School budget geared toward district goals

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- School board members approved a tentative $128-million

budget Tuesday night, paving the way for the district to achieve nine of

its 49 stated goals.

Those goals include class-size reductions, improvements in technology and

software, facility and salary surveys and creating new administrative

jobs -- including one clerical position to aid oversight committees

charged with spending $110-million in recently approved bond money for

school repairs.

While the spending plan is about $12 million higher than last year’s

tentative budget, the biggest change is the way officials approached this

year’s package, said Mike Fine assistant superintendent in charge of

finances.

For the first time, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District mapped out

goals and priorities before planing the budget.

Historically, the district has its goal-setting sessions in the fall,

after the budget has been finished, Fine said.

The school board then adjusts the existing budget to free up money to

accomplish the goals that are set.

This year, the district held its goal-setting session in March to begin

the process of aligning the goals with the budget prior to its approval.

After first setting goals and refining them, each department then planned

its budget accordingly.

Next to each item on the budget, there is a specific rationale. On the

tentative budget, some are more detailed than others, Fine said.

“Anyone that might have skimped on the detail will be asked to fill it

out before the final budget,” Fine said.

The final district budget, which must be completed by the start of school

in the fall, should then be much more comprehensive.

Upon approving the tentative budget, school board members said they

noticed a major difference.

“For a tentative budget, this is the best I’ve ever seen,” said longtime

school board member Judy Franco.

The nine goals addressed in the tentative budget include:

* Expanding and accelerating intervention strategies, such as class-size

reduction, the gifted and talented program and supporting

under-performing schools

* Incorporating multiple assessment methods to judge student learning and

progress

* Ensure the mastery of basic reading , writing, math and science skills

* Ensure the use and mastery of technology as a learning tool

* Provide teacher training in instructional methods and techniques

* Provide training opportunities for classified employees

* Develop a classified employee orientation program

* Ensure a budget process that is aligned with strategic goals

* Complete and implement the district’s new emergency response plan

* Increase the business services department by one employee

* Upgrade the personnel software system to the same system used for

financial purposes

* Review salary schedules

* Facility assessment and funding, which includes seven-year enrollment

projections, the addition of portable classrooms and the addition of one

clerical staff member to manage the 30 oversight committees required for

Measure A, the $110-million school bond passed by voters on June 6

This does not mean that only nine goals will be met in the upcoming year,

Fine said. Other goals may not require funding or may already be funded.