The Resource Outlook For Our School
And The PTA
The PTA Executive Board is currently spending much time with Principal Phillips discussing the school's needs and its impact on PTA fund-raising and budget requirements. At the heart of the discussion are three questions:
- What will the school need the PTA to fund in 2008/9 and how much will it cost?
- How much of that money have we raised already and how much more is needed?
- What's the deadline for raising these funds?
We do not possess the information needed to answer these questions with detailed accuracy at this time. That's because, for example, our school doesn't have it's final 2008/9 DoE budget yet (it's expected later in April). And class sizes won't be nailed down until we know class configurations (eg the pre-k decision) and enrollment numbers (won't really be clear until the new year starts).
However, it seems to the Exec Board and Principal Phillips (we've collaborated to write this article) that while we don't have all the details, we know enough to paint the big picture. In this article we'll share it with you as best we can.
Before we start, though, please bear in mind that some numbers outlined below will change as more information becomes available and the discussion evolves. For example, some of the numbers differ from those shared at last week's General Meeting. The important thing is that while the details may change, the overall outlook isn't likely to.
The headline answers to the three big questions above are:
- Our school will likely need the PTA to more than double its expenditures to $290,000 next year: that's approaching $580 per student.
- So far we have about $79,000 of it raised, net of this year's expenditures: that's a $211,000 shortfall on total 2008/9 needs.
- In terms of timing, it's important to raise most if not all of this by June 30th 2008.
Why Do We Need To Raise Money For Next Year Now?
It's called forward-funding and without it things would grind to a halt. Here's why. Neither the PTA nor the school can contract Teacher Assistants, Enrichment Programs or buy anything else without the money already in hand . We were provided almost $148,000 by last year's PTA to start this year. It's been used to fund about $140,000 of PS8 activities and investments this school year. (The surplus of $8,000 adds to net new funds raised so far this year getting us to the $79,000 referenced above.) Yes, it's a bit confusing, but the bottom line is that we need to end this year with a strong balance to support programs from the outset of next year.
What's Driving The Increase?
Several things. First up: increasing class sizes. The success and popularity of the school, coupled with DoE budget cuts and space constraints, make class-size issues more prevalent. Increasing class sizes are of deep concern to our community with good reason: they directly impact the amount of time spent one-on-one with each child.
To help, this year the PTA's role extended from community-builder and fund-raiser to employer too. The 5 Teacher Assistants in place at our school today are employed neither by the school nor the city: they are employees of and paid for by the PTA.
Teacher Assistants help increase one-on-one teaching time through both hands-on-in-class support, guided by the teachers, and also by handling administrative tasks that increase in proportion with class size.
Next year our school has asked the PTA to potentially double the number of teacher assistants at PS8.
In theory, it's not that hard to forecast how much it will cost to have 10 or 11 Teacher Assistants in place, instead of 5. The practical reality, though, is that we're very unlikely to have them all in place on day-one of the new year, if indeed we end up needing that many.
If we had eight in place for the full year, it would cost about $135,000 (including salaries, payroll taxes and related insurance and payroll expenses). The same sum might end up covering the costs of more Teacher Assistants if they don't all start at the start of the year. Whatever the case, that's the budget earmarked at this time and if we need to change it later when we know more then we will.
Next up: Enrichment Programs. None of this year's Enrichment Programs are financed by the DoE. Two are financed by the PTA. One by a third party grant. Most are paid for with the Magnet Grant, which will be exhausted by the end of the current school year.
Next year our school must rely on PTA funding to prevent PS8 Enrichment Programs from being discontinued.
Doing so will add a further $70,000 bill to the $18,000 that the PTA contributes to Enrichment Programs already. Many parents still aren't as familiar with these programs as they are with the value of Teacher Assistants. Wanting to help with this, several parents - who also volunteer on the enrichment and communications committees - have collaborated with PS8 staff to develop some basic 'enrichment program profiles' for the community to better understand them. As we receive these profiles we'll share them in email and on the website.
In the meantime it's important to understand how the school views Enrichment Programs. They are considered core to the curriculum the school needs in place to meet its vision. As Principal Phillips puts it, Enrichment Programs "...give the school and students more creative-learning opportunities, expand the portfolio of teaching techniques teachers can draw upon, and broaden the material we use to stimulate learning and development." Based on all of this, it seems prudent to target raising $90,000 for 2008/9 Enrichment Programs.
(More photos of enrichment programs are being taken soon, but here's the photo galleries that we have so far if you want to get a glimpse of them in action around the school: Studio In A School-K Exhibit, Studio In A School-K Classroom, Studio In A School - 1st, Marquis Studio 2nd Grade Architecture, Guggenheim 3rd Grade, Guggenheim 4th Grade, Bargemusic.)
While Teacher Assistants and Enrichment Programs are big-ticket items, there's plenty of other ways in which our school relies on the community in general and the PTA in particular for funding. Which brings us to the issue of DoE budget cuts.
This year the DoE has cut PS8's budget by 1.7%. Next year it's expected to cut it again by a further 5%. The school estimates that this amounts to approaching $180,000. As Principal Phillips puts it, "on an average-salary basis this threatens as many as three staff positions assuming we can't reduce spending on other items".
To help , our school has asked the PTA to cover the cost of $20,000 worth of school supplies next year.
School supplies might be anything from books through paper to other materials. The Executive Board's view is that it's better to give the school support on these items if it helps the Principal avoid staff reductions. Other ongoing school and community needs financed by the PTA include:
- Teacher Grants ($4,000 that teachers can spend on their classes as they see fit)
- Grants given to specific grades for specific events ($6,000, for the 5th grade's trip annual trip, plus the kindergarten moving-up ceremony)
- Healthcare ($5,000 for lice inspection/prevention)
- Staff Luncheon ($3,000)
- Capital Improvements ($5,000 to improve acoustics in the auditorium and improve the functionality of the front office area)
- PTA Administrative Expenses ($15,000, including things like accountants, postage and important fund-raising support like communications materials, venues and raffle-support)
- Childcare/Food and Beverage ($3,500 for PTA-events including General Meetings, Curriculum Night, Alumni Event, Volunteer night, Ice-Cream Social and Potluck Dinner)
- Un-earmaked reserve for unknowns / inflationary effects: $3,500
This amounts to an additional $45,000.
If you add all of that up, we arrive at the total preliminary forecast of $290,000 for next year.
That's about $580 per student.
Some of you may like to understand all of this in even more depth. There are two opportunities to do that every month - the PTA General Meeting and the Executive Board meetings (which are open to all and scheduled on the calendar, on the PTA website.)
Our community comprises a cross section of the New York population. Some families may not be in a position to make a contribution even close to the $580 per student average cost of PTA-supported activites and investments. Others may be willing and able to contribute significantly more.
There's never been a more important time to contribute.
There are many ways to contribute. There remains some fundraising events this year, not least of them next week's
Spring Auction and thereafter the
Scholastic Book Fair and of course any funds that are raised through the
Paddlewheeler Festival.
However, even if these events raise record sums it's unlikely they alone will close the gap that needs to be closed.
Additionally, donations can be made by check, cash or online and are of course 100% tax deductible since the PTA is a not-for-profit. To make a donation online, please following the link below. Checks made out to "PTA of PS 8" can either be posted to us (mail them to PTA of PS 8 General Appeal, The Robert Fulton School, 37 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11201) or dropped into the Fund-Raising mail-box in the Parent's Room.
Thank-you.
The PTA Executive Board (Joanne, Lisa, Sam, AnneMarie, Amy, Elizabeth, Cynthia and Tim) and Principal Seth Phillips.
Posted on: April 3, 2008
