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Board chair urges members to identify funding sources as budget pressures persist
Summary
With the legislative session finished and a referenced 5% reduction to the board’s budget, the chair said leadership met with Representative White and wants board members to propose where requested funding would come from rather than submitting large undifferentiated asks.
Board leadership urged members to identify specific funding sources for future budget requests as the state and the board adjust to recent budget pressures, the chair said during the board chair’s report.
“...we would like board members to find where they're going to get that funding from,” the chair said, describing a change from past practice in which leadership presented large, undifferentiated requests to legislative leaders. The chair said past requests have sometimes ranged broadly; “in the past usually leadership goes and sits before the PEA chair asking for anywhere between $3 to $500 million,” the chair said, describing the difficulty that creates for appropriators.
The chair said leadership met with Vice Chair Wood and PEA Chair Representative White to discuss how to make funding requests more actionable: board members should work with staff and with each other to identify possible offsets or reallocated funds to support priority requests. “It’s going to be much easier if we can say look we value what we're asking for and we value it so much that here's where you can find the money,” the chair said.
The chair also said Superintendent Hart and her staff are reviewing options if additional budget reductions are requested next year and reminded members that funding requests originate in the finance committee. The chair asked Vice Chair Kelly to keep the exercise in mind as members prepare recommendations.
