Superintendent thanks community, sets 2010-11 budget timeline

Todd RobertsCROPDear Ann Arbor Public Schools Community Members:

I want to thank those who attended the AAPS Budget Forums during the past few weeks. I was very pleased with the turnout at the meetings. I hope the meetings were helpful in providing you with information about our budget and possible options to address our projected budget deficit for the 2010-2011 school year.

These are difficult and uncertain financial times for our school district as well as districts throughout the state. The great interest our staff, students, parents and community members displayed at the forums regarding the issues and the input you provided on how we can best plan our budget gives me confidence that working together, we will address the financial challenges we face and continue to provide students with the outstanding educational opportunities that make our school district exceptional.

I want to share with you the next steps in our budget development process. Your input continues to be valuable as we lead up to the presentation of the 2010-11 draft budget plan on March 24.

We are currently reviewing the feedback and surveys collected at the four forums along with the feedback we have received online. A Study Session is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 17 to go over this information with the Board of Education. We will then post the information on the district Web site.

On March 24 the administration will present a draft budget plan to the Board of Education for a first briefing. The draft budget is planned for a second briefing at the April 15 Board of Education meeting. The district will host community meetings in late April to go over the approved plan.

In April the district will bring together the Strategic Planning team and individual action teams for the eight strategies in our Strategic Plan for a series of meetings. At these meetings the teams will review the plan and make modifications especially considering the expected on-going budget issues. Those of you who filled out the survey citing your interest in this process will be contacted prior to the first meeting.

In June the Board of Education will officially adopt the 2010-11 AAPS budget.

Thank you again for your involvement. I appreciate your participation and input.

If you have any questions please contact me.

Sincerely,
Todd Roberts, Ed.D
Superintendent
Ann Arbor Public Schools
2555 S. State St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 994-2230
robertst@aaps.k12.mi.us

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