School Board Approves Eight Budget Goals; Budgeting Process Begins

The 2023-24 budgeting process began for the Board of Education on September 22, with the approval of a set of eight budget goals and tentative budget calendar.

The goal is to have a budget ready for submission for state approval by April 2023.

The Board’s budget goals are:

1. Support district initiatives that ensure the physical and mental well-being and safety of students and staff.
2. Support high-quality professional development and staff opportunity for growth while supporting the recruitment of a diverse, high-quality workforce.
3. Support program development consistent with the Board-approved strategic plan that helps to address learning gaps, learning recovery, and learning acceleration to assist students in reaching their full learning potential.
4. Support the continued effort to reach the goals established in the Board approved District Equity Plan.
5. Support district initiatives that foster, encourage and expand relationships with the community at large consistent with the Board approved strategic plan.
6. Support sustainable and green initiatives that decrease energy consumption and promote the health of the school environment.
7. To support District programs, the Board will utilize its 2% spending growth adjustment and State Department of Education authorized budgetary spending growth adjustments.
8. To anticipate the utilization of any unspent 2021-2022 general fund budget and allocate those funds to support the district’s Capital and Maintenance initiatives consistent with the Board’s Long Range Facility Plan.

The Board also approved the following budget schedule:

• Sept. 22: The Board Approves 2023-2024 Budget Goals and Budget Calendar.
• Sept. 28: The 2023-2024 Budget Kick-Off Meeting with Budget Managers (Principals, Directors and Supervisors) is held. The board goals and budget goals are provided to the budget managers to assist in their budget planning.
• Nov. 4: Principals submit capital project budget requests to Mark McNamara, Supervisor of Buildings & Grounds.
• Nov. 4: All Budget Managers submit personnel staffing budget requests to Brian Bonanno, ABA/HR Manager.
• Nov. 4: All Budget Managers are to submit their request for professional development to Dan Loughran, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum.
• Nov. 18: Full Budget Submission Deadline. Systems 3000 is closed.
• Dec. 2022 – Jan. 2023: Central Administration begins review of all budget requests. Budget review meetings will be held with each Budget Manager.
• March 2023 – April 2023: In March the Governor will provide the budget address to the state after which each district will receive their state aid allocations. Following this there will be a public review of the FY 2024 preliminary budget at the Open Finance Committee meeting and March Board meeting prior to submission to the Somerset County Department of Education. Finally, a public hearing will be held in April on the FY 2024 budget.

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