a position that is shared between Stonewall Jackson and Central High is funded by Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC). LFCC has notified SCPS that it will reduce funding for this position in 2015-16. Because of the important role this person plays in helping students understand various careers and career opportunities, we request funding to replace the funding currently provided by LFCC.

• Nursing Assistant Program Instructor

The Nursing Assistant Program is currently offered at Triplett Tech. This program prepares students to take the Nurse Assistant exam resulting in the attainment of a CNA credential and

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provides a pathway for students to enter into health care careers. Valley Health agreed to fund ½ the salary of a part-time Nurse Assistant instructor for two years. The two years of funding is ending. SCPS has a contractual obligation to continue the program. In order to continue, SCPS must fund this position.

• Expand Preschool Program

The Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) is a program developed by the Commonwealth of Virginia to provide quality pre-school education services to at-risk four year olds. Matching funds must be provided by the locality. Each school division is allocated a number of slots for the program. SCPS is not using all of its allocated VPI slots. 39 unused slots and a little over $148,000 in State funds are not being accessed as a result of the lack of matching local support.

Currently 36 students are on the VPI wait list. The majority of those students are second language learners who will enter our kindergarten classrooms next year without having had a year of preschool experience in an English rich environment.

By using more of the available slots, we will provide “intervention” for these students before their first day of kindergarten. In order to increase the number of utilized slots we must provide the classroom space and staff. This can be accomplished by opening two more VPI classrooms. Two VPI instructional assistants and space would be required of the school division. The State matching funds would provide the salaries for the teachers as well as materials to set up the classrooms.

• Full Time Nurse for Strasburg High School

Strasburg High School is the only school in the division that does not have a full-time nurse. Nursing services are provided by an RN who works half day at Sandy Hook Elementary School. When the RN is at Strasburg High, Sandy Hook, a school of 1,001 students, has an LPN on staff to manage the needs of students at that school.

School

Fall enrollment (includes Pre-K)

Nursing Staff

Ashby Lee Elementary 657 1 RN North Fork Middle 333 1 LPN Stonewall Jackson High 467 1 LPN W.W. Robinson Elem. 1,261 1 RN, 1 LPN Peter Muhlenberg Middle 611 1 RN (also serves as nurse coordinator) Central High 781 1 RN Sandy Hook Elementary 1,001 1 RN half day*, 1 LPN half day Signal Knob Middle 494 1 RN Strasburg High 637 1 RN half day *

Converting this position to full-time would address the individual medical needs of Strasburg High School and provide Sandy Hook Elementary School with additional nursing staff. Strasburg High School has seen an increase in the number of students with cardiac disorders, asthma that requires inhaled medications at school, kidney disorders, hearing impairments, ADD/ADHD, allergies that require epi-pens, and diagnosed mental health conditions. Additional Medicaid reimbursement from the federal government can be obtained if a registered nurse provides health-related services.

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• Classroom Teacher at W.W. Robinson

Projected enrollment at W.W. Robinson Elementary School indicates that a fourth grade classroom teacher is required to keep student teacher ratios at acceptable levels. Even with adding a fourth grade teacher, the projected student teacher ratio next year will be 1:25, which would be the highest student:teacher ratio at the school. This position is needed to help W.W. Robinson make progress toward exiting its current Focus School status.

2014-15

Enrollment/Student Teacher Ratio

2015-16 Enrollment/Student

Teacher Ratio (Based on Current Numbers)

2015-16 Enrollment/Student

Teacher Ratio With Additional 4th Grade Teacher

KG 180/1:18 (10 Teachers) ?/?* (10 Teachers) ?/?* (10 Teachers) 1st 207/1:21 (10 Teachers) 180/1:18 (10 Teachers) 180/1:18 (10 Teachers) 2nd 205/1:20.5 (10 Teachers) 207/1:21 (10 Teachers) 207/1:21 (10 Teachers) 3rd 223/1:22 (10 Teachers) 205/1:20.5 (10 Teachers) 205/1:20.5 (10 Teachers) 4th 188/1:24 (8 Teachers) 223/1:28 (8 Teachers) 223/1:25 (9 Teachers) 5th 181/1:23 (8 Teachers) 188/1:24 (8 Teachers) 188/1:24 (8 Teachers)

*Difficult to project incoming Kindergarten (KG) numbers, but past history indicates 190 is a reasonable estimate.

