Community Invited to Suggest Budget Reductions

Residents of the Madison Metropolitan School District will be given the opportunity in 11 January sessions to make suggestions and set priorities for budget reductions necessary for the 2006-07 school year. The budget reduction exercise uses a $100 budget that reflects the proportionate share for 47 major program areas of the actual MMSD budget.

MMSD Press release, 12/22/05

Participants are asked to individually and in a small group determine which program areas should be cut and by how much to reach the projected maximum of $10 million that the school district will have to cut for next year to comply with state-imposed revenue limits. In the $100 budget model, $10 million equals $3.85.

“We’re interested in meaningful community participation in setting priorities for budget reductions,” said Superintendent Art Rainwater. “The major priorities that result from all the exercise participants will inform us as we develop the budget for the Board of Education.”

The $100 budget exercise will also show the difficulty of making up to $10 million in budget cuts for next year, and improve understanding of the impact of budget reductions.

The 11 sessions are scheduled at each of the Madison middle schools on the evenings of January 24, 25 and 26 (complete schedule is below.) One will be held at each of the Madison middle schools. All MMSD residents are invited to participate one time, and the sessions should run between 1 hour 20 minutes and 1 hour 45 minutes.

There will be four parts to the sessions: an overview of the MMSD budget and the exercise process; individuals making their own budget cuts using the $100 budget; reaching consensus with a group of four persons on the cuts; and individuals setting priorities by goals and programs.

Residents can get more information about the $100 budget exercise and can work on their own budget reductions after January 9, when the document will be at www.mmsd.org/budget/100dollar/

For more information, contact:
Ken Syke, 663-1903 or 575-6682, or
Joe Quick, 663-1902

Community Sessions of the Budget Reduction Exercise Using the $100 Budget Model

Every MMSD resident is invited to participate, but each is limited to participating one time. Length of the sessions will be between 1:20 and 1:45.

Tuesday, January 24
Cherokee Middle School 6:00 p.m. 4301 Cherokee Dr Cafeteria
Sennett Middle School 6:00 p.m. 502 Pflaum Rd. Cafeteria
Hamilton Middle School 7:00 p.m. 4801 Waukesha St. Cafeteria
Sherman Middle School 7:00 p.m. 1610 Ruskin St. Cafeteria

Wednesday, January 25
Jefferson Middle School 6:00 p.m. 101 S. Gammon Rd. Cafeteria
O'Keeffe Middle School 6:00 p.m. 510 S. Thornton Ave. Cafeteria
Spring Harbor Middle School 7:00 p.m. 1110 Spring Harbor Dr.Gym
Whitehorse/Schenk Schools 7:00 p.m. 218 Schenk St. Cafeteria

Thursday, January 26
Wright Middle School 6:00 p.m. 1717 Fish Hatchery Rd. LMC
Toki Middle School 6:30 p.m. 5606 Russett Rd. Cafeteria
Black Hawk/Gompers Schools 7:00 p.m. 1402 Wyoming Way Cafeteria

Posted by Ruth Robarts at December 22, 2005 10:34 AM
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