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Orange County Schools Local Current Expense Budget <br />t , <br />Message from the Superintendent <br />April 13, 2015 <br />To the Orange County Board of Commissioners: <br />The Orange County Schools 2015 -2016 budget request that follows is presented for your review and <br />consideration. <br />This budget request was developed following meetings with building -level and central services <br />administrators and deliberations with the cabinet. It is important to note that less direction and <br />information has been provided than in the past as a result of changes from the last legislative session. The <br />North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is no longer providing initial planning allotments as in <br />previous years. While not a factor in the requested budget for 2015 -2016, District average daily <br />membership growth has been moved from the continuation budget to the expansion budget. Also at this <br />time estimates of potential salary increases and changes in employer -paid benefit costs have not been <br />provided. Consequently the budget that follows is based only upon information that is known at this time. <br />As additional information is available at the State level the impact on the requested budget will be <br />calculated and reported. <br />As part of the AdvancED accreditation self - assessment review, the Orange County Schools Board of <br />Education engaged citizens in a months -long process to develop a community vision for the District. In a <br />parallel manner a mission and strategic plan goals were developed. The community engagement process <br />has resulted in a clear direction for the District for the future. The Board of Education has adopted the <br />vision, mission and goals included in this document which are now in policy. <br />Following six months of self - assessment regarding the standards required by AdvancED for accreditation, <br />an external review committee identified a number of strengths of the District that included the strong <br />relationship between the Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners, focused on students and <br />schools. The community engagement process was listed as a "Powerful Practice" and the Board of <br />Education was commended for empowering community stakeholders. Furthermore, collaboration and <br />community engagement will be vital elements in the District's future growth opportunities. <br />The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has provided projected student average daily <br />membership for the coming year. The projection for the current year (2014 -2015) was over - stated and the <br />District did not meet the projection. For the coming year, the projection is 172 students lower. This will <br />result in a projected loss of state funds of $872,212. Funding in the amount of $135,746 for Driver <br />Education is scheduled to end June 30, 2015. Combined, the total projected reduction in state funds for <br />2015 -2016 is slightly more than $1 million. Applying the current local per pupil allotment to the <br />projected number of students for 2015 -2016 reduces the county appropriation by $614,212 to $27.5 <br />million. <br />To balance the budget, considering the changes in both state and local revenue, expenditure reductions in <br />the amount of $1.2 million would be necessary. The Board of Education considered the impact of such <br />reductions and has approved a budget request that includes an $81 increase in the local per pupil amount. <br />This increase would support the existing county appropriation amount of $28.1 million. <br />4 <br />