Category Archives: Finances

Cross Keys Cluster Over-Capacity Issues

Posted on September 17, 2015 by | 8 comments

Administrators were met with a full house on Tuesday when presenting proposals to address over-capacity issues in the Cross Keys Cluster. Another community meeting will be held tonight – Thu, Sep 17th at 6 PM, Sequoyah MS.
The Cross Keys cluster consists of 4 elementary schools, a middle school and high school. To serve the growing student population, 18 portable classrooms were added this year to the elementary schools and 16 portable classrooms were added to the middle and high school.

School New Trailers
This Year		 Total Classrooms
In Trailers
Cary Reynolds ES 4 25
Dresden ES 12 26
Montclair ES 2 18
Sequoyah MS 8 17
Cross Keys HS 8 15

The proposed solution is a multi phased approach.
Phase I (Summer 2016) – Phase I will be to relocate DESA, Avondale MS and Warren Tech to less utilized facilities down south. 3rd, 4th and/or 5th grade academies will be created for Cary Reynolds and Dresden in the recently vacated buildings.
Phase II (Fall 2017 and beyond) – Phase II will consist of the construction of two new elementary schools and the development of up to 3 district wide Pre-K centers. Relief for the middle and high schools will be obtained through new school or renovation additions to the existing schools.
Funding – Funding will be through E-SLPOST and COPs (Certificates of Participation), publicly offered or privately placed, both competitively, repaid by E-SPLOST V revenues.
Public meetings: (Stakeholder Engagement)

  • Tue, Sep 15th at 6 PM, Cross Keys HS
  • Thu, Sep 17th at 6 PM, Sequoyah MS

October 5th Board Meeting:
Allocate $9.25 million of E-SPLOST IV funds for
(1) Improvements at Warren Tech, Terry Mill, & Former ISC,
(2) Modular buildings and parking,
(3) Design of two elementary schools, and
(4) Feasibility study for middle and high school capacity
Approve moving forward with COPS financing package
.pdf link icon  Proposal to Address Over-Capacity Issues in the Cross Keys Cluster

8 Comments

Posted in Board Meetings, Cross Keys Cluster, Finances

How The District Funds The School House

Posted on June 24, 2015 by | 2 comments

Better Know DeKalb County Schools

Dr. Kaveous Preston

Dr. Kaveous K. Preston is DeKalb Schools’ Director of Allotments Scheduling & Budgets, and Office of Federal Programs and has generated tens of millions of dollars through QBE optimization. He has 18 years of experience as an educator serving as a Math Teacher, Special Ed Teacher, Assistant Principal/Curriculum Director, Principal, and in the Central Office Administration.
Dr. Preston discusses How the District Funds the School House.
Question: Can you explain the point system and how school houses are funded?
Answer:
1. Enrollment: Please see the DeKalb Allotment-Master [DeKalb Allotment-Master.xls] to see how positions are earned.
2. FTE – The school will earn FTE (Full Time Equivalent which is reported in October and March for each student) from the different FTE categories. Once the report comes out from the GDOE in October, the Staffing Formula 2012-2013 [Staffing Formula 2012-2013.xls] for DCSD is used to calculate the number of teachers earned for the next fiscal year. (Please be advised that the teachers are not earned off the maximum that can be in each class, but the minimum that has to be in each class)
These two areas calculate the number of instructional allotments for each school. The two areas are FTE earned and Enrollment.
Clerical Allotments (Clerical Allotments.xls) is for clerical which is based on enrollment also.
Question: What other staff, like kitchen and janitorial, does the point system not cover?
Answer: This allotment earning system does not cover nutrition, security, special education (it is calculated for special education; however the IEP drives the final staffing).
Question: Is the point system strictly the allocation of staffing funded by the General Operating Funds?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Can you explain how Title 1 funds/drives staffing at the school house?
Answer: DCSD ensures that all schools are staffed with general education funds before Title I funds are considered. Title I staff is above and beyond the general funded staff required per enrollment.
Question: Can you explain how various QBE designations, IEP, EIP, etc… affect staffing?
Answer: The special education category (IEP as listed above in your question) is driven by the student’s IEP and staffed accordingly. Within the regular education categories, they are funded at a higher number per FTE earned as you can see in the attachment. EIP, Gifted, ESOL, etc.., are all funded at a lower number per FTE earned. This philosophy is in line with the state’s philosophy.
Question: We discussed that the minimum class funding size is the basis here. Can we get the minimum class funding size for Fy14, FY15 and FY16?
Answer: The minimum class funding size is the “INSTRUCTIONAL ALLOTMENT STAFFING FORMULA 2014-2015” in the 14-15 Class Size Chart. It has not changed within any of these years.
Dr. Preston gives a QBE Budget Analysis FY 2008-2016
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy-E7SuE_Sg]
Thank you, Dr. Preston, for taking the time to go through this. Helping people understand how we fund the school house will build a great deal of trust in our communities. People trust what they understand.

2 Comments

Posted in Budget, Finances