Ferndale School District #502 | 6041 Vista Drive - PO Box 698 | Ferndale WA 98248 | ph. 360-383-9200 | fax 360-383-9201

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2009-10 Budget Summary

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2009-2010 Ferndale School District Budget Process

Citizens Budget July 13th PDF (9/17/2009)

As many people know, the nation, state and our local community are facing many financial and service-related challenges as a result of the significant downturn in the national and international economies. Since the operating budget of the school district is fiscally dependent upon the state for the majority of the revenue it receives, any negative change in the amount of revenue the state receives usually means that the school district's revenue will be less.

Currently, the state is projecting a 6-8 billion dollar revenue shortfall for the next two-year budget cycle. As a result, we have been informed that the state budget proposals, to be presented in the Legislature, will provide fewer funds for public school district kindergarten through grade 12 programs. We believe the revenue shortfall will increase another 600 to 800 million dollars between now and the March revenue forecast. This will result in fewer funds being available to support and maintain our programs for the next school year and 2010-11. This also means that we will need to establish a process to reduce our expenses based upon established criteria.

Unfunded and underfunded mandates loom large in our budget deliberations. We have, in this document, provided you with some examples of the unfunded/underfunded mandates that have to be paid by using levy funds to pay for them. The net result is that while legally levy funds were designed to pay for programs the community wanted to have for their children, the reality is that levy funds pay for state requirements.

Over the course of the next several months, we will be communicating with our various stakeholder groups to gain input and report on our plans, as we develop and prepare to adopt the 2009-10 budget.

We encourage your thoughtful ideas on this challenge facing us and are providing a variety of opportunities to provide input. The district is seeking input and budget savings ideas from all stakeholders -- students, staff and community members -- from now through March 2009. District leaders will be meeting with staff to share information, answer questions and solicit ideas. In addition, community members are invited to attend public presentations that will also include input opportunities. Please use the following link to see times and locations of district staff meetings and public presentations.


Ferndale School District Philosophy and Criteria
Our budget saving plan will seek budget savings that:
  • Do not violate the law or negotiated agreements;
  • Protect the safety of students, staff and the school community;
  • Weigh the impact on our primary mission of teaching and learning;
  • Provide opportunities for stakeholder input;
  • Align with actions of the state Legislature;
  • Identify strategic savings rather than across-the-board reductions;
  • Investigate and implement additional operational efficiencies;
  • Consider non employee-related expenses before personnel;
  • Local subsidies of state and federal categorical programs;
  • Pursue additional revenue sources.

All ideas and input from the various staff, community meetings, and the online survey will be compiled as of the end of March 2009 to work with the input and criteria, and begin to draft the budget savings plan. The Superintendent will share the plan publicly before it is presented to the School Board for action in late June or early July of . The state Legislature will have an impact on the budget process and timeline. The School Board will adopt a final budget for the 2009-10 school year in late spring or summer. To stay updated, please periodically check www.ferndale.wednet.edu .

Budget Information Presentations for District Staff and Community Members
The purpose of the budget presentations is to provide all staff and community members with information about the current state of our district budget, the state budget deficit and its impact on our school district. Those attending will have an opportunity to process and submit budget savings ideas after the meeting and to get answers to questions. Staff and community members may attend any given presentation for their group. Meetings directed for staff are scheduled for before and after school and are optional. Please attend the session that best fits your needs as all of the presentations will cover the same information.

These presentations provide an important opportunity for information and input. Please visit our Budget Presentation Information Page for a schedule of both Staff and Public meetings, as well as to see documents presented at these meetings.

For more Budget information, please see our Frequently Asked Questions page

Helpful Links
Federal Stimulus Package information www.recovery.gov www.educationvoters.org/node/454 http://recovery.wa.gov

Washington State legislature http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) www.k12.wa.us

Citizen involvement in Public Education www.educationvoters.org

Washington Learners Report www.washingtonlearns.wa.gov

Related "Washington Learns" Information (Picus Reports) www.washingtonlearns.wa.gov/ourwork.htm

State and School District Financial Summaries http://www.k12.wa.us/safs/PUB/FIN/0708/fs.asp


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