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District still bracing for more cuts
Published 3/3/2010 in Local News
By MONICA SPRINGER
Although no decisions were made Tuesday night, a USD 457 budget committee discussed a combination of cutting expenses and raising revenues to cope with any future cuts in state aid.
Garden City USD 457 assembled the budget committee, made up of USD 457 staff, administrators, teachers and community members, to look into ways to cut more out of its budget if the state Legislature cuts its aid to public schools more in the future. The committee is made up of 27 people.
Tuesday's meeting was mainly informative, with USD 457 Financial Officer Kathleen Whitley explaining what local cuts already have been proposed through the district's program budgeting process, as well as sharing the bleak forecast for future cuts to state aid.
On Monday night, the district's program budgeting committee heard proposals from each of the 15 programs in the district that would cut about $1.1 million from the district's 2010-11 budget, including more than 20 positions district-wide.
Whitley estimates that the Legislature may cut an additional $300 to $600 in per-pupil state aid, on top of the more than $400 per-pupil cut already handed down this school year.
In addition to the $1.1 million in cuts proposed through the program budgeting process, Whitley said the USD Board of Education is expected to discuss a mill levy increase that could generate an additional $1 million in revenue. But even with that, if Whitley's worst-case projections come true on future state aid cuts, she estimates the district might have to cut an additional $4 million from its budget.
Rich Harp, president of Commerce Bank and a member of the committee, said he didn't want to see school district staff lose their jobs and not be able to pay property taxes.
But he also said he didn't want to burden property owners with a large tax increase.
"It's really a double-edged sword," he said.
On Tuesday, district officials distributed a list of suggested budget cuts that principals and teachers already have suggested through e-mails to school district administrators. The list includes not giving salary increases for all staff, starting the district's band program in sixth grade instead of fifth grade, eliminating the district's staff appreciation dinner, instilling a pay-to-play fee for athletics, and going back to a half-day of kindergarten.
Rick Atha, superintendent, said all ideas need to be discussed and considered. The committee reviewed the list on Tuesday and will have further discussions about ways to reduce the budget at its next meeting, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. March 22 at the Educational Support Center.
During the meeting, the group developed a set of guidelines for either cutting expenses or raising revenue. Those guidelines include: Having their decisions least impact student achievement, safety and security of the kids and staff, making cuts through attrition if possible, keeping in consideration the impact on the community and maintaining the district's legal responsibilities.
February's tax collections by the state were $71 million below estimates, and the state's budget next year currently includes a more than $400 million shortfall.
Whitley and Atha explained that school districts can rely on local revenues for 30 percent of their budgets. Most school districts in the state have reached their limits on their local budgets, they said, but Garden City relies on local revenue for only 17 to 18 percent of its budget.
"We've cut so much already. There's nothing left to cut," said Cynthia Corn, a teacher at Kenneth Henderson Middle School.
The program budgeting process last year eliminated 16.5 positions through attrition. On Monday night, the program budgeting groups proposed more than 20 positions to cut.
Atha said the school district will try to vacate positions through attrition where possible.
The committee on Tuesday asked for more information from USD 457 administrators, including a breakdown of how much the mill levy could be raised and what impact it would have on homeowners, and how many teachers the district has employed for the last several years in relation to the enrollment numbers. USD 457 officials said they would prepare the information for the next committee meeting.
Atha said the topic is an emotional issue and encouraged the committee to think of all possible ways to reduce the budget.
"We're losing people. It's going to hurt the services to our kids," he said.
He said it didn't matter if the cuts were made to paraprofessionals, teachers, janitors, or any other district employee.
"It will hurt the kids," he said. "This is a tough one."
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