 Budget UpdateJanuary 28, 2021 |
| This message is available in other languages using the links located above the blue headerDear Oakland Community,With the release of the Governor’s preliminary budget, OUSD’s annual budget development cycle is in full swing. Like everything else, this will be made more complicated by COVID. Some important budget takeaways to begin:The latest projection for the 2021-22 year is that we are projected to receive a 3.84% Cost of Living Adjustment. This is much better than expected.Our ongoing expenses continue to rise faster than our ongoing funding.We have one-time funds we can use to address short-term needs, but not our longer-term operational needs and financial challenges. OUSD has made impressive progress in stabilizing its budget over the past 3-4 years. We are migrating out of crisis mode, though we are still in a Qualified Status. Our goal is to be in a Positive Status, meaning we are confident that we can meet our current and next two year’s obligations. That being said, we still need to address some important long-term issues. We will be working on a couple of ways to address those issues and increase overall transparency:Updating our Fiscal Vitality Plan: In looking to the future, we will update our plan to address long-term issues and improve the sustainability of our school district.Increasing clarity on base and supplemental expenditures: We want to ensure that base dollars are used to pay for our base program and supplementary dollars are truly paying for supplementary programs (whether government, parcel taxes, or private funds). Without this clarity, it is difficult to have clear conversations about priorities and where we can make adjustments based on our financial responsibilities and obligations.Our budget development process allows for community feedback. The image below is a rough outline of our budget development process and the phases we will work through to make sure our dollars are being used to best support our students and staff.  Please click here for a more detailed description of our budget development calendar and how to be involved.To meet our long-term needs, we have to make budget adjustments and reductions. Our team will create a list of possible reduction areas that we can use to start the budget engagement process. Though the Board will make the final decisions about reductions, we intend to engage with our representative bodies, such as the Parent Student Advisory Committee (PSAC), and other stakeholders so we can hear feedback and continue to better align our budget to the needs of our students and staff. Please share your thoughts on this messageIn Community, Lisa Grant-Dawson Chief Business Officer |
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