08-09 Budget Published

The draft budget that will come before the BOE tonight for approval has been posted to the SFUSD website. In order to ensure that this document remains available, I've reposted it here: FY08-09_Recommended_Budget_2nd_Reading (2.5Mb PDF)

There are other links on the SFUSD site to presentation documents and other sources of information on the budget. My guess is these materials were used in the budget workshop meetings.

Nice to see the recent practice of publishing budget continuing with the new Garcia administration.

Here's Garcia's forword from the budget document:

SUPERINTENDENT’S BUDGET MESSAGE

RECOMMENDED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008-09 (SECOND READING)

June 24, 2008

San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) has distinguished itself by becoming the highest performing large urban school district in the State of California. This distinction has been earned through the hard work of our students, teachers, staff and administrators and the support of our vibrant parent communities and organizations, City and community partners, and the voters of San Francisco. San Franciscans have continually supported strong public schools through the passage of the 2003 and 2006 Proposition A School Bonds, the 2004 Public Education Enrichment Fund (Proposition H), and most recently, Proposition A on the June 2008 ballot – the Quality Teacher and Education Act. This past year has been marked by a remarkable degree of unity toward common goals and a shared commitment to support all SFUSD students through hard work, innovative thinking, and a spirit of partnership.

The proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2008-09 is based on information currently known regarding the State’s ongoing budget development process. California Education Code requires that school district governing boards adopt a preliminary budget by July 1st of each year. As is the case in many years, this deadline arrives prior to the adoption of the State budget. However, at this time, we and other districts are proceeding with the development of our budget based on the Governor’s proposal for K-12 education funding for the upcoming fiscal year.

The Governor has offered California’s school districts an inadequate budget – one that reflects no cost of living adjustment and significant across-the-board cuts in categorical programs. In addition, SFUSD continues to face decreases in student enrollment that affect our revenue limit, a continual rise in operational costs (such as utility costs and health care premiums), and major under-funding in areas including Special Education, student transportation, and child development programs.

As the budget allocates financial and human resources and guides the delivery of programs and services, SFUSD’s budget should reflect our strategic plans, a strong public school system and a commitment to excellence and equity in our schools. Within the constraints of too-limited resources, this budget endeavors to support this vision. This budget contains resources to support our students who are struggling academically as well as some of our most challenged schools. It also looks broadly at our operational systems to make investments that in the long-run will yield more efficient operations and cost savings. I am looking forward to working with the Board of Education, my staff, and community partners to further developing SFUSD’s strategic plan which upon completion will serve as a guide to all our actions, including resource allocation decisions.

In the interest of the SFUSD’s fiscal well-being, our budgetary strategy must consider long- term plans. We are extremely fortunate to benefit from the Rainy Day Reserve from the City Page 1 of 457 and County of San Francisco, but we must plan carefully with these one-time funds, especially considering discouraging financial projections beyond FY 2008-09.

Throughout this process, I encourage all members of the SFUSD community to continue to work together to develop sound decisions that support the academic and developmental needs of our students.

Carlos Garcia Superintendent of Schools