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School Committee weighs budget options
Members of the school board’s finance committee say they hope to have a better idea of how much could be saved through spending cuts by the next time they meet.
The committee continues its quest to create a fiscal 2009 budget that reduces expenses without sacrificing educational quality.
During a work session Monday afternoon, the committee tentatively targeted several spending categories. These include a reduction of $50,000 in the amount spent for student testing (some of which are for advanced courses); a $25,000 decrease in travel-related expenses; and a $40,000 savings by eliminating the purchase of another trailer for classroom space.
Committee members also discussed potential cutbacks in teacher stipends and supplements, publications, and substitute and hourly workers.
They also suggested delaying installation of ball field lights at Clarke County High School until 2010, rather than next year as initially proposed. This will postpone spending $330,000.
Committee Chair Robina Rich Bouffault asked Acting Superintendent John Taylor and Joint Administrative Services Director Thomas Judge to research those items and provide more details for the Feb. 29 meeting. The meeting will take place at 1:30 p.m. at the School Board’s Annex Office in Berryville.
The committee is exploring alternative fiscal scenarios as fall back positions to try to compensate for what Bouffault said could be an additional loss of as much as $220,000 in state funds. That would be in addition to a shortfall of approximately $289,000 identified earlier, primarily due to a change in the commonwealth’s composite index, a funding formula that determines how much state money a locality receives, depending on its ability to pay to educate its students.
Despite the need to reduce spending, Bouffault said, a 4.5 percent teacher raise next year remains a key priority.
“What I’m trying to avoid is cutting any of these new instructional positions,” he said.
Six new classroom positions are included in the board’s proposed $26 million budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
“We want to keep that (pay raise) intact,” Vice Chairman Janet Creager Alger said.
Alger said the committee made good headway in trying to identify ways to cut or defer spending.
Another consideration is broadening curriculum options for students.
“We want to have more diversity,” Bouffault said. “These advanced classes are expensive.”
“They (students) need to be given all the possible choices,” Bouffault said, noting that those who are motivated to take the advanced classes should have the chance to do so. Others might choose to take vocational-education courses rather than attend college.
For example, she noted that of the 123 candidates for the international baccalaureate (IB) program during the last school year, only 36 took the final IB exam. Of those, only 21 received the IB diploma. The cost per student was $627, Bouffault said. The program offers a European-style educational curriculum.
“There could well be some savings here . . . real savings,” Taylor said. He believes high school administrators would need to be consulted, and more information collected, because making cuts in the advanced courses would involve curriculum policy changes.
"Whatever cuts we make, we have to make them without harming the children,” Bouffault stressed.
Contact the reporter at rmarlow@timespapers.com
Reduce teacher stipends? Well you've already cut key administrative positions, such as Athletic Director, and reduced that to a stipend position, which is ignorant considering that an Athletic Director, or a Transportation Director is a valid full time position--in every other county in the state.
Are you planning to further reduce these stipends?
Continue to strive to make Clarke County schools lackluster, at best, Ms Bouffalt. Mr. Dunning will be extremely happy.
Posted by retreatdweller
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