In April, the DeKalb Schools administration presented a 2-page estimated FY2018 budget for the upcoming 2017 – 2018 school year. On Monday, the administration will present a complete tentative budget and revenue projects.
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Tax revenues for the school district’s general operating fund have grown almost 30% ($213 million) over the last 4 years and are expected to reach $1 billion this coming school year. All funds including SPLOST will bring FY2018 anticipated revenues to over $1.6 billion.
Beginning Fund Balance – This past year, the school district spent everything it took in. The Beginning Fund Balance (Jul 2017) is expected to be $123 million.
The estimated Budgeted Expenses are currently $1.031 billion, $31 million over estimated revenues. The Superintendent and board expect to cut that down to $1 billion over the upcoming months. I expect the school district to spend everything it takes in again this year.
DeKalb’s Millage Rate is currently 23.38. The current estimates assumes no changes in the millage rate, but their are discussions about inching it back down toward pre-recession rates.
Where is the increase going? The FY2018 budget estimates are roughly $45 million more than the original FY2017 general operating budget.
$8 million (annualized) – January 2017 1.5% school house salary adjustment. No other estimated raises for teachers this year.
$4 million – Funds appropriated in December for deferred maintenance
$3.6 million – Austin Elementary land swap
$2.7 million – mid year charter schools funding adjustment
$12 million – mandatory TRS contribution increase
Budget Estimates 2017-2018 (FY2017)
FY2017 Mid-Year Budget Adjustment
Budget for School Year 2016-2017 (FY2017)
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
Stan, do you have any information about what the heck is happening to Dekalb’s Principals? Apparently, none of the district’s Principals have been offered employment contracts for next school year. (I have not asked every single Principal about their contracts, but the few I have checked with have not been offered contracts for next year.)
I am also hearing scuttlebutt that 15+ Dekalb Principals are gone. Apparently, they are reading letters to their teachers and other school employees announcing that they will no longer be with the school district. It sounds like they are being immediately removed.
Allow me to provide a more thorough answer in a couple days. I will say that in Dr. Green’s first year, he got his senior staff in order. His second year, the school year we are in now, Dr. Green put the Regional Superintendent Cabinets together and asked them to perform. Let’s say Dr. Green is focused on getting the right people on the bus in leadership positions at the school house so to speak.
Are teachers going to be given the opportunity to fill out evaluations of administrators? Even before TKES we always had the chance to rate our principals and APs.
Good question. I don’t know.
Stan, I posted my question as a comment under Maureen Downey’s blog and eight minutes later she answered:
http://getschooled.blog.myajc.com/2017/05/11/should-teachers-try-to-break-up-fights-or-are-risks-too-great/
According to her, about 10 Dekalb Principals are losing their jobs (not being renewed). Far more troubling to me is that *ALL* Principal contracts are being held back:
Holding back contracts is a really, really crappy way to treat Dekalb’s high performing Principals. No wonder Norman Sauce bailed!
Mr Jester,
It is very hard for staff members to give input. The counselor at a school in a region on the north side of the district, requested persmission to speak with the Region Superintendent about some serious issues. It was brave of this person to do that. She was not trying to hide. She was not trying to say things behind the principal’s back. She was not allowed to do this. I have been told that :This principal has said in front of staff that the Region Superintendent is his friend.
We wonder why so many stories end up on the news. When people do not have ways to have their voices heard, what options do they have?
Mr Jester.
In the HCM report that will be shared with the BOE , the numbers do not seem to add up correctly.
I copied in the link for the report.
The report list 1,180 teachers hired in the fiscal year.
The report list 59 teacher resigned in the fiscal year.
How is that possible?
https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=4054&AID=809028&MID=58912
The 59 teachers are for the period 3/20/2017 Until 4/19/2017
Mr. Jester
If the 1,180 teachers were hired in the fiscal year, why isn’t the number that resigned in the fiscal year listed?
I’m sure the school district would be happy to provide those numbers for you if you asked. I find the data in this report perfunctory and relatively useless.
A couple things.
Have you seen a proposed detailed budget for FY ’18 yet? It is usually available for the May BOE meeting, but wasn’t posted anywhere this morning.
I have to point out the regional cabinets are led by the same incompetent regional superintendents who have been in the district for far too long. They are the ones who are creating a negative culture throughout the county. We need to replace them all with people who are not friends and family and who are outcomes oriented.
STEP
PROCESS
DATE & TIME
Dear Jester
You provided me the following response to my question about special education.
“The special ed money is really a shift from federal dollars to local dollars. The .pdf link icon FY2018 DCSD Proposed Budget will itemize at a high level how the dollars are spent.”
Please explain this. Does it mean that the federal government is cutting special ed funds and the county has to make up the difference?
Or is this the amount that the DCSD is required to pay towards special education funding.
Both of my questions may be incorrect. I am just trying to understand .
Those are good questions. I’m not sure what’s driving the shift.