I did not attend the Thursday budget presentation that Dan Damon reported on. I did receive the PEA flier urging attendance at the March 15 business meeting.
The meeting is 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Plainfield High School auditorium. There is nothing on the agenda regarding the budget, but people can speak during privilege of the floor. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for March 29 and the final date for adoption is April 1, both of which fall during the district's spring recess.
Checking the district web site, under "Board of Education" I saw only a link to the 2014-15 budget. Information on 2016-17 is linked on the moving banner on the home page. You have to click on item 3 to see the following and click each one separately: "Proposed FY17 Budget," a 55-page document with line items contrasted in three columns; "Budget Calendars for Both an April Election and a November Election," a 21-page document covering various kinds of districts and timetables; and an 8-page budget presentation in an odd format that is difficult to read. For those who did not attend the meeting Thursday, transparency is lacking in this presentation.
The figures on the flier contain one error compared to the budget presentation, stating $285,000 for reduced usage of substitute teachers instead of $125,000 as presented by the superintendent. I couldn't figure out how the $187,023,334 proposed budget, stated by the superintendent on the PowerPoint as an increase of $2,922,169, came out to have a $6.5 million shortfall as described by Dan.
The current budget presentation seems confusing compared to the 2014 one on the Board of Education page. For example, the 2015-16 one projects an 82 percent increase in charter school costs - by 2020, four years hence. What is the relevance for this year's budget? There is also a foreboding slide titled "Banked Cap," saying "Board has the option to raise taxes up to 19 percent." It is illustrated by a fearful cartoon creature looking at the text and running away. What does that mean?
I hope speakers Tuesday gain some clarification on the bottom line, although ultimately, no matter what voters say on April 19, the budget adopted by the board may not be subject to change by the governing body.The district's needy status has meant that any cuts will be restored by the state Department of Education.
--Bernice
And the Campbells try to say they keep thing a-political. They do not. Have budget hearings when school is not in session and close to a holiday is very sleazy and Campbellesque, if I can coin a new term. They are exemplary shifty politicians. We all need to vote in April to try to get a BOE that is transparent and honest. Our kids depend on us to take action!
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