• 10 month Administrator at W.W. Robinson

W.W. Robinson is a Focus School and a School Accredited with Warning in English and Mathematics. By providing an additional administrator to this building of over 1,200 students, the current administrators would have more time to provide more instructional supervision and leadership to comply with requirements of being a Focus Schools. This position would provide support to the school in the areas of bus discipline, attendance concerns, and some school discipline issues. This would also be a career ladder position. W.W. Robinson currently has the highest ratios of administrators to students and to staff in the school division as illustrated by the tables below.

Number of students per administrator

166235 243 261

304 314 323 325

422

0

100

200

300

400

500

NFMS SJHS SKMS CHS PMMS SHS ALES SHES WWR

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Number of staff per administrator

• Division-wide Content Coordinators in Math and Lang uage Arts

A year ago, the VASS Staffing Study noted that SCPS does not have the depth of support needed for its instructional mission. “This reduces the effectiveness of instructional support to the schools.” (p.31) Coaching in the specific content areas could be provided more readily if the positions of Content Coordinators existed. Curriculum development, especially in the areas of Mathematics and English, is a priority for the school division. The Academic Reviews of the schools rated as Accredited with Warning, highlighted this need as well as the need to develop monitoring systems for a variety of instructional activities.

A description of the impact of math coaches as reported by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics says:

Campbell (1996) and Race, Ho, and Bower (2002) studied the role of mathematics coaches as one component of large-scale professional development programs. Campbell reported that 40 percent of the teachers significantly changed their instructional practice by actively engaging students so as to build conceptual understandings of mathematics. Similarly, Race et al. found that participating teachers increased the frequency of best practices (e.g., hands-on learning, higher-order thinking, and addressing a variety of learning styles) and used a greater variety of instructional formats (e.g., activity-based lessons, investigations, and discussions). The researchers acknowledged that all aspects of the professional development programs affected the teachers but claimed that without the support of the coaches, teachers likely would not have persisted in making significant changes to their instructional practice. www.ntcm.org.

Similar impacts would be recognized from the addition of a language arts content coordinator. Content Coordinators could facilitate both curriculum development and the monitoring of curriculum. Development of alternative assessments for the areas in which SOL tests were eliminated is also a requirement. The Virginia Department of Education and the General Assembly have noted that performance based assessments should be developed as part of the alternative assessments. Content Coordinators could assist in the training of teachers in the process of creating performance based assessments.

• Full time Librarian at North Fork Middle School

24 2733 34 35 36 38

45 46

0

20

40

60

NFMS SKMS CHS SJHS SHS PMMS SHES ALES WWR

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The librarian at North Fork Middle School also serves as instructional supplies coordinator, media services coordinator, and communications coordinator. These positions were combined during budget shortfall/recession. As it is less than ideal for one individual to be responsible for so many critical duties, we are requesting funding to add one position so that we may split responsibilities as follows:

1) Coordinator of communications and instructional materials

2) Librarian to support school’s efforts to improve literacy and student achievement

North Fork Middle School is Accredited with Warning in English. A full time librarian would help the school improve students’ literacy. In addition, the development of a communications plan and a public relations function was recommended in the January 2014 VASS study (page 36). Funding requested for Instructional Personnel: Stud ent Opportunity and Achievement – Instructional Personnel: Request All positions are listed with salary and all benefi ts included Teachers for English Language Learners $ 180,957 Twelve Month Testing Coordinator 12,450 Guidance Counselor/Special Ed Teacher at Triplett Tech 60,319 Spanish Teacher for Northern Campus 60,319 Increase Speech Language position from one-half to full time 33,323 Career Coach for Central and Southern Campus (shared) 15,000 Nursing Assistant Program Instructor 24,760 Expand Preschool Program 51,702

Full Time Nurse for Strasburg High School 53,554

Classroom Teacher at W.W. Robinson 60,319 10 month Administrator at W.W. Robinson 75,021

Division-wide Content Coordinator in Math 70,057 Division-wide Content Coordinator in Language Arts 70,057 Full time Librarian at North Fork Middle School 60,319 Total Request for Student Opportunity and Achievement

Instructional Personnel $ 828,157

Instructional Resources:

• Materials and Supplies

Instructional resources are crucial for support of all students and to supplement textbooks. Not only do they include traditional supplies like paper, markers, workbooks, but also printer cartridges, access to on-line resources, remediation and intervention materials, and enrichment materials. The budget for instructional supplies was reduced over the past 6 years by $138,628 or 26%.

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To fill this gap, schools have redirected fund raising monies to school essentials. Also teachers, parents and students have provided supplies from their personal funds. This funding request is for the restoration of $100,000 to the instructional budget for schools. These funds would be distributed to schools on a per pupil basis.

