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2009-10 Superintendent's Proposed Budget

The 2009-10 Superintendent's Proposed Budget was presented to the Board of Education on March 3.

Message from the Superintendent

Recognizing this year's significant changes at all levels of our economy -- local, state, federal and global -- our presentation of a proposed budget for 2009-10 marks a departure from recent practices for the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS). Since 2005, our annual budgets have been contained within a "Plan for Student Success" which projects student and organizational needs and establishes long-term plans for addressing them.

The stark reality of the current economic conditions means that we are presenting to you and the public a budget for the upcoming fiscal year only, focused on maintaining the school system's basic functions while preserving to the extent possible the most important resource to the students in our care: our employees. Education is an extremely labor-intensive fi eld; in the 2008-09 fiscal year, 95 percent of our employees were based in our schools serving 138,000 students, and 82 percent of our total operational funding supported salaries and benefits. Our students depend on our employees for instruction, support, and safety.

However, years of sound fiscal management, including the Wake County Board of Education's decision to reduce its fi scal year 2008-09 budget by $11 million in addressing declining state and local revenues, has constrained WCPSS's ability to further absorb declining revenue through "things" alone. Formulas and allocations will have to change to adequately support our students within these tighter resources.

At the time this budget was being developed, the details of the federal government's economic stimulus plan were still being considered, including the nature of support for K-12 education. It is likely that any additional federal funding for WCPSS would be mandated for specifi c areas, and it cannot be assumed that such funding would offset state or local funding shortfalls.

Our school system's vision, that every child will graduate on time, prepared for the future, is undiminished. We have made significant structural and cultural changes in our schools since July 2006, including an emphasis on collaborative work environments and a continuing realignment of academic priorities prompted by the school board's request of a comprehensive independent curriculum management audit. The foundation has been laid for long-term academic growth toward the Wake County Board of Education's academic goal, adopted December 2, 2008: WCPSS students will demonstrate high academic growth; by 2014, all students will graduate on-time prepared to compete globally.

Although additional resources are necessary to accelerate our progress toward this goal, the Wake County Public School System will not wait for increased revenues or “better times” to attempt to achieve it. It is all the more urgent that our students be prepared to survive and thrive in an intensely competitive economy.

Community expectations for student success have not changed nor have ours. We remain committed to meeting those expectations with the resources we are provided.

Sincerely,

Del Burns, Ed.D.
Superintendent

Wake County Public School System, 3600 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh, NC 27609 | 919-850-1600