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Stay up to date with the development of Jeffco’s Budget:
Save the date for community budget forums—added 1/19/12 Jeffco Public Schools is conservatively planning for $70 million in budget reductions over the next two years (2012-2014). The Citizens’ Budget Advisory Council has developed a prioritized list of suggestions for reductions; the list is the result of hundreds of community members and staff working since the fall to identify the suggestions for reductions. Members of the Jefferson County Board of Education will hold community budget forums on Saturday, Jan. 28, from 9 - 10:30 a.m. at Arvada, Columbine, Evergreen, Ralston Valley and Bear Creek high schools. All interested community members are invited to attend. Keep in mind that no final decisions about the budget have been made.
Budget process continues The 2012-2014 budget process continues next week with school and department-based budget committees. Every Jeffco school has formed a budget committee made up of at least 20 people; both parents and school employees are on the committees. The purpose of the meetings is to educate staff and community members about the budget and the ongoing challenges. The outcome of the meetings will be generalized thinking from the group through the use of an online survey. The district is still targeting $70 million in budget reductions over the next two years despite news from the State recently that K-12 education may not be cut as deeply as anticipated. Jeffco’s Chief Financial Officer Lorie Gillis said that until the State budget is approved by the legislature, the district will continue with a sustainable plan which includes on-going reductions.
Budget process moving along After six weeks of facts and figures, the Citizens’ Budget Academy (CBA) has come to a successful conclusion. More than 75 people – employees and Jeffco residents – gave up two hours every Tuesday night to learn about the district’s budget and how Jeffco operates. That’s nearly 1,000 hours of time invested in learning about the district’s budget. The CBA presentations are available on the district’s website for those who would like to take a look at what members studied. The budget process now moves to budget workgroups (made up of employees and citizen volunteers from the CBA) which will be meeting on Oct. 25 and Nov. 30. In addition, school and department-based budget committees will be meeting the week of Nov. 7 – those committees will include school and department staff and parents. The two groups will be identifying, prioritizing and providing feedback on the $70 million in planned reductions over the next two years. No decisions have been made and the budget process will extend into next year when members of the Board of Education will vote on the 2012-13 budget.
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Helpful Links:
Finance and Budget: http://www.jeffcopublicschools.org/finance/index.html
2012 - 2014 Budget Development Process: http://www.jeffcopublicschools.org/finance/budget_development2012/index.html
Citizens' Budget Academy Presentations: http://www.jeffcopublicschools.org/finance/budget_development2012/cba.html
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