LCFF (Local Control Funding Formula): This finance system was adopted in 2013-14 by the state, and gave schools more funding in order restore all districts and charters to pre-recession funding levels. The funding base grant for each school district varies based on average daily attendance (ADA), said assistant superintendent business services Song Chin-Bendib.
School support tax: Aside from state and federal funding, about 26 percent of PUSD’s funding is comprised of the parcel tax that Piedmont residents pay; the money from the parcel tax goes towards reducing class sizes, counseling services and technology, Chin-Bendib said.
Piedmont Education Foundation (PEF): PEF contributes about 7 percent of PUSD’s overall budget for the year; however, those contributions are broken up into Tier 1 and Tier 2 programs, principal Brent Daniels said.
Special Education/Other: PUSD receives 1 million dollars from SELPA to fund the special education program, Chin-Bendib said.
Federal grants and Concentration/Supplemental grants from the state: These are additional grants distributed to school districts based on the number of targeted disadvantaged pupils: English learners, foster youth, and those reliant on free or reduced-price meals. PUSD only gets a small fraction of this funding because the district has a very low percentage of pupils categorized as disadvantaged, Chin-Bendib said.
Lottery: PUSD receives a little over half a million dollars of funding from state money stemming from the sale of lottery tickets, Chin-Bendib said.
CHANGES TO REVENUE:
The Piedmont Education Foundation (PEF) merged with the Associated Parents Club of Piedmont (APCP) in 2015 in order to streamline fundraising and distribution of funds, Daniels said. This merge, along with the Nov. 2016 vote on Proposition 55 and the governor’s proposed budget in Jan. 2016, will all alter the PUSD funding model. If Proposition 55 passes, it would continue Proposition 30, which increased state taxes in order to help finance school districts. Additionally, the governor proposes a budget in Jan., and revises the budget in May based on tax returns; the school district uses this information to evaluate their fiscal plan for the following year, Chin-Bendib said.
Salaries and Benefits: Certificated employees are teachers with teaching credentials. Classified employees include maintenance workers, janitors, food service employees and administrators. Employee benefits include welfare, medical insurance up to a certain cap, pensions and other worker compensations. The rest of the spending is allotted to supplies, services and other expenses, Chin-Bendib said.
CHANGES TO EXPENDITURE:
California has determined that teacher pensions are underfunded and is requiring schools to gradually increase their contributions to CalSTRs (California State Teachers’ Retirement System) and CalPERs (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) throughout the next couple years. This will greatly increase PUSD’s expenditures in the area of post employment benefits. Also, salaries follow a stepping-column model, which means that salaries increase with longevity. Therefore, as employees continue to serve PUSD, the expenditure of salaries also increases, Chin-Bendib said.
