DCS Budget Musings

Just over a week ago, the now to be new superintendent (Dr. Timmis) had made this statement..."Timmis contrasted his assessment of DCS with strong praise and optimism.

“The district is really strong academically (and) very strong financially … the potential for this district is phenomenal.”

Monday night, DCS BOE will be making another budget amendment for the 2012-2013 that increases the deficit for DCS.  The items include the additional expenditure of over $40,000 for IB textbooks and associated materials.  Why are we seeing more new costs?  More importantly, how can we justify these costs after needing to reduce school building budgets by over $650,000 for the 2013-2014 school year?

More shocking than that is that the CFO had introduced a $70,000 error in the November budget amendment that now has to be reconciled and increases our deficit even more!


Monday night on June 17th, there will be a public hearing on the 2013-2014 budget.  Other than a obtuse posting of a hearing notice in the Dexter Leader last Friday, the board has made no concerted effort to involve the community in developing the budget nor instituting wide spread publishing of a notice about the public hearing.  Yet the DCS Communications Committee is busy looking to spend thousands of dollars annually to change the website.  If the DCS BOE cannot earnestly and sincerely communicate at a basic level, why waste the money?

Highlights (or rather startling new expenses) include, but are not limited to:
-DCS projects losing 20 students next year!  Twenty more than their best budget projection of losing zero students. The current budget assumption is  only 5 less than their worst case scenario of losing 25 students.
-DCS can not receive an additional $140,000 of state aid because DCS does not meet the criteria.
-Adding an Assistant Superintendent at a cost of $150,000.
-Making the Mill Creek Assistant Principal a ull time position at an additional cost of $57,000. 
-DCS is increasing their contributions by $460,000 for a 15% health benefit renewal; which significantly reduces the benefit from the reduction in health insurance costs of $715,000 to the district.
-Purchase of choir robes at a cost of $20,000.
-The budget as presented has a deficit of $1.6 million dollars.
-Building budgets generally decreased across the board to the tune of over $650,000.  However the BOE budget increased by 2.7%.  Separate from that, the BOE has a budget of almost $115,000!  Why?


The budget analysis by DCS shows the district being insolvent in 2015-2016.

The link for the 2012-2013 Budget Amendment is:
http://dexterschools.org/boardofeducation/files/2013/06/2012-13-Budget-Amendment.pdf

The link for the 2013-2014 Budget is:
http://dexterschools.org/boardofeducation/files/2013/06/2013-14-Budget-Adoption.pdf