Testimony of John G. Burns to the School Board of the Beaverton School District on June 18, 2012

The Board, and therefore the Public were not served well by this year’s budget process and calendar. Both the Budget Committee and then the Board were scheduled to vote on the Budget before significant choices and their impacts could be clearly understood and discussed with the Public.  As the impacts become better understood there will be more questions and response from the public.

The good news is that the Board is not limited by the calendar. By Law the Board is responsible throughout the year for the policies and funding of the school district. By Law the Board sets the days and hours of the school year.  I submit to you that there are revisions to the approved Budget that should start right now.

The new Achievement Compacts will be discussed later tonight.  I would like to remind you of Ben Cannon’s testimony here in February. Ben testified that he, the Governor, and the Legislature (in approving this new legislation) KNOW that the activities and the effort the Achievement Compacts set out are not funded. The long list of assessment, testing, and requirements for intervention are acknowledged by the State to be ‘unfunded’ activities. This DRAFT Achievement Compact suggests the deficiency is $ 97 million.  But the budget you approved includes significant expenditures in these areas including new positions; significant expenditures which serve the un-funded vision of the State at the expense of classroom positions.