If the voters of Independent School District No. 129 had approved the excess levy referendum last November, the school board would not be having three meetings this week to discuss ways to balance next year’s budget.
The proposed $925 per pupil unit levy would have raised enough revenue to have taken next year’s $400,000 in cuts off the table, plus there would have been another $170,000 available to ameliorate future cuts.
The bottom line is that next year’s budget would have been balanced, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Luther Heller told board members at a work session Monday night.
“The impact of not passing the budget is definitely there,” said Heller.
As it is, the board spent more than an hour and a half Monday discussing the administration’s proposal to cut up to $666,348 in two phases.
“The intent this evening is to put together a more formal proposal for Thursday night,” explained Heller to a group of approximately 20 individuals, including administrators, staff, and members of the public attending the meeting.
Plan for the unknown
The reason the administration proposed cutting just over $666,300 when less would be needed to balance the 2010-2011 budget is because of the uncertainty about what the Legislature will do. State education aid could be reduced further to address the state’s budget deficit, even though the governor has said K-12 education would be held harmless.
“We won’t know until June,” said Heller. “So that’s why the phase one and two cuts are being recommended.”
A public input meeting will be conducted beginning at 7 p.m. tonight at the middle school. The board’s third meeting will occur at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning at which time board members will discuss the input received the night before.
Based upon the discussion, the administration will put together its recommendations regarding staff and program cutbacks in time for the March 8 regular board meeting.
Staff being placed on unrequested leave of absence, or terminated in the case of non-tenured positions, really should be notified by mid-March, Heller told board members. This allows time for affected staff to go through the prescribed appeals process if they wish to contest the action.
“This all has to be taken care of by the end of June,” said Heller. “You really push yourself up against the wall (if you wait until April 1).”
What if?
Beyond Phase 1 and 2, which consist of a variety of proposed program and staff cuts, the administration has proposed additional ways to save an additional $393,379. This includes saving an estimated $100,000 by eventually eliminating classes at Sanford Elementary School.
