2017-2018 Proposed PTA Budget
On behalf of the PTA Board, we wanted to share the proposed PTA budget for the 2017-2018 school year.
We feel this proposed budget retains community-building PTA programs, fulfills the needs outlined by school administrators, addresses the wishes of our teachers, and helps support the overall success of all Sabin students. We’d like to provide some context around the budget decisions and share the process we used to develop the proposed the budget.
FUNDING FOR TEACHERS
As you may know, there is a $1.6 billion dollar shortfall for the Oregon budget resulting in a $400 million shortfall for Oregon schools. Because of this, Portland Public Schools is projecting an $18 million shortfall and talking about cutting 70 teaching positions. As a result, our school staffing is slated to be cut. Only funds from the Sabin School Foundation can be used to hire certified teachers. At the February PTA meeting, PTA members voted to earmark dollars raised during the auction’s special appeal paddle raise to the Sabin School Foundation. Based on these votes and the PTA’s standing rules, approximately $88,000 in funds raised by the school community through the PTA will help hire additional teachers and staff.
WELL-DEFINED PRIORITIES
This school year, the school administrators consulted with teachers and staff members to outline the top funding priorities and types of programs to support the success of all Sabin students. The programs fall into three categories:
Intervention to Support Individual Student Success
Classroom Support
Community Building
This spring, they also identified specific areas that needed funding: Recess Support (Playworks), Literacy Support (Reading Results), the Learning Center (SPED), and Restorative Justice. (See column in the spreadsheet.)
BUDGETING PROCESS
In effort to involve more stakeholders in the budgeting process, we met with school administrators parents representing Sabin Site Council, SPED, Equity, the Sabin School Foundation, and the Sabin PTA. The group discussed the school’s funding priorities and the need to earmark more resources to support the success of all Sabin students. Here’s an overview of how we drafted the proposed budget:
In order to free up money for top priorities, we limited funding on several line items funded by the PTA last year including funds for JA Biztown (5th-grade field trip), books for the library, and various parent-led groups. We believe that these committees can continue to function, plan programming, and fundraise other ways, if needed.
Based on the results from a teacher survey, we retained funding for: teacher/classroom support, funds to support academic programs (Science Fair, Global Experience Night, etc.), and Garden Education.
And we felt certain programs embody the mission and objectives of the PTA: Community events (Back to School Night Picnic, Kindergarten Parent Welcome, End-of-School Celebration), SPED – Learning Center support, Safety Patrol, and MYP Programming/Support.
That left $19K to allocate of funds already raised for 2017-2018. We propose to earmark $11,000 to Recess Support, $7,000 to Garden Education, and $1,000 reserved for future items.
The projected funds (funds that have not been raised but that we expect to raise in 2017-2018) would be pledged to address priorities:
Run for Sabin School PYP K-6 – Projected $24K – Pledged to support student success and could be used for Reading Results, Recess Support (in addition to the $11,000), Restorative Justice, reading coaches, etc.
Run for Sabin School MYP 7-8 - We do not have a baseline to project how much it will raise. Pledged to support individual trips and scholarship fund for 2018 Washington, D.C. trip.
Mt. Readmore – Projected $7K – Pledged to support literacy. Could be for Reading Results, books, online subscriptions, etc.
The proposed budget may also be viewed by the three priorities identified by school administrators: $102,000 for Classroom Support, $42,500 for Intervention for Student Success, and $10,500 Community Building.
We encourage all Sabin school community members to review this information. We plan to present and vote on this budget proposal at PTA general meeting on Thursday, May 18 from 6:30 – 8:00 pm in the auditorium. Childcare and dinner for kids will be provided. If you have any questions and/or would like to weigh in, please attend the meeting.
Warmly,
Deborah and Michelle
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SABIN SCHOOL VISION
We are an inclusive community who, with love and respect, empower compassionate, lifelong learners.
PTA MISSION
Make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.
