PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE THE VERY CORE
Almost 50 million students attend America's public schools each day. Public schools are the very core of our democratic society and have been described as the great equalizer, giving all children access to high-quality educational opportunities via many avenues. The founders of our nation, including great thinkers such as Jefferson, Hamilton and Washington, knew and understood that engaging the public in maintaining a commitment to educating our youth is critical to the nation's democracy. It is not overstating the issue to point out that few things evoke the strong passions that public school issues do.

STATE FUNDIING AND FEDERAL STIMULUS DOLLARS
As you know, these are challenging times for all of us in our present economy. For education, these times represent the most difficult we have seen in terms of funding since the early 1980's.

Our school district budget cycle is different from the state cycle and, until the legislature approves their budget, which could be late this spring or summer we will not know our true funding, because over 80% of our budget comes to us from the state. However, our decisions regarding staffing must be made prior to the end if the legislative session. In establishing our 2009/2010 budget, we have built it expecting no increases from the state for each of the next two years.

There is some anticipated revenue through Federal Stimulus dollars which should come our way beginning in late April and again in October. Since this is an ever-changing amount, we need to be leery of making concrete plans based upon this funding.

The Federal Stimulus dollars provide funding via three different streams: The first is the state stabilization fund where the Governor has proposed utilizing these dollars to keep the fiscal year 2010 fund the same as 2009. Realistically, this would be a "freeze" for 2010. The next stream of money is the IDEA funding (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act enacted in the 1970) where 50% if this money can be used to support our general fund and the other 50% can be used for one-time purchases for technology, curriculum, staff development, etc. The final stream of dollars is for Title 1 funding. This provides us with financial assistance for our disadvantaged children to help insure that all students meet challenging state academic standards.

The stimulus money no matter which stream is a one-time money. Consequently, as a school district, we must not plan for permanent spending with these resources.

During this budget crisis, it is imperative to remain positive and upbeat about our school system. When times are difficult, it provides opportunities for re-design and innovation when resources are limited. I continue to engage our staff in conversations about how we can more effectively and efficiently deliver quality education opportunities to our students. In public education the status quo worked for a long time. There is no doubt that change is upon us. We see this as we prepare our students for a rapidly changing world in an economic and funding climate that is changing just as rapidly.