Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Missoula organizers urge public to attend Feb. 7 budget presentation after administrators flag roughly $1.4 million gap
Summary
At an On Q community meeting, district administrators told residents that preliminary numbers show next year's elementary budget could be smaller than this year's and that negotiated raises and new needs leave roughly a $1.4 million gap; the administration will present its recommendation at a public meeting on Feb. 7.
Missoula community members were urged to attend a Feb. 7 public meeting where district administrators will present the proposed budget, after administrators told participants at an On Q meeting that preliminary projections show the district may face roughly a $1.4 million shortfall.
Why it matters: the administration and the school board will use the Feb. 7 public presentation as the starting point for board deliberations in February and March that could lead to program restrictions or other reductions if projections do not improve.
At the meeting, Gloria Johnson, interim superintendent, said, “we've been informed by our business manager that our budget for the elementary next year will be less than it is this year based on preliminary numbers.” Johnson added that, when staffing and other negotiated needs are included, “somewhere in the neighborhood are probably $1,400,000.”
Johnson outlined the near-term schedule for budget work: the administration will present its recommendation at a Feb. 7 public meeting, board deliberations will continue through February, the district will pause for the superintendent selection process, then the board will hold three meetings in March to try to reach a decision.
She described how administrators plan to respond if the gap remains: “If we get down to 0 at that point, then well and good. If we don't, then we begin to look at program restriction cuts, scale back, and those kinds of things.”
Steve McArthur, facilitator for the On Q group, encouraged public attendance at the Feb. 7 meeting and at subsequent budget sessions, saying residents should “show up February 7 and be there if you can.” The Feb. 7 session will be held at MCPS Hastings School and is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., the group said.
Participants at the On Q meeting repeatedly urged broader community engagement in the budget process and repeated that the public should understand the connection between high-level strategic goals and the detailed line items that drive individual school budgets. Several speakers asked the district to present clearer links between the district's mission, strategic planning and the line-by-line budget so citizens can prioritize where to allocate scarce funds.
The administrators emphasized that the figures are preliminary and may change before final board action. Johnson repeatedly framed the Feb. 7 presentation as the clearest near-term opportunity for the public to hear the administration's recommendation and for the board to begin deliberations.
What's next: the administration's Feb. 7 presentation will be the public starting point for the board's formal deliberations on the coming budget; attendees at the On Q meeting were asked to follow the timeline and to use the group's channels to organize sustained community engagement through the board's February and March sessions.
