Operating Budget 2015-16
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OPERATING BUDGET 2015-16 Adopted by the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners May 4, 2015 BALTIMORE CITY BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS Shanaysha Sauls, Chair David Stone, Vice-Chair Lisa Akchin Cheryl Casciani Linda Chinnia Marnell Cooper Tina Hike-Hubbard Martha James-Hassan Peter Kannam Eddie Hawkins Jr., Student Commissioner BALTIMORE CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS EXECUTIVE OFFICERS Gregory Thornton, Chief Executive Officer Naomi Gubernick, Chief of Staff Linda Chen, Chief Academic Officer Lisa Grillo, Human Capital Officer Theresa Jones, Interim Achievement and Accountability Officer Donald Kennedy, Sr., Chief Financial Officer Keith Scroggins, Operations Officer Kenneth Thompson, Chief Technology Officer Tammy Turner, Chief Legal Counsel BUDGET TEAM Ryan Hemminger, Budget Director Kevin Cronin Nicole Johnson Joshua Portnoy Charles Weaver BALTIMORE CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS 200 E. North Ave Room 403 Baltimore, Maryland 21202 410-396-8745 May 4, 2015 Dear Baltimore City Public Schools Community, Baltimore’s children and youth are the future of our city, and City Schools’ most important responsibility is to make sure that future is bright, successful, and filled with possibility. The Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners’ vision for our city’s public schools describes our responsibility in a concrete way: Every student will graduate ready to achieve excellence in higher education and the global workforce. As we began to develop the district’s operating budget for the 2015-16 year, the need to make that vision a reality for all our students—regardless of the neighborhood in which they live, their background, or their individual strengths or challenges—guided our work. This budget focuses on providing every student with every opportunity to be successful. The key initiatives designated as funding priorities and described in this document outline how we will provide those opportunities. Our budget methodology that funds schools before anything else demonstrates our continued commitment to putting resources close to students, where the real work takes place. To that end, a new structure for the district office will be implemented in 2015-16 to improve efficiency, align functions with delivery of our key initiatives, and ensure that students and schools continue to receive the support they need for success. Also central to our budget development was the need to ensure that initiatives and programs critical to our students’ success could be sustained for the long term. The 2015-16 budget not only meets our obligation to balance revenue and expenses, it sets the district on a path of financial stability for the years ahead. From that solid foundation, the district will engage the community in developing a comprehensive, thoughtful strategic plan to accelerate achievement for all students, a plan to which budget development in future years can be tied. As we head into the 2015-16 school year, my second as CEO of City Schools, I am encouraged by our direction. I look forward to all that we will accomplish next year, and to years of accomplishment ahead for our students. Finally, I thank the Board of School Commissioners, whose clear goals and priorities for City Schools guided all aspects of budget development. I also thank all members of the City Schools community—students, families, staff, volunteers, partners, and other stakeholders—for your support and commitment to our vision of excellence for Baltimore’s children. I look forward to the coming school year and our continued work together for our students. Sincerely, Gregory E. Thornton, Ed.D. Chief Executive Officer TABLE OF CONTENTS Informing Baltimore City Public Schools’ Budget Development 5 City Schools at a Glance 6 Mission, Vision, and Priorities 7 CEO Theory of Action 7 Identifying Key Initiatives as Funding Priorities 9 Pillar 1: Student Achievement 10 Pillar 2: Effective and Efficient Operations 13 Pillar 3: Family and Community Engagement 15 Creating the District’s Annual Budget 17 Guiding Principles 18 Engaging the Community 18 Timeline 19 Methodology 19 Overcoming Challenges, Building for the Future 27 School Buildings 29 21st-Century School Buildings Plan 30 Capital Improvements 31 School Budgets 33 Types of Schools 34 General Fund Expenditures 35 Budgets for Individual Schools, Year-to-Year Comparison 38 The District Office 59 Organization 60 District Office Budgets 63 Summary of District Office Changes 102 Additional Budget Allocations 104 Appendices 107 A. Summary Tables 108 B. General Fund Detail 110 C. Special Funds Detail 114 D. Enterprise Fund Detail 127 E. Board Policies 130 F. Board Commissioner and CEO Profiles 140 G. Glossary 144 Please note that, throughout