JACKSON — The Jackson Board of Education is creating a Community Budget Committee (CBC) to provide input during the budget building process. The board is also inviting all residents to attend a budget workshop on Dec. 14 at 6:30 p.m. to learn more about the CBC and the budget process as a whole.
“Creating the school budget is an enormous, complicated endeavor that should balance the needs of the students with the economic reality in which the taxpayers are living,” said board President Sharon Dey. “In order to strike that balance, we need the input of everyone, including educators, parents and community members. Education is a joint responsibility, and the board is committed to hearing from all of our stakeholders.”
Anyone interested in serving on the CBC is asked to submit a letter of interest to the school district by email to [email protected] (and to put CBC in the subject line) by Nov 30. Interested residents should be able to attend the public meetings listed below (as well as other possible small-group CBC meetings as needed) and be prepared to devote time to review budget documents, ask questions and make recommendations.
For more information about the committee or to learn about the budget process as a whole, residents can also attend the board workshop on Dec. 14 at 6:30 p.m. This public meeting will feature a discussion of the mission of the CBC and an overview of how budgets are created.
Following is a list of board meetings that are open to the public and those that will feature “Building a Budget” presentations.
“These public meetings are a great way to hear firsthand how the board creates the annual budget and to ask questions of administrators who develop the individual budgets,” Dey said. “Public input is welcome and encouraged.”
• Dec. 14 at 6:30 p.m., board workshop meeting, Fine Arts Center of Jackson Memorial High School.
Board workshop meeting to welcome CBC members and explain the process. This public meeting will feature a discussion of the mission of the CBC and an overview of how budgets are created.
• Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m., board business meeting, Fine Arts Center of Jackson Memorial High School. Regular board meeting. No budgets presented.
• Jan. 11 at 6:30 p.m., board workshop meeting, Fine Arts Center of Jackson Memorial High School. Budgets: elementary school, middle school and high school.
• Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m., board business meeting, Fine Arts Center of Jackson Memorial High School. Budgets: special education, technology, facilities and capital improvements, transportation.
• Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m., board workshop meeting, Fine Arts Center of Jackson Memorial High School. Budgets: guidance, curriculum and instruction, athletics, cocurricular, personnel.
• Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m., board business meeting, Fine Arts Center of Jackson Memorial High School. Regular board meeting. No presentations scheduled.
• March 8 at 6:30 p.m., board business meeting, Fine Arts Center of Jackson Memorial High School. Anticipated date for introduction of tentative budget.
• March 29 at 7:30 p.m., board business meeting, Fine Arts Center of Jackson Memorial High School. Anticipated date for public hearing and adoption of 2011-12 school year budget.