Dear Patrons and Employees:

As of the May 5, 2009 board meeting, the district has agreed to a preliminary balanced budget. Teachers should be reassured that the board of education worked through the difficult budget cuts and decisions with the following guiding principles in mind:

• Minimize the impact on the classroom
• Provide essential support to all students
• Bear the impact across the system
• Minimize the loss of positions
• Root decisions in long-term perspective
• Balance the budget

The administration and board scheduled additional meetings to work toward a balanced budget. That goal was achieved at the May 5, 2009 board meeting. While you will hear in the news regarding other school districts working to resolve their budget issues, Granite School District has been proactive in getting these issues resolved early on in the budget cycle.

Some of the key budget cuts include:

District Office–$4.4 million by cutting 95 total personnel/positions. To the utmost extent possible, these personnel were shifted to openings in schools. This included such positions as reading, math and music specialists. These cuts will impact services to schools. It is important to note that Granite School District already had the lowest administrative costs in the state and nation.

Elimination of pay increases for all personnel other than teachers (including district administration). The increase in the teachers salary package will help offset the impact of the 5.5 days of professional development cut by legislature.

An increase in staffing ratios by .25 students K-12.

Elimination of two school days from 2009-10 calendar. These days will now be utilized for professional development time for teachers. This will compensate for 5.5 days of professional development time cut by the legislature. The board and administration feel that providing preparation and professional development time is essential in order to provide quality classroom instruction.

The Granite District board of education and administration has worked hard to minimize the impact of these budget cuts on the classroom. Additionally, we especially appreciate the input that our employees have provided to help shape these important decisions.

Dear Colleagues:

As the budget cycle has progressed, I have appreciated the time that so many of you have taken to send your comments to the board and myself. We have literally received several hundred emails and calls. This type of direct input from our personnel is essential to ensure that the board has all the information it needs to make these difficult decisions regarding our budget.

As we received your input, we catalogued this information for each of our board members. Additionally, the superintendency, along with our budget director Mitch Robison, reviewed each suggestion to determine potential cost savings. All of this information was then relayed to the board in their study sessions and board meetings. We have posted the most recent information from these presentations on the district homepage or click here.

Per the administration’s recommendation, the school board made several key decisions at the April 21 board meeting including district level cuts and shifts in funding sources involving 95.5 positions, and totaling over $4 million. The board also reduced the number of student attendance days for 2009-10 by two to allow teachers additional paid professional development time. This is to compensate for the 5.5 days that were cut by the legislature. Additional information is available in the Board Report.

I appreciate your continued comments and suggestions as we work to finalize the budget for next year. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to the students we serve.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Ronnenkamp