Well, if you look at the 2024-25 FY $367 million Preliminary School Budget, you'll see that the Total Expenditures/Appropriations are $367,313,416, which is an increase over the Revised 2023-24 Budget of only $1,309,233 or .36%.
Well, that's not too bad - looks like they're doing something to hold down their Out-of-Control $pending -
Right?
Not really. If you look at their Original 2023-24 Budget, you'll see that the $pending was $352,219,522 and from that Original Budget, they're actually increasing $pending in the 2024-25 Budget by $15,093,894.
Now, how does that happen?
Because you have to understand what makes school budgets unique and what that 'Revised Budget' really means. The FY Budget runs from July 1 to June 30th and schools are required to update their Original Budgets on February 1st to the actuals. So, when they're comparing the 2024-25 Budget to the 'Revised 2023-24 Budget, they're not comparing it to the Original 2023-24 Budget.
Updating to the actuals on February 1st is a Good thing for Budgeting purposes since it allows for updated information to be used when trying to come up with the 2024-25 numbers.
But here's where it can and does turn Bad over there on Mythomania Lane. By updating on February 1st, you don't get to see what happened or any of the activity that occurred between July 1 and January 31st in these budgets.
Hence, among other things. the creation of the infamous 'Staffing Shell Game' over there on Mythomania Lane. This is a Budget Game where they hire new employees between July 1 and January 31st that were Not in their Original Budget but show up in their Revised Budget - and it's never disclosed to you.
A simple example. Let's say that the Original 2023-24 Budget had only 100 employees budgeted and between July 1st and January 31st they added 20 more non-budgeted people. And let's further assume that in their 2024-25 Budget they wanted to add 2 more employees.
What they would show you in their 2024-25 Budget is 122 employees and when compared to their Revised 2023-24 Budget of 120 employees, that would only be an increase of 2 employees and fail to disclose to you in their budgets that they added 20 more employees during the fiscal year. Not too bad if you think they're only asking for 2 more employees.
Now, if you knew that they already hired 20 employees wouldn't you say, what a minute - you already hired 20 employees why do you need 2 more in the 2024-25 Budget?
But you never get that chance to ask since they hide it and don't disclose it to you.
If you don't think this is Bad thing then search 'Staffing Shell Game' in this blog and you'll see the hundreds of non-budgeted employees added to the payroll over the years this way when I use to track it- and you never knew about it when looking at their School Budgets.
And to make matters worse, they no longer report the headcount as part of their school budgets.
Be that as it may, here's what's going on with the Capital items in their 2024-25 Preliminary School Budget.
As you can see below, their Proposed 2024-25 Budget includes $37,418,580 in Capital. Not for nothing but this whole piecemeal attempt to properly address the Overcrowding problem just isn't going to work. Even Bragen knew, the $93 million bogus piecemeal plan wasn't going to work and had numbers that started coming in twice the amounts in that plan. It was a spaghetti bridge to address the Overcrowding.
There are two undeniable facts in this town and one is that we'll never solve the Overcrowding problem without a New School. And as the state-aid and their hoarded money and reserves start dwindling away, the Board is going to regret pissing all that money away with this nonsense when they have to go for a Bond referendum in the hundreds of millions - people will remember what they did.
Anyhoo, since we don't get to vote on school budgets anymore, we're left with relying on the Board for Oversight of these Ridiculous, Bloated and Out-of-Control $pending School Budgets - and there is none with this Board paying more attention to playing politics for power and control over all that money than by spending that money in a way in what's in the Best interest of the School District.
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