Superintendent Presents Proposed Operating Budget for FY17

January 8th, 2016

Howard County Public School System Superintendent Dr. Renee A. Foose unveiled her proposed budget for fiscal year 2016–2017 (FY17) to the Board of Education on Jan. 7 during a special presentation. The budget is available online at http://www.hcpss.org/about-us/budgets.

The FY17 budget proposal totals $838.7 million, an 8.0 percent increase over the FY16 budget. Of the total, $595.9 million is requested from the County, an increase of $51.8 million.

“Our school system made significant cost-containment decisions, including funding reductions, during the recent lean economic years. Now is the time to strengthen our schools and sustain their success,” Foose said. “This budget request provides the funding needed to support our students, workforce and infrastructure in ways that will continue to produce the level of excellence our community expects.”

The superintendent’s FY17 budget request is anchored by increases in several major categories:

• Mandatory increases: $30.6 million to fund employee benefits and pensions.
• Negotiated agreements: $12.7 million, which represents the impact of salary increases negotiated with bargaining units after the FY16 budget was approved.
• A placeholder for FY17 negotiated salary increases of $13.0 million, which is equivalent to a 2 percent cost of living increase.
• Enrollment growth: $4.4 million, to fund instructional supplies and instructional staff to support the expected 1,088 new students, as well as growing numbers with special instructional needs. The additional enrollment is not funded by Maintenance of Effort funding, which is based upon the state criteria for actual enrollment growth for the prior school year.
• Restoration: $3.6 million for items that were either prefunded in the prior budget, or cuts such as deferred maintenance that are being restored.
• Maintenance of high quality practices: $2.3 million, for the staffing, programs, and supplies needed to maintain an excellent educational program.

“Our students’ achievements reflect the talent and commitment of a top-notch team of educators and staff,” Foose noted. “The budget proposal includes funding for a compensation package that is commensurate with their skills and experience, and that absorbs the impact of rapidly rising benefit costs.”

The FY17 budget request was reduced by approximately $4.2 million in savings identified through zero-based budgeting, a process that aligns all proposed expenditures to strategic priorities rather than history, and fuels operational efficiencies.

Of each budget dollar, 80 cents is allocated directly to fund school staff and teaching materials; 5 cents to transportation, and 11 cents for facility operation and maintenance. Central Office administration and support accounts for just 4 cents per budget dollar

Citizens are invited to provide feedback on the budget during an online community forum on Friday, Jan. 15 at 12 p.m. The Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m., followed by Work Sessions on Feb. 4 (1 p.m.), Feb. 9 (7 p.m.), Feb. 16 (1 p.m.) and Feb. 18 (1 p.m.).

The Board of Education is scheduled to adopt the FY17 Operating & Capital Budgets and FY18-22 Capital Improvement Program on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 9:00 a.m. All hearings, work sessions and meetings will be held at the Department of Education, 10910 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City.

A Citizen’s Budget Guide provides information about the budgeting process, factors that influence FY17 budget projections, and a summary of operating revenue and expenditures. The guide is available online at http://www.hcpss.org/f/aboutus/budget/fy17/fy2017-budget-citizensguide.pdf, or in print on request from the Public Information Office at publicinfo@hcpss.org or 410-313-6682.