• Furniture replacement

Furniture plays an important role in the delivery of education in 21st Century schools. Furniture must be flexible and mobile to permit easily-reconfigurable arrangements. Furniture should accommodate student-centered, collaborative and group learning and accommodate advances in technology and teaching methods.

The school division has furniture that is broken and no longer functional. When furniture is replaced, these requirements listed above will be incorporated into decisions as to what furniture to purchase.

• Musical instruments

The funding for replacing musical instruments was cut during the budget shortfall/ recession and has not been restored. Funding has decreased by 50%.

$200,000

$250,000

$300,000

$350,000

$400,000

$450,000

$500,000

$550,000

2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Instructional Materials Budget - all schools

$-

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15


Allocation for Instrument Purchase

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At the same time, the enrollment in our music program has grown by 37%.

Our middle and high schools have many instruments that are broken and non-operative.

rusted instrument broken violin damaged bass drum In addition, some performance groups cannot accept any new members because there are no instruments available for students to use. In some cases, students are sharing an instrument, which is less than ideal for regular practice to master the instrument.

• Band uniforms

The high schools have been using the same band uniforms for over a decade. Normal wear and tear is taking its toll. Many uniforms are torn or stained. One school had already reported that without funding, they expect their marching band to perform in polo shirts and black pants next year with the black pants being supplied by the students.

Ensemble 2008 2015

Band 534 708

Orchestra 171 301

Choir 496 580

Guitar 4 65

Total Students 1,205 1,654

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• Assistive technology devices

Assistive Technology (AT) Services and Devices must be considered by the Individualized Education Plan team in the provision of a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Assistive technology may range from pencil grips and magnifiers to high tech items such as adaptive keyboards and communication systems.

Specialized knowledge is required to determine these needs. SCPS is required to provide devices that have been designated as necessary for Special Education students. Currently, there is no budget to support the assessment, training, or devices needed to provide AT equipment and services. Funding requested for Instructional Resources:

Stud ent Opportunity and Achievement – Instructional Resources: Request Instructional materials and supplies $ 100,000 Furniture replacement 50,000 Musical instruments 15,000 Band uniforms 10,000 Assistive technology devices 10,000 Total Request for Student Opportunity and Achievement –

Instructional Resources $ 185,000

Instructional Programming:

• Instructional programming funds – music and athleti cs

School division budgets were cut in 2010-11 due to the reduction in State funding. Those cuts included funding for instructional needs for music programs and for athletics. As a result, the school division does not pay the membership fee for our 14 music teachers to belong to the National Association for Music Education (NAFME). The membership fee is equivalent to the cost of registering for one event. All event registrations are included with the NAFME membership, so it is financially prudent to join NAFME rather than pay the multiple registration fees. Participation in the NAFME events is a required component of the music teachers’

torn pants leg stained jacket torn seam

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contract. Also, SCPS offers an All County Music event. The event has grown to include middle school students and additional funding is requested to support the event. Likewise, Virginia High School League (VHSL) membership dues are paid by the schools. The cost of participation is based upon the number of activities each school participates in as well as the number of students. While most of the events are athletic, VHSL membership includes debate, forensics, scholastic bowl and theater festival (one act plays). The table below includes information regarding participation and cost.

High School Activities Participants VHSL membership Stonewall Jackson 22 241 $ 2,746 Central 23 304 3,138 Strasburg 21 272 2,894 Total 817 $ 8,778

• Summer school for English Language Learners (ELL)

All students learn during the school year. The progress they make in the summer months is dependent upon factors that are beyond the control of the school division. This budget proposal includes a request to fund summer school for English Language Learners. Our English Language Learners may lose all access to fluent English modeling and speaking opportunities over the summer months resulting in loss of recently acquired language skills. ELLs benefit from book reading, writing, and differentiated learning opportunities offered by summer learning programs. They also benefit from the social support that is critical to their academic success. Additional time and instruction will decrease the summer loss of knowledge and skills. The particular challenges for ELLs are described by The Center for American Progress (2008):

English Language Learners are in a race against the clock from the moment they enter the schoolhouse doors. Young native English speakers have an English vocabulary ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 words by the time they enter kindergarten. Closing this vocabulary gap can be a daunting task for young English learners and their teachers. And for recent arrivals in high school, who are expected to have a vocabulary of 50,000 English words to excel in the classroom, the task can appear all but impossible.

