Although budgeting for an organization like PCSD is a year-round collaborative process involving many people, this time of year is when budgeting activity peaks. The Board of Education’s first budget work session was on February 6. All budget work sessions are open to the community. Each year, the District develops budget guidelines that lay out the fiscal priorities for the coming year. The Superintendent and the District Planning Team (DPT) collaborated to establish proposed guidelines. The DPT is the District’s shared decision-making committee, the purpose of which is to continuously improve the education in Pittsford Schools and the ability for all students to achieve their goals The committee includes the Superintendent, parents selected by PTSA, certificated teachers, school-related staff, administrators, and community members-at-large to receive broad input from numerous community perspectives. The proposed guidelines are then submitted to the Board of Education for feedback and adoption.
The budget guidelines for the 2024-2025 school year developed through this collaborative process are:
- Develop a student-based budget focused on: implementation of rigorous, engaging, equitable, and authentic curriculum, instruction, assessments, and resources that maintain excellence while supporting responsive and relevant offerings; providing experiences, both curricular and extracurricular, that support the varied interests and abilities of the whole student; equity and inclusion practices; social emotional learning and mental health supports; and supporting diverse academic needs.
- Provide high quality professional learning focused on: tiered supports to address the range of learners in the classroom; curriculum, assessment, grading, and instructional practices; equity and inclusion practices aligned with District goals; professional learning communities; social emotional, wellness, and mental health learning; safety preparedness; and continuous improvement for instructional and non-instructional staff members.
- Balance the investment in education with sensitivity to limited community resources by: Balancing community expectations for services and programs, with the need to be cognizant of changes in property values, income levels, new state/federal tax laws, and other economic uncertainties; engaging in thoughtful long range financial planning; working collaboratively with local partners/districts to share services; sustaining transportation reserves for future electric buses/vehicles; planning for the cessation of Federal funds and impact on minimum wage compression; seeking innovative sources of revenue; recruiting, hiring, and retaining diverse employees of the highest caliber; and seeking cost efficiencies to further mitigate the burdensome financial impact of underfunded and unfunded mandates.
- Maintain fiscal stability now and into the future through: Financially prudent and sustainable reserve accounts; partnerships, shared services, audits; protecting and maintaining our Aa1 bond rating; protecting the community’s investment in facilities and infrastructure; and advocacy with legislators relative to appropriate levels of funding.
- Meet legal mandates and contractual obligations.
The Board fully supports these guidelines, thanks the Superintendent and DPT for the hard work they put into them and looks forward to working through the remainder of the budget process and presenting a budget to the voters in May that reflects these guidelines. The Board and administration are actively advocating with state lawmakers for the state funding necessary to support these goals. Despite promises to fully fund the District’s foundation aid, the Governor’s current proposed budget falls far short of that pledge. As a result, Superintendent Pero and Assistant Superintendent for Business Vespi have been to Albany and met with the chair of the Assembly Education Committee regarding the District’s concerns with respect to the Governor’s budget. In addition, several Board members met with local Assembly and Senate members on February 3 about the Governor’s proposed budget and other issues including school safety and unfunded state mandates.
Although the Governor’s proposed budget is concerning, it is important to remember it is just a proposal. The Assembly and Senate will propose their own budgets, and then negotiations will begin toward a final state budget. As this process plays out, the Board and administrators remain committed to advocating for Pittsford’s fair share of foundation aid and encourage members of the community to join us in that effort.