1 Orientation Community Engagement ~ Budget Task Force Denver Public Schools November 10, 2010 Need DPS Logo

2 Presentation Outline Denver Public Schools  Purpose Statement  Key Points  District’s Strategic Focus  State of the State & District Finances  Next Steps  Appendices

3 Purpose Statement Denver Public Schools While there are excellent schools in struggling districts and outstanding classrooms in underperforming schools, today there are no high-performing urban districts in the United States. Three key factors heighten the level of concern:  The rapid pace of economic change.  A growing awareness that academic skills and knowledge increase a young person’s chances of leading a productive life.  The recognition that a poorly educated citizenry erodes not only the quality of a country’s workforce and its competitiveness, but undermines the potential of our democracy. The task force is to articulate guiding principles to the benefit of the District’s strategic management of its financial resources.

4 Key Points Denver Public Schools  Severe Fiscal Crisis -Unprecedented revenue shortfalls  A Culture of High Expectations, Service, Empowerment & Responsibility -Great People -Strategic Management of Resources -Family and Community Engagement  Instructional Core -Students -Teachers -Content  Focus on Results and Creating Long-term Value

5 District’s Strategic Focus Denver Public Schools  Mission Statement We will lead the nation’s cities in student achievement, high school graduation, college preparation, and college matriculation. Our students will be well- prepared for success in life, work, civic responsibility, and higher education.  Instructional Priorities  Effective teaching to support quality instruction.  Improve outcomes for English language learners.  Align standards-based instruction, material and assessments to meet our diverse students’ needs.  Provide all students access to high quality education by improving performance through turnaround strategies.

6 Denver Public Schools Major Policy Initiatives in Response to Past Challenges  Align Budget to Denver Plan  Align Budget Processes to Staffing Calendar  Competitive Employer / Employer of Choice  Greater Reliance Upon Student-Based Budgeting ~ Site-Based Management  Compensation Philosophy and Practices - Competitive Base Pay - ProComp - Staff Development  Increasing Operational and Fiscal Transparency  Focus upon Enrollment and Facility Optimization  Prudent management of retirement costs  Service Level Appraisal

7 District Strategic Focus – Management Challenges  Implementing a district-wide strategy when schools intentionally have different characteristics  Creating & Achieving a Coherent Organizational Design in Support of the Strategy  Developing and Managing Human Capital  Allocating Resources in Alignment with the Strategy  Using performance data to guide decisions and create accountability Denver Public Schools

8 State of the State & District Finances Denver Public Schools  State of State  Economic and Revenue Forecast (September 2010)  FY Budget Balancing  FY Proposed Budget  ARRA  State Fiscal Stabilization Funds  Formula Grants  Ed Jobs Act  $ to save or create education jobs  DPS’ Revenue Story  % of K-12 Education / School Finance Act  Mill Levy Overrides  Fund Balance

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10 ARRA’s Four Guiding Principles Denver Public Schools  Spend funds quickly to save and create jobs  Improve student achievement through school improvement and reform  Ensure transparency, reporting and accountability  Invest one-time ARRA funds thoughtfully to minimize the funding “cliff”

11 DPS’ Priorities for School Reform ~ ARRA Aligned Denver Public Schools  Making progress toward rigorous college and career- ready standards and high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable for all students, including English language learners and students with disabilities  Establishing pre-K-to college and career data systems that track progress and foster continuous improvement  Making improvements in teacher effectiveness and in the equitable distribution of qualified teachers for all students, particularly students who are most in need  Providing intensive support and effective interventions for the lowest-performing schools.

12 Ed Jobs Act Denver Public Schools  The Education Jobs Fund (Ed Jobs) program is a new Federal program that provides $10 billion in assistance to States to save or create education jobs for the school year. Jobs funded under this program include those that provide educational and related services for early childhood, elementary, and secondary education.  Governor Ritter directed funds to be released ‘through’ the state’s primary education funding formula (as created through the School Finance Act).  Colorado received $159,521,991  Districts access to the funds is on a reimbursement basis  DPS eligible to receive $15,432,422

13 The State, K-12 Education and DPS Denver Public Schools  K-12 is roughly 43% (+/-) of State’s General Fund  DPS is roughly 10% of Total Program Funding  PPR: Pupil Count  Timing  Composition  At-Risk  On-Line  Kindies  Full- vs. Part-Time  Graduate status

14 State of the State & District Finances Capital Program Funding Denver Public Schools  Funded out of PPR  w/out Bond, ability to pay-as-you-go inadequate  Purpose and Examples of Major Expenditure Commitments:  Annual IT maintenance agreements hardware and software  Annual COP payments  Annual building leases  Safety and Security  Contingency  Under Funded:  Example: Buses  Implications:  Compromise fulfillment of Denver Plan

DPS’ Budget Cycle: FY Planning Preparation School & Department Level Budget Development Finalization Dec 16 –District Puts/Takes Review Jan 12- Final Budget Decisions Feb 4 & 11 - Budget Forms distributed May 2– Proposed Budget Due May 31- Adopted Budget Due Challenges this year –Budget cuts –New Programs and Schools – how to identify funding What will make this successful? –Executive Team – Determine threshold for cuts to schools in SBB by December 16th –Standardize department prioritization process and complete by December 8 th Key Dates: –Final Decisions on additional services to decentralize for innovation – December 3rd –Community Task Force Guiding Principles – December 8 th –Innovation schools select autonomies – December 16 th –Adopted –May 31 Feb 7 – 18 One-on-one with Principals Feb 14 – Mar 11 One-on-one with Dept Mgrs Oct 13 – Dec 8 Prioritization Process to include community input April 4 – 22 Budget Reviews

16 Task Force’s Next Steps Denver Public Schools  Task Force’s Charter: The Task Force is being asked to articulate guiding principles to facilitate the strategic management of District resources.  Means:  Develop an understanding of current fiscal environment.  Articulate guiding principals that reflect such fiscal realities rather than goals that merely maintain the status quo.  Next Steps  Ask Questions  In the interim, familiarize yourself to own level of interest with Appendices

17 Task Force’s Next Steps ~ Future Meetings Denver Public Schools  Meeting # 2, November 17 th  SBB in Detail  Meeting #3, December 1 st  Short- and Long-Term Views  Prioritization Frameworks  Informed Trade-Offs  Meeting #4, December 8 th  Guiding Principles  Close

18 Appendices ~ Reference Materials Denver Public Schools DPS  The Denver Plan ~ Executive Summary sh.pdf  Task Force Documents  School Finance ~ A to Z  Student Based Budgeting PELP  Coherence Framework

19 Appendices ~ Reference Materials Denver Public Schools CDE  Understanding Colorado School Finance and Categorical Program Funding 11BrochureWeb.pdf  American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of  Education Jobs Bill of Colorado Legislative Council Staff, Economics Section  Focus Colorado: Economic and Revenue Forecast (September 20, 2010) on%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere= &ssbinary=true Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting  Governor’s FY Budget Balancing Package to the JBC – Oct. 10, OVRLayout&cid= &pagename=GOVRWrapper  Governor’s FY Budget Request to the JBC – Nov. 1, OVRLayout&cid= &pagename=GOVRWrapper