"Leadership" ?

Look at the budget before us and look at Article 3, "Leadership." The amount is $957,908.

Remember that we're moving toward "administrative consolidation." To that end the State has reduced the amount sent to the districts in support of system administration. For SAD 46, in the present fiscal year, FY08, the State allocated $369,562 for system administration; for FY09, the amount will be $205,938. This approach appears to have been sanctioned by public sentiment.

Now take a walk back through the previous couple of years' budgets. To compare like categories of expenditures, to compare the present article 3, "Leadership", to past years, for past years we must combine Questions 1 (Administrative Expenses, i.e. Superintendent's Office and Business Management), 2 (Board of Directors' Expenses), and 3 (Principal's Expenses).

We find that for "Leadership" we budgeted $888,151 in FY08 and $831,904 in FY07.

Thus, taking FY07 as a baseline, we increased our allocation in this area by 6.7% in the next year. Starting over again with last fiscal year's allocation as a base, what is proposed this year is an increase of 7.8%.

So much for curtailing administrative expenses!

A young person just starting out might think of going into school administration. Where else can one be part of an enterprise which rips along at two and three times the rate of inflation? As the phase goes, "Quite a racket!"