• Dual enrollment student tuition

High school students may enroll in certain classes so that upon successful completion of the class they earn both high school credit and college credit. This program is called dual enrollment. Currently SCPS students pay 50% of dual enrollment tuition. Comparable school divisions require students to pay 25% of dual enrollment tuition. The current cost of each three-credit dual enrollment course is $204. For programs such as Governor’s School, Criminal Justice, and Health Care Science, the cost to enroll in all courses available in a year costs is over $1,000 for each of the programs. Financial Aid is not available for dual enrollment students making the ability to dual enroll at the current fee very difficult for some families.

Reducing the student contribution to tuition to 25% would align SCPS to current practices of other school divisions in the LFCC service region.

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• Biomedical Science Academy

Healthcare Science is an area of need in the labor market across the nation. There is a broad scope of opportunity for students with a desire to work in direct care of people, engineer new assistive biomedical technologies, research and develop medical interventions and a variety of other opportunities in the healthcare realm. A Biomedical Science Academy will afford students the opportunity to integrate content from multiple subject areas Participation in a Biomedical Science Academy will enable students to learn in a project based, individualized environment. Students will study content that is not taught in SCPS. A Biomedical Science Academy will be cross-curricular and interdisciplinary with a focus on biomedical education. Students will have a unique learning experience in which they are immersed in project based learning, earn dual enrollment credit, and connect with the community through shadowing and internship experiences.

• Career Cruising software

Career education is the responsibility of many in our school division, but it is a main focus for our school counselors. In our largest high school we have 2.5 counselors to serve nearly 800 students and 1.5 counselors to serve nearly 600 students in our largest middle school. School counselors are responsible for the career guidance, academic counseling, and personal/social counseling of all students they serve. In addition, at all of our middle and high schools, the school counselor is also the testing coordinator, responsible for all aspects of SOL testing and any other testing that occurs in the buildings.

In order to help facilitate the career education process, we would like to purchase software that aides in career development, that assists with the maintenance of the required Academic and Career Plans that all 7th graders must develop, and provides a more cohesive and transparent career guidance process for parents, students, counselors, and teachers so that all stakeholders may be actively engaged in the career development of all students.

• Industry credentialing

Industry Credentialing is now a graduation requirement for a standard diploma. All current students in the 10th grade and below must earn an industry credential to receive a standard

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312 319 333407

329 316

0

100

200

300

400

500

SJHS CHS SHS NFMS PMMS SKMS SCPS

Students per guidance counselor

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diploma. Although industry credentials are not required for an advanced diploma, we are encouraging all students to earn at least one industry credential as they may not meet the requirements for the advanced diploma. An industry credential is defined as:

� State-Issued Professional License, required for entry into a specific occupation as determined by a Virginia State licensing agency (Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), Cosmetology);

� Full Industry Certification, from a recognized industry, trade, or professional association validating essential skills of a particular occupation (A+ CompTIA, Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP);

� Pathway Industry Certification, which may consist of entry-level exams as a component of a suite of exams in an industry certification program leading toward full certification (Automotive Service Excellence, (ASE), Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS); or

� Occupational competency assessment, a national standardized assessment of skills/knowledge in a specific career and/or technical area, (NOCTI)

Funding is provided by the State for Career and Technical Education (CTE) to provide testing for those students who complete a prescribed sequence of courses in a program of study. The cost to offer the necessary industry credential tests to ensure that all students earning a standard diploma have the opportunity to earn an industry credential to meet the graduation requirement exceeds the funded provided by the State for CTE programs. Funding requested for Instructional Programming: Stud ent Opportunity and Achievement - Instructional Programming: Request Instructional programming funds for music and athletics $ 10,500 Summer school for English Language Learners 10,000 Dual enrollment student tuition 20,000 Biomedical Science Academy 69,528 Career Cruising software 13,272 Industry credentialing 12,000 Total Request for Student Opportunity and Achievement –

Instructional Programming $ 135,300

Instructional Technology:

• Instructional Technology Resource Coaches for high schools

Technology is an increasingly important component of curriculum delivery for our students. It enhances engagement, increases creativity and opens opportunities to students beyond those available with traditional textbooks in traditional classrooms. The teachers at SCPS high schools would benefit greatly from an instructional coach who would help them develop new teaching applications enriched by technology. 181 instructional staff at these schools would benefit from these enhanced learning strategies. This support is critical in ensuring that technology integration is systematic and equitable across the school division.

• Network Technician

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In the year 2000, SCPS had approximately 1,538 technology devices to manage. By 2014 that number has grown to 5,169. Requests to service the devices increased 5% over last year. Although the number of devices has more than tripled, the staffing to repair and support these devices has remained the same. Currently, there is a 10 day wait period from the time a service request is entered to the time a technician can respond. This budget request is to fund an additional technician to assist with these duties.

