Burbank Unified received new budget information from the State of California just over a week ago, notifying the district approximately $200,000 additional funds will be provided for the Supplemental Grant category of the BUSD LCAP Plan, according to school officials.
“The Supplemental Grant budget ended up being increased by about $1.6 million,” commented BUSD Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Dr. Tom Kissinger.
Originally, the LCAP Committee Members had recommended just under $1.4 million in Supplemental Grant funds to add to existing programs for the current year.
“With a fairly quick turn-around, we needed to add additional Supplemental Grant programs and services to the recommended LCAP budget for upcoming year,” Kissinger went on to say. “None of the current recommended programs were eliminated or decreased. In fact, many were augmented.”
“And, we were able to go back to our priority list, from April, and add back almost all of the programs that did not make it into the Plan back then.”
“In the Supplemental Grant, the only program that you will recognize as a completely new addition was the Intervention Specialist At-Risk for the secondary schools,” Kissinger added. “Some other significant additions are the number of intervention sections added to secondary academic programs, more courses offered for online credit recovery during the year and in the summer.”
“The Local Control Accountability Plan serves as a guiding document to show the Burbank Unified School District’s focus on the academic achievement and social/emotional development of the District’s students over the next three years,” said outgoing Superintendent Dr. Jan Britz in a released statement. “The LCAP builds on the eight areas of priority as identified by the State of California, and charts a visionary course to improve student achievement. Each of these eight areas provides an important component of our work and focus.”
“The LCAP includes annual goals, specific actions and services, and program expenditures,” she added. “The scope of funding included in the LCAP is noted as: Base Grant funds, Supplemental Grant funds, Federal Entitlement funds, Common Core funds, or Bond funds.”
The LCAP is evaluated annually through multiple assessments, survey results and stakeholder meetings, as guided by the Superintendent and Board of Education. Evaluation results are published and reported annually, by the LCAP Advisory Committee.
BUSD’s LCAP Committee is comprised of parents, teachers, administrators, students, employee group representatives and community members.
“The District’s LCAP was developed by stakeholders to explain how services and actions contribute to goals, demonstrate equity, and support transparency and simplicity,” added Britz. “It is our commitment to making a long term- collective investment in our students and their future. We look forward to making this plan become a reality to produce positive student outcomes.”
Last year, BUSD Board of Education approved the initial LCAP Plan which added multiple positions and programs to the school’s budget and education plan. The entire BUSD LCAP Plan can be found on the district’s website here.
The BUSD Board of Education holds a First Reading of the LCAP on June 18, 2015, at their regularly scheduled meeting. The Second Reading is planned for June 25.
