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RSU 14 will cut 40 jobs, 17 teachers By Emily Parkhurst RSU 14 announced this week that it will cut 40 jobs, including 17 teachers, next year in efforts to make up a $1.6 million budget gap on top of already reduced state subsidies. While Superintendent Sandy Prince has not yet released the list of which jobs will be cut, he did say these cuts would likely have the effect of consolidating or eliminating programs. ''This is the worst (budget season) I've been in,'' Prince said. ''I've never had to look at reductions like this.'' He explained that the school sees an increase in its operating budget of approximately $1 million each year, which includes fixed costs such as heating and maintaining buildings. Between reduced state subsidies and two mid-year reductions over the past two years, the school is now looking at a total budget gap of $2.5 million. Add to that, the section of the consolidation law that eliminates the undesignated fund balance that the school used in the past to help make up for some of these shortfalls, and, Prince said, this has become a perfect storm. ''All these features have crippled us,'' he said. Prince said it would be all but impossible to avoid requesting a tax increase this year.
Prep work While back in September the district did not yet know the extent of the cuts, the administration and school board began preparing for what they predicted would be drastic reductions. They brought in a facilitator to help determine the district's core values and how those values could be maintained through the cuts. They identified areas where programs or services could be increased, such as the all-day kindergarten offered this year, areas they wanted to see stay the same, and areas that could be reduced, such as the reduction in credit hour requirements at the high school made earlier this year. In addition, Prince said the district is looking at class sizes across the district to make sure it is equitable, particularly in the lower grades. They have also been meeting with the unions to look at potential ways to reduce costs there. ''I believe that a great teacher in the classroom is the most important thing,'' said Prince. ''We tried to look at all the areas in the budget, and tried the best we could not to have a significant impact on the children.'' Last year the district considered implementing a pay-to-play program to help pay for athletics, and Prince said that was something they would revisit this year. However, it's not all cuts. Prince said the budget calls for some increases, including more computers for the high school.
Next steps School Board Chairman Toby Pennels said that once Prince hands the budget over the school board next week, the serious debates will begin. ''Certainly there are board members that are more plugged in to certain programs. It comes down to compromise. The intent, the objective is the best interest of the students, but how we get there can be very dynamic,'' said Pennels. Last year, when the music program was thrust onto the chopping block, the public came out in force to support it and it was reinstated. ''I believe that the administration knows what we need, but we do need to hear what the public wants. We need to listen to the public and be mindful of the taxpayers,'' said School Board member and Finance Committee Chair Jeri Keane. Pennels said his policy is to start with the classroom as the most important aspect of the budget and work backwards from there. He said transportation is one of the cost centers he would like to see discussed in detail. The district spends approximately $2.4 million on the current bus service. ''That's just shy of 10 percent of the budget. We can pay a lot of teachers with that money,'' he said. While state law does say the town must offer transportation services, it does not indicate how or where those services pick up students. ''We could say we're not doing private roads. We could charge for transportation. We could say, bring all the kids to the Wal-Mart parking lot and we'll have six buses there. I don't think that's what the residents and parents want, but the law doesn't say we have to pick them up at their doorstep,'' Pennels said. He said the other aspect he would like to see covered in detail is the ratio of instructional to administrative costs, citing figures from several years ago that put the ratio close to 60/40, respectively. ''I would like for it to be closer to the high 60s, low 70s. We're not quite there,'' Pennels said. Administrative costs include the salaries of the superintendent and his staff, secretaries, transportation costs, building maintenance, and other non-instructional costs. On March 17, Prince will turn the first official draft of the budget over to the school board. The school board will then begin a process of public hearings for each school or cost center where the public can provide input. The first hearing will be on March 20 at 8:15 a.m. at the Manchester School to discuss proposed cuts at that elementary school. ''It's their community, the budget should reflect what they value. What the public wants is what we'll do,'' said Prince. |
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