• Network access infrastructure - update and expand

The school division needs to increase wireless network capacity to accommodate all users and to support the expansion of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). BYOD is gaining popularity in many schools as a way of increasing access to vital technology without the cost of purchasing a device for each student. It acknowledges the reality that many students have ready access to educationally-valuable technology that, until recently, they were not allowed to use in school.

In addition, the school division needs to establish a systematic replacement cycle for network equipment in order to avoid large, one-time purchases. This includes routers, switches, and wireless access points. As of January 30, 2014, SCPS was notified by the vendor who supplied much of SCPS’s internet infrastructure, of the “End of Software Maintenance” and “End of Routing Failure Analysis” for equipment. The end of life support for the wireless controllers is 2016 and the end of life support for the network switches is 2018. Best practices suggest that this equipment should be replaced on a five year rotating schedule to take advantage of technological enhancements and upgrades.

Funding requested for Instructional Technology: Student Opportunity and Achievement – Instructional Technology : Request All positions are listed with salary and all benefi ts included Instructional Technology Resource Coaches and Instructional

Assistant for high schools $ 146,489 Network Technician 62,930 Network access infrastructure - update and expand 25,000 Total Request for Student Opportunity and Achievement -

Instructional Technology $ 234,419

Funding requested for Student Opportunity and Achievement: Student Opportunity and Achievement Summary: Request Instructional Personnel $ 828,157 Instructional Resources 185,000 Instructional Programming 135,300 Instructional Technology 234,419 Total Request for Student Opportunity and Achieveme nt $1,382,876

GOAL: Staff Excellence Attract, retain, and develop high quality teaching and support staff to ensure staff pride and commitment, leadership, and organizational excellence.

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Compensation and Benefits:

• Year 2 of Teacher Salary Scale

In the 2014-15 budget the school board funded salary increases so that teacher salaries would align with benchmarks of comparable, competitive school divisions. The school divisions in the comparison group are: Augusta, Clarke, Frederick, Harrisonburg, Page, Rockingham, Warren and Winchester. The tables below illustrates that as a result of the funding provided last year, the 2014-15 salaries are now closer to the medians than they were in 2013-14.

Years of teaching experience

2013-14 Shenandoah

2013-14 Median

Difference

beginning $ 39,500 $ 40,000 -$ 500 5 years $ 39,702 $ 40,797 -$1,095

10 years $ 41,601 $ 43,401 -$1,800 15 years $ 44,686 $ 45,526 -$ 840 20 years $ 47,770 $ 48,847 -$1,077 25 years $ 50,854 $ 52,290 -$1,436 30 years $ 53,937 $ 55,595 -$1,658

In 2013-14, all benchmark salaries were below the comparison group. On average, SCPS salaries at the benchmark years were $1,201 below salaries in comparison school divisions. For 2014-15, SCPS salaries at the benchmarks are, on average, $423 below salaries in comparison school divisions.


2014-15 Shenandoah

2014-15 Median

Difference

beginning $ 40,000 $ 40,250 -$ 250 5 years $ 40,797 $ 41,655 -$ 858

10 years $ 43,401 $ 43,381 $ 20 15 years $ 45,526 $ 46,388 -$ 862 20 years $ 48,847 $ 49,157 -$ 310 25 years $ 52,290 $ 52,796 -$ 506 30 years $ 55,595 $ 55,789 -$ 194

For 2015-16, SCPS is requesting funding for a salary increase to maintain its position with the median salary of the comparison group and proposing a scale that provides a consistent percentage step increase throughout the entire scale. Benchmark salaries are presented below.


2014-15 Shenandoah

2014-15 Median

2015-16 Proposed

beginning $ 40,000 $ 40,250 $ 40,250 5 years $ 40,797 $ 41,655 $ 41,728

10 years $ 43,401 $ 43,381 $ 44,129 15 years $ 45,526 $ 46,388 $ 46,667 20 years $ 48,847 $ 49,157 $ 49,352 25 years $ 52,290 $ 52,796 $ 52,191 30 years $ 55,595 $ 55,789 $ 55,480 35 years $ 59,303 $ 60,580 $ 60,211

Top of scale $ 61,869 $ 63,174 $ 63,241

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The proposed teacher scale is presented in detail with all other salaries scales as an attachment to this report.

