District Advisory Committee Activity Report and District Budget Reduction Plan Review February 16, 2010

District Advisory Committee (DAC) Activity Report  School Advisory Council (SAC) Compliance & School Improvement Plans (SIPs) Review  Fall & Winter Forums  5 New DAC Appointments  Budget Reduction Plan

School Improvement Plans (SIPs) “Review and make recommendations to the BoE concerning high, but achievable, goals and objectives for the improvement of education in each school that are submitted by the School Advisory Councils.”  Compliance  Ends Statement and Learning Goals Alignment  SIPs Focus Areas  Budget Reduction Linkage

DAC Fall/Winter Forums “The purpose of the DAC is to encourage and provide opportunities for parents and community members to become informed about and to be involved in the planning and evaluation of the School District’s instructional program and quality improvement processes.”  Regional Forums : Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch and Parker  Outcomes  Better informed constituency  Improvement in SIP/SAC compliance  Feedback from SACs and community  Engagement on feeder priorities  Higher levels of accountability

District Budget Reduction and Prioritization Plan “After attempting to consult with the SACs, make recommendations to the Board relative to prioritization of expenditures of school district moneys.”  District Advisory Committee Report  Overview  Assessment & Due Diligence  Conclusions

District Advisory Committee Overview DAC Charge: Is the Superintendent’s Budget Reduction Proposal “reasonable as presented”? and report on…prioritization of resources and innovative ideas

District Advisory Committee Overview  Criteria  Superintendent’s primary criteria  Maintain our outstanding educational opportunity  Do our best to minimize impact on classroom  Ensure the financial strength of the District  Priorities further defined by  BoE End Statements  District Student Learning Goals  SAC & DAC Bylaws

District Advisory Committee Assessment  SAC Engagement  SAC budget reduction meetings  DAC Winter Forums  Vested stakeholder (parent and community) attendance at DAC forums  DAC Communication  Regional communication network  DAC Representatives have feeder/charter responsibility

Common SAC Themes “We really don’t understand school finance. Just tell us how this impacts our children and the quality of their education.”  Minimize classroom impact  Maintain focus on academic standards: reading, writing, math  Open budget reduction and prioritization process embraced  Appreciation of early focus on “fair share” of budget reductions  Questions surrounding fees (especially transportation)  Increasing revenues through an override election

DAC Due Diligence  Primary Criteria  End Statements  District Student Learning Goals  SAC Bylaws Priorities 1.Student Achievement 2.Instructional Programming 3.SIP Goals 4.Safety  Superintendent’s Criteria  DAC Bylaws

DAC Due Diligence  Superintendent  District CFO  Transportation Director  District Budget Reduction Updates  Augenblick Report  SAC Engagement  District Budget Reduction Survey

SAC Engagement  DAC attended 42 SAC budget meetings  Typical attendance was vested stakeholders  Some drew as many as 150+  Community expressed optimism, desire to help, recognition that DCSD offers an outstanding education

SAC Engagement On fees… “We don’t have enough information. We don’t know how our decisions will impact future decisions.” “ We voted YES on fees because we like choice, but we aren’t convinced fees are the right solution.”

SAC Engagement On transportation… “Would a transportation fee change the level of service?” “If buses were eliminated, could we hold class sizes at current levels?” “We don’t have enough information to make a sound recommendation.”

SAC Engagement “Protecting class size is our number one concern.” “We value quality teachers.” “We’re concerned about safety.” “We’re willing to pay more for athletics.”

SAC Engagement On increasing revenue… “When will the Board of Education decide on a budget election? A decision is urgently needed.”

DAC Revenue Discussions Revenue/Fee Questions :  Technology- YES  Transportation/Busing- YES  Elementary School Instrumental Music- YES  Elementary School World Language-YES  Middle School Intramural vs Interscholastic sports-NO  Middle School Athletic Fee Increase- YES  High School Athletic Fee Increase- YES  Override Budget Election Initiative-YES

DAC Conclusions  Thoughtful Approach  Constituents Represented  Reasonable Resource Prioritization  Challenging Funding Backdrop

DAC Conclusions  Recommendation: The District Advisory Committee voted unanimously to endorse the Superintendent’s Budget Reduction Plan as “reasonable as presented” for Board of Education consideration.

District Advisory Committee THANK YOU