The Boston Public Schools’ long-term financial report, titled "Investing in Student Success," lays out 10 “big ideas” to address growing budget shortfalls. If nothing changes, the department will face annual revenue and spending gaps of between $20 to $25 million, according to a report released on Monday.

The team that compiled the report has identified possible beneficial actions on transportation, the district footprint, salaries and benefits, student needs, and revenue and legislation.

“Without change, the district’s financial situation will continue to worsen, forcing difficult reductions in service each year and limiting the ability to fund critical investments for students,” the report states.

Costs are estimated to increase by 3-4 percent per year, while revenue will increase by about 2 percent per year, leaving ten of millions of dollars in the gap even without any new investments or initiatives.

School officials note the existing budgetary strain posed by state charter schools in the city. Boston pays for more than 10,000 students who are attending charter schools, the report states, noting that the charter assessment has grown by 130 percent since 2010, with much of the rise due to an increase of 4,800 charter students at a per-student tuition rate that rose 20 percent.

The state has not fulfilled its commitments to reimburse the city for charter school expenses, leaving a $48 million shortfall over three years beginning in FY ‘15, the report states. Noting that Question 2 on the Nov. 8 ballot gives voters the chance to raise the charter school cap, the report states: “If the ballot question is approved, it would shift the financial landscape so significantly for Boston that this report would need to be revisited.”

Eleanor Laurans, chief financial officer of Boston Public Schools, said Question 2 approval would put increased financial pressures on the already-strapped budget. She referenced Boston Chief Financial Officer Dave Sweeney’s assessment that cuts at BPS and in other city departments could be necessary if the measure passes.

For the most part, the report’s recommendations focus on streamlining existing systems and reconfiguring services that are not being used to their capacity. “We expect this to be a long and thoughtful process that could extend over multiple budgets,” Laurans said.

The first three ideas are transportation-specific. Accounting for 11 percent of BPS’s FY ‘17 budget, Boston’s busing costs are among the nation’s highest, and more than five times the national average, the report notes. Bus routing rules limit the number of students routed to buses, Laurans said. Students are not permitted to ride the bus more than one hour, which means buses traveling from one corner of the city to another must at some point stop picking up students to minimize travel time, even if the vehicle is not full.

A 2014-2015 shift to schools within a smaller home radius should help eventually lower transportation costs, the report states, but some students who were “grandfathered” into the system can continue attending distant BPS facilities until they age out.

By more carefully assessing under-ridden routes, maintaining unified start times, and adjusting student assignment policies to keep them in short range of their homes – among other suggestions – officials believe BPS could recoup as much as $35 million in savings.

These proposals have timelines that could span years, and “to do this well, this has to be coherent and coordinated across all the elements,” Laurans said. The department does not want to be in a situation of reconfiguring bus routes, only to later reconfigure school assignments and throw the buses again into disarray.

The fourth idea, “Reconfigure the district’s footprint,” proposes “making adjustments to the number of schools and/or the number of classrooms across schools.” The number of students impacted is not specified, nor is the short-term financial impact, which would depend in part on reductions in staff and buildings.

Though school closures are being considered as an option, one that is sure to spark concern among parents and students who have railed against the prospect, school officials are quick to point out that closures are a consideration among many, no recommendations are being made, and the process is not a hurried one.

“It would be unfortunate if focus on third rail issues, like school closures, was a distraction from having the conversations that we need to have,” Laurans said. “At  this point, everything is on the table because we believe that’s the right way to make sound decisions for the future. We are only going to move forward if there’s a net positive benefit for students. We also believe strongly that this process should be deliberate and purposeful and not rushed, so we won’t be rushing to act. We will be deliberate in taking time to listen first.”

Laurans said BPS is open to advocating for legislative changes down the line, including realigning state education formulas and possibly giving Boston more control over its revenue generation streams. Citing the report, she added, “they gravitated toward “ideas that were bold, big, and could unleash significant dollars,” including “advocating at the state level changes that we think are good for the students of Boston.”

“Even though it’s somewhat out of our control,” Laurans said, “and it’s challenging, and certainly long-term, we very much wanted those issues to be front and center and part of the conversation.”

Discussions on the 10-year master plan, BuildBPS will take place for the most part alongside normal budget discussions. There will be a BuildBPS-specific hearing at the Bolling Building in Roxbury from 1 to 3 p.m. this coming Sunday, and the schools have scheduled a number of town halls, district budget meetings, and student-only forums to solicit feedback on the annual and long-term finances of the school system. Laurans said the team expects to present an update to the school committee next February.

[Editor's note: 10/27/16: An earlier version of this article mis-titled the report as BuildBPS. It is "Investing in Student Success." and BuildBPS is the name of the 10-year BPS master plan, which includes the report.]