• Non-teaching salary benchmarking and scale revision

During the 2014-15 budget process, the school board directed the school administration to extend the benchmarking process to non-instructional salaries. The Action Planning Team (a team made up a citizens, parents, teachers and administrators) also identified steps that should be followed in support of the school board goal of Staff Excellence:

• Analyze current salaries to identify and address internal inequities, implement adjustments per rules

• Collect salary schedule and actual salary data for purposes of benchmarking • Benchmark salaries to the median of comparable competitive school divisions • Develop and implement salary schedules that provide opportunity for individual salary

improvement over time • Develop procedures for periodic review and benchmarking of salary schedules • Develop and implement procedures for salary advancement that align with the School

Board Compensation Policy goals and objectives • Identify how employee accomplishments/goals are documented, shared, reviewed,

and/or rewarded • Assure that procedures and decisions are documented so that employees know the

rationale for advancement or non-advancement

In August 2014, the school board adopted a compensation policy that contained the following objectives which would guide the school administration in their process of benchmarking salaries for non-teaching staff:

– To provide a fair and consistent framework for salary structures and salary ranges – To use salary structures at market competitive rates – To reflect common practices – To reward employees for equivalent and relevant level experience – To support Shenandoah County Public Schools planning and budgeting process – To ensure salary-related decisions are non-discriminatory

With this direction, the school administration engaged VASS to collect comparison divisions’ salary data. All comparisons and scales are based on hourly rates and medians for all divisions and all positions. Because hours worked by school personnel vary across divisions it was important to develop medians based on an hourly rate for comparability.

Once the benchmark minimums and maximums were calculated the school administration considered ways to implement those benchmarks for staff. The school division currently operates using a level system. The number of levels varies by employee category. However, concerns have been voiced by staff about the functionality of the system. For instance, concerns were repeatedly expressed in the Staff Excellence Action Planning Team sessions including questions about how employees were placed on the scale and concerns that employees do not move on the scales. And even though some scales have 10 or more levels, no employees on scale ever achieves higher than level 5.

There were suggestions for the administration to attempt to implement a system for employees to advance on the scale using the existing level system. However, the school administration

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found it difficult to identify advancement criterion that would be consistent across all employee groups, and for some groups there were no readily identifiable criterion for advancement.

Thus, the school administration recommends implementing a 35 step merit scale for all non-teaching employee groups. The scales are benchmarked to the median minimums and maximums as developed from the VASS study. The merit increases within each scale are consistent within that scale (but may be different for various employee groups based on the benchmarking).

Employees will be placed on the scale by identifying the step nearest to the employee’s current salary and then moving them up one step. Initially, the administration considered simply placing employees on the scale at the step closest to their current salary. However, in many cases this provided a salary increase of less than $50 for the year. As this did not seem to be appropriate, all employees were placed on the scale as described. This methodology provided for overall salary increases averaging 2.52%. The increase is different for each employee group depending on how closely the current salaries for that group matched the researched benchmarks. In future years, each employee who receives a satisfactory evaluation (or better) would be advanced one step on the scale. Employees who receive unsatisfactory or needs improvements evaluations would not advance on the scale. The school board may choose to provide a cost of living adjustment (COLA) in addition to a merit increase.

The characteristics of the proposed step system for non-teaching employees are:

• Meets School Board Compensation Policy • Meets Action Plan tasks • Meets VASS recommendations • All scales have 35 levels • All scales are internally consistent • All scales have internal and external equity • Across scale increments vary due to variability in benchmarks • All scales align with job descriptions • All scales allow incremental growth over time tied to successful performance reviews • Built-in career ladders • Assures transparency

While analyzing data gathered by VASS, the school administration recognized that certain employee groups in other school divisions have multiple salary scales based on job duties. For this reason, the school administration recommends implementing additional salary scales for the groups as listed below: Bus Drivers – additional scales developed depending upon length of daily run Bus Mechanics/Technicians – implement scale for Mechanic/Technician 1 and 2 Clerical – implement scale for Clerical 1, 2 and 3 Maintenance – implement scale Maintenance 1 and 2 We are also recommending implementing a scale for psychologists and social workers who have no scale. The proposed salaries scales for all employees are presented as an attachment to this document.

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Listed below are the costs to help meet the gaps identified with the school board goal of Staff Excellence – Compensation and Benefits:

Staff Excellence - Compensation and Benefits: Request Year 2 of Teacher Salary Scale $ 654,814 Non-teaching salary benchmarking and scale revision 441,246 VRS savings -115,184

Total Request for Staff Excellence – Compensation and Benefits $ 980,876

Professional Development:

• Professional Development Teachers and administrators in Shenandoah County Public Schools require professional development training in specific areas as explained below:

Authentic Assessments

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) alternative testing initiative requires school divisions to develop alternative, performance-based assessments to replace the SOL tests eliminated by the General Assembly. Teachers need training to create and administer alternate assessments. A description of authentic assessment from the VDOE web page follows:

Quizzes and tests certainly have a role in education for assessing how well students have picked up factual information, concepts, and discrete skills. Because assessment is a feedback mechanism, however, assessments must reflect what teachers want students to know and be able to do. ...One way is through authentic assessment.

