21 Questions For

Zero-Based Budgeting

 To the Editor

 Here are the 21 questions and subparts that surely must have been asked and answered by the IPN in proposing Zero-Based Budgeting for the school system and/or town:

1. What is the difference between zero-based budgeting and performance budgeting?

2. What type of budgeting does our school system use, and if a combination, what? How about the town?

3. At what level will decision packages be implemented?

4. How many decision packages will there be? How many options in each package?

5. How many choices will be available in each decision package?

6. Who will be the lowest level of decision package participants, and how many of these employees will be involved and how many work hours will be required to complete the lowest level of decision package preparation?

7. Will additional employees be required to prepare the packages, and if not, from what activities will these employees be taken away from to do this new activity?

8. How many tier levels will these decision packages go through — teachers, administrators, etc? How many hours will this take? Will there be additional teachers and administrators employed and if not, what activities will be drawn down to accomplish this new budgeting?

9. What is the estimated total administrative cost of this program versus what is the estimated cost savings?

10. What services are anticipated to be cut? What services are statutorily protected?

11. Define outcome objectives for each vertical and lateral category for each organizational unit.

12. Who will oversee this monolithic program? Who will be the managers, monitors, and analysts of the program? What role will the Board of Education play?

13. Has zero-based budgeting been met with approval by any school official, administrator, or teacher? If not, why not? If so, who? What is his/her sentiment?

14. What consultants have you conferred with about this proposal? If none, why not?

15. How do you propose to apply zero-based budgeting to the capital improvement plan that combines program planning with town and school projects?

16. Will zero-based budgeting be performed every year in every vertical and horizontal category, or will it be done less frequently, and if less frequently, how will those decisions be made?

17. Which member of IPN has actually participated in zero-based budgeting in a $100 million corporation? Who has done so with a school board?

18. What school systems in Connecticut use zero-based budgeting? If there are any, have you consulted with them extensively about their experiences? If not, why not. If so, what are their experiences?

19. How will the mission and goals of the Newtown school system be changed or modified to address the anticipated internal and external environmental changes from the zero-based budgeting?

20. What other alternatives have been explored to enhance school performance in lieu of the draconian zero-based budgeting method? If none, why not?

21. The same questions above for the town side (1–20).

Sound byte or not? I suppose we will see shortly.

Thank you.

Christopher Lyddy

3 Smoke Rise Ridge, Newtown                                    October 9, 2007