CORRECTED: OPS Board Digest 5-16-2018

A review of Omaha Public Schools Board of Education meetings.

We are resending the Board Digest for May 16, 2018. Two items were inadvertently left off the recommended cuts from the Budget Advisory Committee that was presented to the Board of Education. We apologize for the error.

May 16, 2018

Following each Board of Education Meeting, the Office of District Communications recaps the board meeting in the Board Digest.

Board of Education Budget Workshop

Yesterday evening (May 15), the Omaha Public Schools Board of Education held its first Budget Workshop to review recommendations made by the Budget Advisory Committee following the collective five meetings since the committee initially convened in January 2018.

During Budget Advisory Committee meetings, committee representatives learned more about the district’s annual revenues and expenditures, considered potential areas where cuts could be made in the 2018-2019 school year and reviewed input and feedback from district staff and the public regarding budget cuts. As part of the process, the committee prioritized and ranked budget cut recommendations to be shared with the Board of Education during the May 15 workshop.

Board members reviewed and discussed the following list of cuts recommended by the Budget Advisory Committee:

During the workshop, the district’s Chief Financial Officer Connie Knoche provided an overview of the Budget Advisory Committee process. Superintendent Mark Evans, Chief Academic Officer Melissa Comine, Executive Director Lisa Utterback and Human Resources Chief Charles Wakefield shared with the board potential impacts to the operation of the district associated with the recommended cuts.

Current budget cut recommendations impact staffing to central office by cutting 18 percent of the district’s central office staff . Impacted certificated employees were informed their positions could be eliminated prior to the statutorily required April 15 deadline. Classified employees included in the cuts were also informed of the potential impact to their roles. Human Resources is working to place some of those impacted employees into other vacant roles around the district.

Following presentations, Board members ranked line items presented during the workshop. Board President Marque Snow extended the opportunity for Board members to share their individual recommendation for cuts and provide their input regarding areas where they would like to see the district conduct additional study.

Next Steps in the Budget Cutting Process

The Board has not yet taken action on budget cuts for the 2018-2019 school year. The Board of Education will continue reviewing recommendations at its May 31 Budget Workshop . The board anticipates taking action sometime in June.

During the final Budget Advisory Committee meeting held May 3, the committee discussed the potential need to remain an active body into the 2018-2019 school year. The committee also discussed the need to continue studying and assessing areas where additional efficiencies can be made next year, and possibly into the 2019-2020 school year.

Areas proposed by the committee for additional study include:

Pension plan path forward
Summer school
Transportation

For additional information regarding budget cuts, please see the following resources:

Link to OPS Budget Website (Openbook.ops.org)

If you would like to provide feedback regarding budget cuts, please complete a feedback form . Input from the feedback forms will be shared with the OPS Board of Education.

Omaha Public Schools| 531-299-0220 | www.ops.org

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