… the term authentic assessment refers to assessment by performance, task, product, or project. Authentic assessment asks students to apply what they have learned in such a way that it provides evidence of in-depth understanding, rather than of superficial or naive understanding (Wiggins and McTighe). In authentic assessment, teachers ask students to provide evidence that they have "gotten it" by actually doing something real. Often, such assessments include an authentic audience—real stakeholders to whom the students present information or with whom they otherwise engage. (From www.doe.virginia.gov)

Because this is a radical departure from the standardized SOL test, professional development is required to help teachers develop and administer authentic assessments.

Curriculum Development

All curriculum within Shenandoah County must be closely aligned with the Virginia Standards of Learning to assure that students are learning the essential knowledge and skills and the higher level thinking skills that are embedded in the standards. The on-going work of alignment is taking place in all subjects and will be continued to include examples of model assessments and

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unit designs. As Standards of Learning change, the teachers of those subject areas will review the work already completed and make the necessary revisions.

Special Education

On-going training is required to assure that all teachers and staff meet Special Education compliance requirements. In addition to compliance training, there is a need for training for both Special Education and General Education teachers to increase their skills and knowledge in meeting the needs of students with disabilities. Federal Annual Measurable Objectives (FAMOs) utilize the performance of Special Education students as one of the measures of school performance. In SCPS, the performance of Special Education students remains an area of concern.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) curriculum

STEM is an initiative developed by the Department of Labor based on their needs for the workforce to be able to incorporate critical thinking and problem solving skills. Science & Engineering occupations are projected to grow at more than double the rate (20.6%) of the overall U.S. labor force (10.1%) through 2018. Over 400,000 jobs in the STEM areas are projected to be needed in Virginia by 2018.

SCPS is developing a K-12 STEM program to integrate STEM within the curriculum. We must provide teachers with the professional development to build their capacity to teach integrative STEM lessons. STEM areas are a particular focus for the global skills our students should be equipped with when they graduate from SCPS.

• Dual Enrollment Credentials

Dual enrollment permits students to earn college credit while in high school. The most economical avenue for SCPS to offer dual enrollment opportunities for students is to utilize our current staff. In order to become a dual enrollment instructor, a teacher must have a master’s degree with at least 18 graduate hours in the teaching discipline to be dual enrolled. This request would provide funding specially to assist with tuition costs for those teachers who are willing to enroll in graduate courses in order to teacher dual enrollment. Listed below are the costs to help meet the gaps identified with the school board goal of Staff Excellence – Professional Development: Staff Excellence – Professional Development: Request Authentic Assessments $ 35,000 Curriculum Development 17,500 Special Education 7,500 STEM 15,000 Dual Enrollment Credentials 15,000 Total Request for Staff Excellence – Professional Development $ 90,000

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Staff Excellence: Summary Request

Compensation and Benefits $ 980,876 Professional Development 90,000

Total Request for Staff Excellence $ 1,070,876

GOAL: System Efficiencies Strategically align resources to support the mission, vision, and goals to achieve efficiencies of operations and success.

• Bus Leases

The age of the yellow bus fleet is depicted on the table below: Model Year Number Model Year Number Model Year Numb er

2015 6 2007 7 1998 * 10 2014 4 2006 6 1997 * 3 2013 2 2005 6 1996 * 3 2012 8 2004 6 1995 * 3 2010 5 2003 4 1990 * 1 2009 9 2002 9 2008 12 2000 * 11

The Virginia Department of Education recommends that school buses be replaced every fifteen years. Currently, the school division has 31 buses that exceed this recommendation. Seven of these 31 buses are used on daily routes. The other 24 buses are used for extra-curricular trips and as spares. The buses in the fleet that exceed the State recommended lifespan are marked with an asterisk (*). The Shenandoah County Public Schools is requesting funds to lease purchase five busses in 2015-16.

