The Superintendent’s proposed 2018 -2019 school year budget is currently being discussed by the Board of Education. The school district leadership team and I believe that this budget supports our mission to educate the whole child to result in high academic achievement, social-emotional health, and future success. We’ve mapped out our goals to achieve this in our District Improvement Plan, School Improvement Plans and Special Services Improvement Plan.
The proposed budget builds upon the past two years’ foundation of motivated and growth mindset teachers and students, Professional Learning Communities, increasingly rigorous curriculum, benchmark assessments across all content areas, digital learning K through 12th grade, and professional development across the curriculum and in the areas of social-emotional learning, special education, and teacher evaluation and support. The work of the curriculum leaders for English Language Arts, mathematics, social studies and science are supporting teachers in curriculum writing to provide rigorous learning opportunities for students.
The Superintendent’s proposed 2018-2019 budget reflects a strong investment in quality instruction for student learning and success. This budget continues to support teacher growth because we know from research that the number one factor behind student achievement is a highly qualified teacher. The budget continues to support job-embedded personalized training and collaborative support to teachers through curriculum leaders, instructional coaches, teacher led learning, and the teacher evaluation process. The budget enhances our special education program to provide specialized staff training and specialized instruction for special education students including those with significant disabilities. This budget builds on our current resources and provides collaborative professional development focused on teacher led analysis of student learning data, improving instructional practices and increasing student performance.
A high performing school district in the 21st Century requires a strong infrastructure. The budget provides for high quality staffing and resources to procure appropriate class sizes, comply with federal and state mandates, preserve safety and security, and meet service demands in special education. Necessary staffing and training to ensure the continuous development of highly qualified certified staff is financially achieved with reductions in consultants for areas where in-district support is now available. Minimal reductions of teachers and staff are attained through attrition while being mindful of appropriate class size, workload and service needs. Funding is allocated to continue the support of a reliable effective technology network and a 1:1 digital environment.
Budget increases are included for our current union contracts and a significant increase in health insurance costs.
The resulting budget is $35,191,548 that reflects an increase of $579,704 and represents a 1.67% year-to-year increase. The health insurance increase accounts for 1.5% of the 1.67% increase.
This budget builds on a solid foundation to continuously improve services and learning opportunities for students while ensuring support and training for highly effective teachers who will deliver rigorous instruction in a nurturing environment as they prepare our students for success in the world of tomorrow. I encourage you to learn more about the proposed budget by going to our Suffield Public Schools’ website.