Leadership Matters - March 2013

Survey call to action! Please help us gather data on impact of education budget cuts, unfunded mandates This month’s survey is especially important as IASA is attempting to gather statewide data on the impact of budget cuts on school districts this school year (FY13) as well as the cuts that are being planned for FY14. Also, we are gathering data on the impact of some of the largest unfunded mandates.

The cumulative statewide and regional data will be used in our discussions with legislators as we go through the budget process in the General Assembly this spring. In order for the information to be considered statistically accurate and significant, we need to get a good response rate from our membership. The online survey includes 11questions. The data collected could prove very important in our budget negotiations this spring. The questions include:

Driver’s Education unfunded mandate?  How much would it cost your district to implement the Certified School Nurse mandate?  Where would the dollars come from to pay for hiring Certified School Nurses? Arts At-risk students Technology Reducing General Education class sizes Support for Special Education students in General Education setting Other  For any of the above unfunded mandates, if you could redirect those dollars, where would you redirect them? Arts At-risk students Professional development Reducing General Education class sizes Support for Special Education students in General Education setting Technology Other

 How many FTE (full-time equivalent) positions did you have to cut or absorb for your FY13 budget?  What percentage of your FTE positions do the FY 13 cuts equal?  How many positions will you have to cut or absorb in FY14?  What percentage of your FTE positions will the FY14 cuts equal?  Please rank the following budget factors, with 1 being the biggest negative factor on your budget: Cuts to General State Aid Cuts to Transportation Unfunded Mandates Drop in local tax revenue  How much does it cost your district above federal or state funding to comply with the current unfunded mandate regarding Special Education class size?  If the Physical Education mandate were removed, how much money would that save your school district?  How much does it cost your district above state funding to comply with the current

The survey also asks for the name of your school district and the IASA Region in which your district is located. This is only to help us sort the data by region. The data will only be displayed in the aggregate, not by individual district. Thank you in advance for your help on this survey. Please click on any of the questions above to access the survey.

3