If you have been following the SRCS District budget crisis, I wanted to share my recent experiences at the School Board and Roundtable meetings:
My daughter and I attended the Board Meeting and one of the Budget Roundtable Discussions. It was more of a budget process presentation than a roundtable discussion. I was surprised that no real budget information was available. The majority of the time was spent explaining the budgeting process and how difficult it can be. We get that, but that’s what why we trust the District to hire executive level professionals. None of them attended this meeting.
We were also surprised to learn that the presenter is a consultant and has only been working with the District for a few weeks. She could not answer the most basic questions like how large the deficit is, what is the nature of the "multi-million dollar error" that occurred, how much money is involved, how we got into this position, what is the cost cutting goal etc.
We also learned that the top three financial positions at the District are vacant. That is really alarming and explains why none of the District representatives present have any useful information.
This event felt like a public relations stunt more than an honest attempt to gain input from the community. If the District is going to host these kind of events, they need to have information available before they waste the community’s time.
Our time was wasted and nothing productive was achieved. My level of trust in the District’s ability to navigate this crisis is lower than ever. Really disappointing.
I urge everyone to learn more about what is going on, then attend a meeting or write the District and the School Board to give them your opinion.
Below is a link to a Press Democrat Article regarding the issue.
My daughter and I attended the Board Meeting and one of the Budget Roundtable Discussions. It was more of a budget process presentation than a roundtable discussion. I was surprised that no real budget information was available. The majority of the time was spent explaining the budgeting process and how difficult it can be. We get that, but that’s what why we trust the District to hire executive level professionals. None of them attended this meeting.
We were also surprised to learn that the presenter is a consultant and has only been working with the District for a few weeks. She could not answer the most basic questions like how large the deficit is, what is the nature of the "multi-million dollar error" that occurred, how much money is involved, how we got into this position, what is the cost cutting goal etc.
We also learned that the top three financial positions at the District are vacant. That is really alarming and explains why none of the District representatives present have any useful information.
This event felt like a public relations stunt more than an honest attempt to gain input from the community. If the District is going to host these kind of events, they need to have information available before they waste the community’s time.
Our time was wasted and nothing productive was achieved. My level of trust in the District’s ability to navigate this crisis is lower than ever. Really disappointing.
I urge everyone to learn more about what is going on, then attend a meeting or write the District and the School Board to give them your opinion.
Below is a link to a Press Democrat Article regarding the issue.
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