by Genevieve Demos Kelley

The Board of Education’s requested operating budget is $1.93 billion. That’s an increase of $135.7 million or 7.6% over the Fiscal Year 2015 approved operating budget. Moreover, this amended budget exceeds the CEO’s original proposed budget for FY2016 by $91.7 million. How will the additional $91.7 million be spent? The CEO has outlined four areas that will absorb the additional funding, should the requested budget be approved — Academic Excellence, High-Performing Workforce, Family and Community Engagement, Safe and Supportive Environments — plus an assortment of “additional priorities.” In a March 17, 2015 presentation to the County Council, those areas were broken down into subcategories with specific dollar amounts attached to each. Note that these numbers account for only the $91.7 million in additional expenditures requested in the amended FY2016 budget. They do not reflect total budget spending. Academic Excellence:

• Increase Student Based Budgeting (FY16)   $39.7 million
  • Increased base funding for schools based on formula – $20.0 million
    • Redistribute weighted funding for children identified as Double Basic
  • Focus on Rigorous Literacy Instruction – $5.2 million
  • Expanded art and foreign language opportunities $2.6 million
  • Increase targeted professional development based on school needs – $9.6 million
  • Gifted & Talented Expansion – $2.3 million

• College and Career Readiness $ 3.0 million
  • Expand College and Career Academies to all High Schools – $1.6 million
  • Increase Dual Enrollment Partnerships with Higher Education institutions – $1.4 million

• Digital Literacy Initiative $ 6.1 million
  • Digital Content/Software – $2.5 million
  • Digital Hardware – $3.5 million
  • Professional Development for Teachers – $0.1 million Targeted grades include 3rd, 5th, and 8th

• Universal Pre-Kindergarten $ 2.0 million 16 Elementary Schools* (with capacity) 32.0 additional positions*

*10.0 Elementary schools and 20.0 positions already included in CEO proposed budget High-Performing Workforce:

• Retention Pay for Educators $ 20.7 million
  • Regain competitiveness with surrounding counties
  • Benchmark: Montgomery County
• IncreaseNBCT Stipends $ 608,000
  • Nationally Board Certified Teachers working in comprehensive schools – $15,000 annual stipend

Safe and Supportive Environments:

• Healthy Start Breakfast Program $ 3.1 million
  • 11,000 additional students served
• Second Shift – Maintenance $ 3.2 million
  • Improved Maintenance in Facilities with High Needs
  • 40.0 Maintenance positions

Family and Community Engagement:

• Parent Advocates $ 1,100,000
  • 20.0 new positions

Additional Priorities:

• Arts Integration Expansion $ 570,000
• Building Maintenance $ 1,000,000
• Curriculum Writing $ 668,000
• Fully Staffed Ombudsmen Office $ 250,000
• IB Expansion (Primary Years & Middle Years Programme) $ 1,100,000
• Strategic Plan – Communication $ 110,000
• Mentor Teachers (5.0 FTE) $ 469,015
• PAR Expansion (14.0 FTE) $ 2,500,000
• Office of Continuous Systematic Improvement $ 635,665
• Translation Services $ 595,630
• Common Core Supports $ 1,000,000
• Offset to planned FY16 reductions $ 3,349,494 Total $12,247,804

 Grand Total = $91.7 million

Learn more: For the complete pdf of the March 17 PowerPoint presentation to the County Council, click on the following link: CountyCouncilPresentation3_17_2015_revised. For the FY2016 Requested Operating Budget, click here. For the FY2016 Requested Operating Budget Comments Submission Form, click here. For the Board of Education letter to the County Executive requesting the amended FY2016 budget, click here. For a brief summary of PGCPS’s five-year Strategic Plan, click here. For a pdf of the complete five-year Strategic Plan, click the following link: http://www1.pgcps.org/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=208000