REDDING BOARD OF EDUCATION REGULAR MEETING
WITH BUDGET PRESENTATION
Held Remotely Pursuant to Executive Order No. 7B
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January 7, 2021 – 7:30 p.m.
Minutes
ATTENDANCE
Board members: Parkin, Whaley, Pilato, Oulton, Reilly, Hocker
Administration: Harrison, Pierson Ugol, Zachery, Del Conte
Others: 18 members of the staff and public, and the recording secretary.
CALL TO ORDER
C. Parkin called the Redding Board of Education Regular Meeting with Budget Presentation to order at 7:33 p.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
BOARD MEMBER COMMENT
H. Whaley thanked Dr. Harrison for his thoughtful note.
PRESENTATION OF THE OPERATING BUDGET
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Rydell Harrison, first explained his Budget Development Theory of Action as, “if we employ responsible financial practices to develop transparent budgets, then we will gain and increase the support of taxpayers to continue to offer valuable learning experiences and programs to our students,” and he said that it’s important to all have all things relate back to the mission, enduring goals and aspirations of the District. Dr. Harrison’s slide of a snapshot of Redding schools said that: RES has 482 students, 117 staff members and an accountability index of 88.6%; and JRMS has 333 students, 69 staff members and an accountability index of 80.7%.
The budget presentation was divided into the overall budget categories of: salaries, benefits, transportation, tuition, Central Office, utilities, professional services, instructional supplies & equipment, operations/maintenance, technology contracts/supplies, and, non-instructional supplies/equipment. The budget presentation included the following: salaries & benefits are 76.74% of total budget and include increases of 4% and .9%; transportation is 7.72% of total budget and includes an increase of 5.6%; tuition is 3.47% of total budget and includes an increase of 39.4%; Central Office is 2.88% of total budget and includes an increase of 7.23%; utilities is 2.44% of total budget and includes a decrease of .04%; professional services are 2.4% of the budget and include an increase of 0.40%, instructional supplies & equipment are 2.1% of total budget and include an increase of 48.3%; operations/maintenance are 2.05% of total budget and include an increase of 4.1%; technology contract/supplies are .9% of total budget and include an increase of .02%; non-instructional supplies/equipment are .61% of total budget and include an increase of 2.1%. The overall increase in the budget presentation is 5.13%, but this increase is based upon benefits remaining flat and does not yet factor in the students that may be eligible for the Bridges program, which Dr. Harrison proposed in his budget presentation. He also proposed a Director of Digital Learning and Technology position, which would pull from the never-hired Data Analyst position in the Central Office budget category.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: 2021-2022
Several Board of Education members asked clarifying questions about the Junior Bridges Program and the instructional supplies category from the budget presentation. Questions were also asked about receiving a hardcopy of the budget details and the next steps in the budget process. C. Zachery said that BOARD OF EDUCATION members will receive the budget details on Friday afternoon or Monday morning, at the latest. C. Parkin thanked Dr. Harrison and C. Zachery for the budget presentation and said that the BOARD OF EDUCATION is now ready to drill down into, and have a discussion about, the details of the budget.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Meredith Ferris, Ledgewood Drive, Redding, said that her daughter attends the Junior Bridges Program in Easton and that she benefits greatly from this program. She thanked the Special Services team for recommending that this program be created in Redding, that it is very needed in the community.
Sarah O’Dell, Blackrock Turnpike, Redding, thanked Dr. Harrison for the budget presentation and said that she appreciates seeing the budget from the perspective of what is needed rather than targeting a percent increase. She also said that she expects there will be an increase in student need because of the pandemic and she looks forward to the community advocating for our students.
BOARD MEMBER COMMENT
J. Reilly said that he appreciates the opportunity to see things in the budget and that he liked the way everything was laid out for Board of Education members.
H. Whaley said that she appreciates the visuals, that they tell the story of why the numbers are what they are.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion: move that the Redding Board of Education Regular Meeting with Budget Presentation be adjourned. (Whaley, Reilly). Approved. Unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:03 p.m.
Submitted by Colleen Pilato
Secretary, Redding Board of Education
Recorded by Sarah Ota