• Mini Vans

In addition to yellow school buses, the school division has 78 vehicles for transporting students. The average age of these vehicles is 11 years. The average current mileage is 111,787. There are currently four spare vehicles in the fleet, which have an an average age of 9 years and average mileage of 104,385. Some of those vehicles are very high mileage and travel significant distances each day. Listed in the table below are examples of those vehicles:

Vehicle # Vehicle Type Use Year Projected miles -

end of school year

18 5 passenger sedan Special Needs-Grafton School 2007 181,157

32 6 passenger station wagon CHS Job Coach 2005 169,123

65 7 passenger van Northern to Southern SCPS 2008 121,160

77 7 passenger van SPED Spare (used as needed) 2008 135,020

80 7 passenger van SCPS to Staunton VSDB 2008 190,369

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This budget request includes funds to purchase three mini vans to replace three of these vehicles.

• Utilities cost to replace E-Rate funding

Since 1997, the E-Rate program has funded telecommunications and internet access for schools and libraries. Starting in 2015-16, the E-Rate program is changing. Funding for telephone service will be phased out at the rate of 20% per year. Funding will be available on a per pupil basis for internal connections (wired and wireless network hardware and managed services for this hardware). This funding will be awarded to the schools with the greatest need as determined by the percentage of students eligible for the National School Lunch Program. SCPS is still evaluating the new funding and developing a plan to take full advantage of the funding that will be available. However, the funding for telephone service in 2015-16 will be reduced by 20%.

• Maintenance Department Funding Maintenance department funding was cut by $126,000 in 2010-11 as a result of funding reductions related to the recession/budget shortfall. That funding has not been restored. In addition, the maintenance department has implemented a number of preventive maintenance programs to help extend equipment life. This budget request is to provide $100,000 to partially restore funding cuts.

• Custodial Support

Custodial positions were also eliminated as a result of funding reductions during the recession/budget shortfall. In 2006-07 50 custodians were employed by SCPS. Today there are 40.25 custodians, yet the school division maintains the same buildings. Because the student to custodian ratio is highest at W.W. Robinson Elementary School, we are requesting funding to replace the custodial position that was cut at that school.

The following table lists costs to help meet the gaps identified with the school board goal of System Efficiencies:

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252

222

111

136

165

93

142 127

-

50

100

150

200

250

300

ALES WWRES SHES NFMS PMMS SKMS SJHS CHS SHS

students per custodian

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System Efficiencies: Request All positions are listed with salary and all benefi ts included

Bus Leases $ 80,000 Mini Vans 65,000 Utilities cost to replace E-Rate funding 30,269 Maintenance Department Funding HVAC purchased services 37,000 Custodial Supplies 19,000 Maintenance service contracts 44,000 Custodial Support 41,587

Total Request for System Efficiencies $ 316,856

Summary of Budget Request:

School Board Goal : Request Student Opportunity and Achievement $ 1,382,876 Staff Excellence 1,070,876 System Efficiencies 316,856 TOTAL REQUEST $ 2,770,608

This budget represents many hours of work by many individuals. Much work has been devoted to identifying gaps in SCPS and how to bridge those gaps. This budget includes an additional funding request for 2015-16 of $2,770,608 with $2,686,880 coming from Shenandoah County. This budget is crafted to rest on the cornerstones of education. If it is funded, this budget will be a significant step toward meeting the needs of our students, the desires of our community as expressed in their belief statements, and the goals of the School Board. Funding sources required to balance this budget are listed below.

Sources Budget 2014-15 Projected 2015-16 Change State Aid $ 31,153,763 $ 31,058,504 $ -95,259 Federal Funds 1,351,819 1,342,320 -9,499 Other Funds 2,464,707 2,653,193 188,486 Local Funds 24,467,495 27,154,375 2,686,880 TOTAL $ 59,437,784 $ 62,208,392 $ 2,770,608

The budget increase for 2015-16 can be categorized as represented in the chart below. The 35% of the increase is for salary and benefits for existing employees. Funding for new instructional personnel and direct instructional support is 50% of the request and all other requests are 15% of the increase.

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The total budget also includes SCPS’s special budgets. These special budgets are programs which are funded without the support of Shenandoah County and are designated for specific purposes – they cannot be used for general educational purposes of SCPS. For this reason they are set apart as separate budgets.

The entire requested budget appropriation will include the operating budget and the special budgets.

Budget 2014-15 2015-16 requested budget Change

Operating Budget $ 59,437,784 $ 62,208,392 $ 2,770,608 Special Budgets 11,055,764 5,724,441 -5,331,323 Total Appropriation $ 70,493,548 $ 67,932,833 $ 2,560,715

The decrease in the Special Budgets relates to the elimination of the Health Insurance Special budget.

Teacher

Salary 21%

Staff salary

14%

Instructional

costs 15%

Instructional

Personnel

35%

Other 15%

Budget needs requested by major category

shenandoah county public schools 2015-16 proposed...

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