Rochester City School District Superintendent Lesli Myers-Small is working on her proposed budget, which is expected to total nearly $800 million when she releases it next month. On Tuesday night she presented some preliminary numbers to the school board’s finance committee.
Beatriz LeBron, board of education vice president, said there are outside factors that must be kept in mind going forward with budget conversations, like unpredictable energy costs.
The market price of natural gas spiked 70% at the end of January. LeBron says school heating costs will also be affected.
“We will not be exempt from that. How would that impact us?” she said. “Have we looked at what the impact of that increase will be? I want us to be mindful, again, of what's happening out around us, but that will directly impact us in our budget.”
Chief Financial Officer Carleen Pierce said the district is looking into backup plans in case of any unexpected costs, such as a sharp rise in energy prices. Pierce suggested possible partnerships with the county to provide training similar to class offerings at the adult education center OACES as a way to bring in more revenue.
Later in the meeting, it was announced that the district’s transition to a new data software program is taking shape after more than a decade under the current system.
Chris Miller, chief of human capital, said the district's current operating system isn't functioning properly, and forces his office staff to do some of their work manually.
“Imagine if you had the same cell phone you had 15 years ago, what you could do with it or couldn't do with it,” Miller said “That's what we're dealing with. If I want to know how many people were absent today, I have to have a staff person spend a couple hours doing that.”
Miller said the transition to an updated data management software is a bellwether for the district’s ability to ensure change and progress. The process began in November, but there’s no set date for when the transition will be complete.
Myers-Small will present her proposed budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year to the school board on March 15.
