SOUTH EUGENE HIGH SCHOOL
PARENT COUNCIL
BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING
Thursday, February 21, 2008
MINUTES
Note: Please be advised that figures listed in these minutes are as of the specific meeting date and may have changed since the meeting date.
1. Welcome & Introductions
In Attendance: Randy Bernstein, SEHS Principal; Helen Garrett, Chair of Parent
Council; Michelle Pellitier, Parent; Lucy Vinis, Scrip Committee Chair;
Carol Yarbrough, Parent; and Cindy Wright, Treasurer of Parent
Council and Budget Committee Chair.
Cindy Wright welcomed committee members and thanked them for volunteering to serve on the Budget Committee.
2. Purpose of Committee
The purpose of the Budget Committee is to review and discuss the details of the Funding
Appropriations Survey and requests for funding for the 2008-2009 school year, and to compile a Proposed Parent Council Budget for the 2008-2009 school year to present at a regular Parent Council meeting for approval by the Parent Council as a whole.
3. Review of 2007-2008 Budget
The committee reviewed the Parent Council Budget for the current 2007-2008 school year. As of July 1, 2007, Parent Council had $69,491 in assets. Of that amount, $7,000 was kept in reserves, specifically $5,000 in the scrip account and $2,000 in the Parent Council account. Another $3,650 was designated for routine expenditures, such as directory printing, the e- news e-mail server, staff appreciation, supplies, speakers/meetings, etc. An additional $34,753 was designated for School Programs, specifically $11,925 for 2.25 hours per day of Library time, $9,978 for 0.12 FTE for Music, $10,600 for 2.0 hours per day for the Volunteer Coordinator, and $2,250 for 4J Equity (a “surcharge” on donated amounts over $10,000). The remaining $24,088 was categorized as Undesignated Funds. See the attached copy of the 2007-2008 Budget for details.
It is important to remember that the funds Parent Council raises in one year are then used to fund programs for the following year. For example, funds raised during the 2006-2007 school year were used to budget for the 2007-2008 school year.
The committee reviewed historical data for Parent Council finances for the last two years. In the 2006-2007 school year, income was $32,290 and expenditures totaled $28,095, leaving a net income of $4,195.
In reviewing the current 2007-2008 finances, the overriding observation is that fundraising is down significantly. Specifically, Chinook Books revenue is down $3,240 (next year, Chinook Books will raise $-0- since a Eugene book is not being compiled), Directory revenue is down $303.00, Registration Donations are down $1,618, scrip revenue is projected to be down $2,217, and interest revenue is projected to be lower by $290, a total reduction in fundraising of $7,668. Meanwhile, total expenditures are projected to increase by $9,191.
Overall, for the 2007-2008 school year, total revenue is projected to be $24,712 with projected expenditures totaling $37,286, leaving a net loss of $12,574 for the 2007-2008 school year. Cindy Wright pointed out that in projecting final 2007-2008 figures, revenues are estimated conservatively and expenditures are estimated liberally. Hopefully, the final net loss will not be as large as estimated, but a net loss is definitely anticipated.
4. Administration Requests for 2008-2009
Randy Bernstein submitted the administration’s requests for funding for the 2008-2009 school year. The requests are for the same items as this year, specifically:
$12,713 Library - 2.25 hours/day
$10,800 Music - 0.12 FTE
$11,300 Volunteer Coordinator - 2.0 hours/day
$ 1,281 4J/EEF Equity
$36,094 Total
The 2.25 hours per day of Library time allows the Library to be open ½ hour before school and ½ hour after school, as well as throughout the lunch period. Without Parent Council funds, the Library would not be open before or after school, and would have to be closed for a portion of each school day as well.
The 0.12 FTE of Music covers 60% of one section of Music. Parent Council started funding this item several years ago when the number of Music sections resulted in two music teachers needing to be paid for over 1.0 FTE, which is not allowed due to contractual obligations. In order to maintain the Music sections, Parent Council provided the funds to hire another teacher to cover the time over 1.0 FTE. Without Parent Council funding, current Music sections would have to be cut back, resulting in some students not being able to take the Music courses they desire.
The 2.0 hours per day for the Volunteer Coordinator allows the essential coordination of the many volunteer efforts throughout South. The Volunteer Coordinator is responsible for organizing all the parent and community volunteers at South. Volunteer efforts include the Career Center, the Library, tutors, sports registration, selling tickets and concessions at sports events, answering phones and assisting with mailings, chaperoning dances and other events, serving on senior project panels, etc., etc. Without these volunteer efforts, many programs at South would suffer. And without the Volunteer Coordinator, many of these volunteer opportunities would not take place.
Parent Council has supported these three School Programs for the last three to five years. This support has become an integral part of continuing South’s comprehensive programs.
