The Rochester City School Board Monday night approved a nearly $986.2 million budget for the 2021-2022 school year. That’s an increase of more than $58.5 million thanks to massive infusions of COVID pandemic aid.
Superintendent Lesli Myers-Small says it incorporates 96 recommendations from the District’s strategic plan developed by the State Monitor, as well as a consent decree and corrective action plans ordered by courts for special education and bilingual education. She says it lays a foundation for a shift from the focus constantly being on the district’s fiscal stability back to prioritizing academics and student performance.
City Council gives final approval to the school budget in June.
Budget highlights from the District’s Strategic Plan include:
- Increasing ELA and math proficiency in grades 3 – 8
- Addressing chronic absenteeism
- Redesigning multi-tiered support systems to ensure the components related to social-emotional learning and attendance are addressed
- Working with Information Management and Technology to create a data dashboard that includes alignment of chronic absenteeism with State reporting
- Consistent systems and structures for school attendance teams to use when reviewing data on a weekly basis in order to implement tiered intervention
- Increasing percentage of Students with Disabilities in a Least Restrictive Environment
- Increasing parent engagement in Special Education
- Supporting the New York State Next Generation Standards and alignment of curriculum implementation for K – 12
- Fortifying social-emotional learning and restorative practices
- Consent Decree compliance
- NYS Special Education and Bilingual Corrective Action Plans compliance