DEPARTMENT: Pre-K 4 SA
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Sarah Baray, Ph.D.
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Pre-K 4 SA FY 2019 Budget
SUMMARY:
An Ordinance considering approval of the Pre-K 4 SA program FY 2019 Budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018 and ending on June 30, 2019, and personnel complement as adopted by the Pre-K 4 SA Board of Directors on April 3, 2018.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
City staff provided City Council with an overview of the Pre-K 4 SA program's FY 2019 Budget during the May 9 "B" session. The Pre-K 4 SA Board of Directors bylaws, which were approved by City Council, require the Annual Budget to be adopted by the Board before May 1 each year and approved by City Council prior to the start of the new program year on July 1.
ISSUE:
The Pre-K 4 SA Board of Directors adopted the FY 2019 Operating Budget on April 3, 2018. This item is for City Council's consideration of the approval of the Board’s FY 2019 annual operating budget. The Pre-K 4 SA fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30 of each year.
Below is an overview of the Board of Director's Adopted Operating Budget for FY 2019 to include major program areas.
|
Revenues |
Adopted Budget FY 2019 |
|
Dedicated Sales Tax |
$36,355,835 |
|
Planned Use of Fund Balance |
4,334,403 |
|
State/Local Match |
4,352,400 |
|
USDA (Food) |
1,480,139 |
|
Sliding Scale Tuition |
731,250 |
|
Interest/Misc Revenue |
51,270 |
|
Total Revenues & Transfers |
$47,305,297 |
|
Operating Expenses and Transfers |
Adopted Budget FY 2019 |
|
Pre-K 4 SA Education Center Services |
$24,606,700 |
|
Facilities Leases & Maintenance |
6,294,438 |
|
Competitive Grants |
4,808,462 |
|
Professional Learning |
1,977,879 |
|
Administration |
1,682,587 |
|
Public Relations/Marketing |
868,759 |
|
Transportation Services |
789,337 |
|
Enrollment/Attendance Services |
775,730 |
|
Program Assessment |
307,035 |
|
Sales Tax Collection Fee |
727,117 |
|
Debt Service Payments |
3,400,803 |
|
Transfers to other Funds |
1,066,450 |
|
Total Budget |
$47,305,297 |
The Pre-K 4 SA program utilizes 1/8 cent of a local sales tax levied within the City of San Antonio city limits. The FY 2019 sales tax budget assumes a 3.8% growth rate from FY 2018 estimated sales tax revenue. Sales tax makes up 84.6% of the Pre-K 4 SA total revenue.
The State/Local Match is revenue that Pre-K 4 SA receives from each of the participating school districts. The school districts receive state and local funds per student enrolled, and then send a portion to Pre-K 4 SA to offset the operating costs of educating the students. The USDA (Food) program is revenue from a US Department of Agriculture nutrition reimbursement program that allows Pre-K 4 SA to receive funds for a portion of each meal provided to the students. Also, Pre-K 4 SA offers sliding scale tuition for families that do not meet state eligibility requirements to attend prekindergarten, or reside in a non-participating school district.
The FY 2019 Board of Director's Adopted Annual Expenditure Budget reflects a 2.0% decrease from the FY 2018 Adopted Annual Budget. Pre-K 4 SA will accept a total of 2,000 students for the 2018-2019 school year. Appropriations are required for the hiring of Education Center staff, food service, and other expenses required for the daily operations of each Education Center.
Pre-K 4 SA is a comprehensive initiative with four components designed to improve the quality of early childhood education throughout San Antonio: 1) four model Education Centers serving 2,000 children annually; 2) family outreach and engagement; 3) free, best-in-class professional development for early childhood educators; and 4) competitive grants providing $4.2 million annually in support of Pre-K 4 programming in public, private, charter, and parochial schools and child development centers. Pre-K 4 SA operates in partnership with eight independent school districts.
The four Pre-K 4 SA Education Centers, located in the North, South, East and West quadrants of San Antonio, serve 500 students each in a full-day program with free extended hour learning for working families. Every Pre-K 4 SA classroom is staffed with a certified teacher and credentialed assistant teacher who have specialized training. Pre-K 4 SA has a total of 100 Certified Teachers, 101 Assistant Teachers, 56 Full-Time Teacher Assistants, and 25 Part-Time Teacher Assistants. The program has a total of 416 authorized positions. Pre-K 4 SA has budgeted for full-day security coverage at all four education centers with security services that may include the use of SAPD officers for the 2018-19 school year. “The Education Centers meet national standards for high quality early childhood education and serve as demonstration sites to assist other pre-kindergarten programs improve quality. The Education Centers also serve as incubators of innovation to test new ideas that are shared with pre-kindergarten programs across the city.
The Professional Learning department at Pre-K 4 SA provides a comprehensive program that offers coaching services to educators from public, private, charter, and parochial schools and child development centers throughout the year to demonstrate best-practices in early childhood education. Since 2013, Pre-K 4 SA has provided training for over 5,000 educators in San Antonio. In 2017 alone, Pre-K 4 SA trained over 1,900 educators.
Pre-K 4 SA distributes $4.2 million in grants each year to school districts, charters, private and parochial schools, and child development centers throughout San Antonio. Pre-K 4 SA grant funding helps to increase the quality of programs and the number of full-day seats. Funds allow education partners to go from half-day to full-day service, decrease student-teacher ratio, increase teacher credentials, and implement high quality curriculum.
Through the various components of the program, Pre-K 4 SA reaches approximately 46,000 students annually. This includes 2,000 children at the four Education Centers, over 4,500 through competitive grants, and upwards of 40,000 through professional learning opportunities for educators.
ALTERNATIVES:
City Council could choose to not approve the FY 2019 Pre-K 4 SA Budget and request changes to the budget by Pre-K 4 SA. In this event, the Pre-K 4 SA Board of Directors would need to amend their adopted Budget and forward the budget to the City Council for approval.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This action will not impact the City's General Fund Budget. The FY 2019 Pre-K 4 SA program Budget, as adopted by the Board of Directors on April 3, 2018, is $47,305,297. This action also will allow for any budget adjustments necessary to reflect FY 2018 re-estimates included within the Pre-K 4 SA FY 2019 Budget.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that City Council approve the FY 2019 Annual Budget as recommended and adopted by the Pre-K 4 SA Board of Directors on April 3, 2018.