this document, dollar figures have been rounded up to the nearest full dollar. This rounding may cause minor discrepancies to occur in totals in table columns. Informing Baltimore City Public Schools’ Budget Development The budget adopted by the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners on May 4, 2015, represents Baltimore City Public Schools’ plan to expend funds in 2015-16 to advance achievement through high- quality teaching and learning for the close to 85,000 students in the district. The budget for 2015-16 (FY16) begins to establish the basis for long-term financial stability as the district advances its mission to ensure excellence in education for every child at every level by focusing on quality instruction, managing systems efficiently, and sustaining a culture of excellence. Just as City Schools’ students can be most successful when instruction is designed to build on their individual talents and meet their unique interests and needs, so, too, is our district’s success tied to building on its unique strengths and providing critical support in areas that need improvement. When they develop their instruction, good teachers start with a deep knowledge of their individual students and of best practices in teaching and learning. When district staff started developing this year’s budget, they framed their work in their deep knowledge of the district and of best practices in allocating revenue to support student success. City Schools at a Glance As the largest city in the State of Maryland and the 26th most populous city in the country, the City of Baltimore is also home to one of the country’s largest school districts. Since the first public school opened in 1829 with an enrollment of 269 students, Baltimore City Public Schools has grown to serve close to 85,000 students in almost 200 schools and programs. Originally established under the authority of the City of Baltimore, City Schools by the Numbers, since 1997 City Schools has operated under an expanded partnership 2014-15 of the city and state, with Baltimore’s mayor and Maryland’s governor → 84,976 students in pre-k jointly responsible for appointing members of the Baltimore City through 12th grade Board of School Commissioners. The Board, in turn, is responsible → 83% African American, 8% for appointing the district’s Chief Executive Officer, who leads the White, 7% Hispanic → district’s operations, ensures its performance in delivering high- 83.7% low income (based on eligibility for quality academic programming that promotes growth in student free/reduced-price meals) achievement, and guides implementation of strategic planning. → 4.5% English language learners In 2015-16, City Schools anticipates serving a projected 84,959 → 15% with disabilities students in 186 schools and programs. Schools, school leaders, teachers, and school-based staff are supported by the district office, which provides services that are most efficiently managed centrally, ranging from curriculum development to technology infrastructure to student transportation. Mission, Vision, and Priorities The district’s budget is and should be a tangible demonstration of City Schools’ mission, vision, priorities, and strategic direction for the upcoming year. In the last few months of the 2014-15 school year, the 6 Baltimore City Public Schools district will embark on a strategic planning process that will engage the broader community in shaping what that plan will look like. Prior to engaging the broader community, the district has established foundational elements that will guide the formation of that strategic plan. Mission: Excellence in education for every child at every level by focusing on quality instruction, managing systems efficiently, and sustaining a culture of excellence. Vision: Every student will graduate ready to achieve excellence in higher education and the global workforce. CEO Theory of Action If we are to meet our responsibility to provide the students of Baltimore City with a high-quality education that prepares them for success in college and careers, then we must build a culture that supports transformational change throughout City Schools based on the three Pillars of Excellence: • Student Achievement • Effective and Efficient Operations • Family and Community Engagement We recognize and assert that the goals of all three pillars are foundational, interdependent, and equally important to the successful attainment of our mission, and that they are reflective of our values as an organization. The CEO’s Theory of Action and the three Pillars of Excellence contained within are aligned with and serve to shape the district priorities, established in collaboration between the Board of School Commissioners and the CEO. These priorities form the framework around which strategies will be defined during the strategic planning process in order to achieve