Randy Bernstein pointed out that due to declining enrollment across the district, South was projected to lose approximately 100 students for the 2008-2009 school year. The impact of this enrollment decline will be spread out over two years. Next year, 2008-2009, it will translate to a loss of about two full-time licensed positions. The following year, 2009-2010, will probably be an even greater loss when the full effect of the 2008-2009 reduction takes place, plus the effect of any additional enrollment losses for the 2009-2010 year. As a result of this declining enrollment scenario, Parent Council funding support becomes even more important to maintaining current programs.
Cindy Wright then presented a tentative Proposed Budget for 2008-2009, assuming that Randy’s requests were approved. Assets as of July 1, 2008, the beginning of Parent Council’s fiscal year, are estimated to be $56,917. Reserves of $7,000 would be set aside, routine expenditures would be budgeted to be $2,450, and School Programs (Library, Music, Volunteer Coordinator, Equity) would total $36,094, leaving $11,373 in Undesignated Funds. This Undesignated Funds figure is significantly less than the $24,088 in Undesignated Funds at the beginning of the current fiscal year. The decrease in the Undesignated Funds figure can be attributed to the decreased fundraising and increased expenses for the 2007-2008 school year.
5. Review & Discussion of Funding Appropriations Survey Results
A lengthy discussion regarding the results of the Funding Appropriations Survey took place. Some highlights from that discussion include:
Response Rate: The survey was advertised in the E-News, and 88 people requested it. A total of 55 surveys were returned for a response rate of 62.5%. While this is an excellent response rate, we must recognize that this represents a very small fraction of the total number of students and families currently at South. Although it is very helpful to have the information provided by the survey, and the Budget Committee wants to recognize Helen Garrett’s leadership and initiative in performing the survey.
Current Program Allocations: Survey results overwhelmingly show continued support for funding the three items that Parent Council has funded the past several years, specifically Library time, Music time, and the Volunteer Coordinator. Based on the survey results and the previous discussion about these items, the committee approved the inclusion of these three items, at the rates requested by the administration, in the final proposed budget for 2008-2009.
Surplus Funds Allocation: Based on a point system, the ideas for allocating Parent Council’s “surplus” funds were ranked in order from #1 to #9:
#1 380 Points Grant Writer Funding
#2 348 Points Wish List from SEHS Teachers
#3 268 Points Textbook Sets for Classrooms
#4 213 Points Smart Boards for Classrooms
#5 196 Points Driver’s Education Scholarships
#6 193 Points Projector Mounting in Classrooms
#7 156 Points Practice Field Improvements
#8 148 Points Cardio & Fitness Equipment
#9 109 Points College Scholarships for Seniors
The committee agreed that #5 and #9 - Driver’s Education and College Scholarships - would not be funded at this time, due to the availability of these items through other avenues. The Career Center currently provides help and direction to seniors seeking scholarships. Parent Council may want to explore ways to educate parents and students about the availability of Driver’s Education scholarships, which are hardly utilized at this time.
The committee felt that textbook sets for classrooms, mounting projectors in classrooms, and purchasing more smart boards should be examined in conjunction with the teacher wish list. In asking teachers for wish list items, these items could be included as suggestions proposed by Parent Council. Improvements to the practice field and purchasing more cardio and fitness equipment could also be examined in light of a wish list from the Athletic Department.
Which leaves the top two items - funding a grant writer and asking teachers for a wish list. The committee felt that it was rather late in the budget process to ask teachers for a wish list, and interpreted the support for a grant writer as a desire to find more ways to raise more funds for Parent Council.
The committee then examined the Additional Funding Suggestions. There was a definite theme to the vast majority of the suggestions - staffing. Parents overwhelmingly support funding more staffing. Unfortunately, Parent Council’s current fundraising efforts cannot support additional staffing at this time. Other suggestions included several athletic-related ideas and ways to try to increase fundraising, as well as one regarding changing to full-spectrum lighting and one asking for healthier food choices in the cafeteria.
Survey Conclusion: Based on the results of the survey, the committee felt the bottom-line message from parents was to continue supporting the current programs we support, and to find ways to raise more funds to be able to support the current staff and to hopefully increase overall staffing.
A discussion then followed regarding ideas to increase fundraising. Randy Bernstein suggested tapping into our alumni base to ask donations. Obtaining ideas to increase scrip participation from other successful schools was another idea, as well as hiring a marketing firm to develop a scrip marketing plan that could be used year after year. Funding a grant writer could also have the potential to bring substantial funds South’s way. Lucy Vinis would like to see a master list compiled of all of South’s fundraising efforts - from the direct donation drive to scrip to individual club/sports fundraising - to allow for some possible coordination among the fundraising efforts. All of these ideas will take time and effort to develop further.
6. Next Meeting: Thursday, February 28, 2008, 7:00 p.m., SEHS Library
The next meeting of the Budget Committee will take place on Thursday, February 28, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the SEHS Library. Randy Bernstein and Helen Garrett announced they would not be able to attend due to prior commitments.
