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Rochester school budgets matter to your child’s education – get informed and make your voice heard!
When children enroll in our schools, they begin a journey that will prepare them for success in college, career, and life. Our investment in Rochester’s public schools has the potential to return an educated workforce, vibrant neighborhoods, and a thriving local economy. The types and offerings of schools available to our children should be determined by the many voices of our community. Given this, our vision and priorities for public education should be reflected in our district and school budgets.
School budgets are essentially the school’s plan for how they will spend the funds they receive from our community and state and federal sources on an annual basis. In a nutshell, school budgets:
- Plan for the instructional and administrative staff needed to run our schools. More than 70 percent of our school budgets go towards paying employees (teachers, counselors, nurses, bus drivers, custodians, etc.);
- Plan for the purchase of supplies and technology for our schools and related programming, including everything from desks and textbooks to microscopes and computers; and
- Respond to state and federal mandates about many things including transporting students, maintaining school facilities, implementing safety protocols, providing accessible learning spaces, and establishing learning standards.
Do you know what your school is budgeting for? Does it include what is most important to you? Are you interested in learning more about how funding decisions are made at the school and district level, how they impact your child, and how you can make your opinion heard?
The stakes are higher than ever. As reported on Spectrum News, the learning gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will impact RCSD graduation rates, as well as graduates’ earning potential in the future. How schools spend money to close the gap is more critical than ever.
The voices of our families matter. If you want to learn more about this topic and others that impact your child’s education, as well as ways to get involved that can make an impact, see below for information about the READY Parent Action Academy. YOU can make a difference for Rochester’s public schools!
Yours in service,
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