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Introducing the Equitable Budget & Staffing Model

Wednesday, October 13 - PTO

Friday, October 15th - EMS Staff

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What is a (good) budget model?

A budget model is a method of distributing resources (teachers/staff and $$) to schools each year, making the most of the resources available to the District

A good model is:

Consistent and predictable
Easy to understand
Provides more resources to students who need them the most

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How we got here

“Resources should be allocated in a way that supports the students who need them most.”

Community Survey -- 450+ responses!

Superintendent Advisory Group

Student Focus Groups

Over the last year, BSD has:

Learned from other districts around the country,
Engaged with over 500 stakeholders, and
Collaborated internally

to design a more transparent and needs-driven approach to school funding

Through this work, the Work Group looked for ways to:

Redistribute resources to where they’re most needed,
Increase stakeholder engagement,
Allow more time for budget development, and
Most importantly, to move budget decisions closer to students.

They distributed a survey, which more than 450 families and staff members replied to, and held several smaller focus group discussions with students, teachers, and families. The key takeaway from the survey was that 72% of everyone who responded and 79% of BSD staff strongly agreed or agreed that resources should be allocated in a way that supports the students who need them most - even if it means reducing the resources at their school.

As you will see in the coming slides, families, school staff, and Principals will have louder voices in this process than we’ve ever had in the past, which is is really critical and exciting.

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...and why does BSD need one?

While the amount BSD budgets per student is generally higher at BSD schools with more students living in poverty, there are outliers.

A funding model will reduce these disparities and ensure resources are intentionally allocated where they’re needed most.

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The Equitable Budget & Staffing Model

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Our model has three components

Our baseline staffing model will provide each school with its core staffing, using staff:student ratios (e.g. 1 counselor staff for every 350 students)
Non-personnel funds will be allocated based on a per-student basis
The RISE Allocation (Recognizing Injustice and Seeking Equity) will provide additional funding using a weighted student formula, meaning more funds in schools with greater need

Schools will have discretion in how best to serve their students using these funds
Intent and desired outcomes will be documented for future evaluation

Baseline Staffing Model

Non-personnel Funds

RISE Allocation

Each school will receive a budget allocation in November, which will be made up of three parts:

Our baseline staffing allocation will include our core staffing, using staff to student ratios (e.g. 1 teacher per X number of students or 1 principal per school). The ratios that will be used are based on the Vermont Evidence Based Adequacy Study and Vermont Education Quality Standards.
Non-personnel funds, which are for things like supplies and field trips, will be allocated based on a per-student basis (e.g. $200 for each student).
Finally, the best for last… in addition to the first two categories of funds to cover basic needs, each school will also receive a RISE Allocation (Recognizing Injustice and Seeking Equity), which is an additional allocation of funds based on a weighted student formula, to support serving the students with the greatest need. All schools will receive this allocation, but it will be bigger or smaller depending on the number of students at their school who receive free or reduced meals, students receiving special education services, and students who are learning English.

These weights come from the Pupil Weighting Factors Report prepared by the Vermont Agency of Education in partnership with the University of Vermont, Rutgers University, and American Institutes for Research, and each school will have the chance to create a unique plan for how to spend these funds.

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RISE Allocation: Our School’s Profile

Baseline Staffing Model

Non-personnel Funds

TOTAL STUDENTS AT OUR SCHOOL: 374

BSD AVERAGE: 256/elementary school

594/secondary school

STUDENTS RECEIVING FREE/REDUCED MEALS: 183

BSD AVERAGE: 109/elementary school

272/secondary school

STUDENTS WITH IEPS AT OUR SCHOOL: 72

BSD AVERAGE: 43/ elementary school

93/secondary school

ENGLISH LEARNERS AT OUR SCHOOL: 57

BSD AVERAGE: 43/elementary school

86/secondary school

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Fiscal Year 23 Budget Development Process

Today - January 2022

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Key Dates & Activities

Budget Kick Off

Project enrollment

October

Schools Receive Budget Allocations

Staffing model
Non-personnel $$
RISE Allocation

November

Schools Finalize Budget Submission

Principals submit proposals
Superintendent & Cabinet review

December

Board Approves Budget

January

Town Meeting to approve district funding level in March.

Town Hall
Superintendent Advisory Groups
Web form launches

Web form available for input
School Advisory Groups convene

School Advisory Groups continue to meet

Board meeting to approve budget

Process

Engagement

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Engagement: School Advisory Groups

Each school will convene a School Advisory Group (SAG) made up of at least two family members, students, and staff representatives. The SAG will become your local experts on the budgeting process and will use that expertise to provide their Principal substantial, ongoing input.

The SAG will meet at least two times in the fall to:

Receive a brief training on the BSD budget development process and model;
Share what they believe is going well and areas where investment could be helpful;
Review our school’s budget allocation including its RISE Allocation; and
Make very specific recommendations for how our school’s RISE Allocation could be budgeted to implement focus initiatives to support the priority student groups.

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Our School Advisory Group (SAG)

Email either Sabrina Westdijk (swestdij@bsdvt.org) OR Mia Marinovich (mmarino@bsdvt.org) by October 22nd if you would like to participate in the EMS SAG.

Our SAG will meet:

Monday, November 15th (1 hour after school)
Monday, December 6th (1 hour after school)

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Opportunities to Participate

There are at least three chances to participate in this year’s budget process:

Submit written feedback using the web form on the BSD Budget site. I will receive the comments for our school in November.
Join our School Advisory Group.
Watch your school newsletter for the chance to share your thoughts with members of our School Advisory Group.

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Q&A

5 minutes