CSBA cuts budget by 10% for 2009-10 

In recognition of the financial stress being experienced by the association’s members, the CSBA Board of Directors approved a budget for 2009-10 that freezes membership dues levels for the first time in memory. At Executive Director Scott P. Plotkin’s own request, the board also reduced his salary and froze it in place for the coming year.

“These actions are an effort to demonstrate our commitment to the careful and effective use of our members' resources, maintaining a high level of service and representation yet working within our means,” said Plotkin.

The budget adopted by the board June 28 reduces expenditures by nearly 10 percent for the new fiscal year. In addition to reducing the executive director’s salary, other cost-cutting measures include:

• freezing—for the second year in a row—registration fees for CSBA’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show and shortening the conference by half a day on Saturday; the budget also eliminates two CSBA-sponsored receptions during the conference
• suspending CSBA’s highly regarded but heavily subsidized Curriculum Institute for both 2009 and 2010
• freezing employee salaries for the second year in a row, and annualizing the voluntary furloughs and associated reductions in salaries of up to 10 percent for participating CSBA employees
• eliminating the June 2010 meeting of the CSBA Board of Directors
• holding most positions vacant that come open in the coming year
• increasing use of free Webcasts for members as an alternative to on-site meetings and workshops
• significantly reducing other areas of expenditures across the board, such as travel and supplies

“We will continue to identify areas of savings in the coming year that are in concert with the goals of CSBA's leadership to offer the best possible services, training and representation for our members,” Plotkin said. “The fact that our membership continues to be strong— even in the face of such difficult financial times—has made our commitment to our members even more imperative; these expenditure reductions are in recognition of the need for CSBA to also ‘weather the storm’ along with our membership.”