The list of 2010-11 budget reductions in the Crookston School District discussed this morning is simply a "conversation starter," Superintendent Wayne Gilman advised. But, with 14 teachers potentially losing their jobs in addition to CHS Dean of Students John Tufte and classroom sizes at Highland and the high school topping 30 students, it's not pretty.
"This all pretty much sucks," school board member Frank Fee said at this morning's board Finance Committee meeting at the high school.
The list disseminated today totals $1,531,148 in budget reductions. It includes three items up for discussion but not yet factored in as a savings, including a four-day school week, incentives to spur teachers to retire and the closing of the swimming pool.
A four-day school week could save the district as much as $180,000 a year and maybe more, Gilman said, and if a handful or more teachers retired, that would reap significant savings, too. As for the pool, with some recoding, the savings could spare a teaching job, he said. Girls' swimming, even if the pool remains open, is on the list for elimination.
If the board decides to pursue a four-day school week, Gilman said the administrative team needs to know as soon as possible because work would have to begin "now" on restructuring dietary, custodial and transportation contracts, in addition to numerous other things.
Also on the list is the elimination of Knowledge Bowl, Speech and the three-act play. Individual lessons for junior high band students would cease at the high school, meaning students would only practice in large groups in school, or on their own at home. Activities Director Don Donarski said his budget would be reduced by 30 percent across the board, and many of the savings would come from eliminating junior high athletic programs and folding them into junior varsity teams. Some of the activities to be eliminated could survive, he said, but community organizations would have to step up to make it happen. The activities cuts include the end of athletic co-operatives with other towns, with the hope being, Donarski said, that kids in neighboring towns who've played on Pirate sports teams would open enroll here.
In addition, a night custodian at CHS would be cut, as would the curriculum, staff development and assessment coordinator position held by Jim Kent. The Life Skills Apartment program would be cut.
At the high school, it's likely that the "middle school" concept for the seventh and eighth grade would go away as a result of staff cuts. CHS Principal Todd Brist said specific decisions still have to be hammered out. It appears that a Career/Tech Ed staff member will be cut, and if that ends up being in Family and Consumer Sciences, that program would be nixed entirely. Program reductions in play include math, social studies, English, science and art. Some of them, Brist said, may have been discussed anyway simply because of declining enrollment.
A special education teacher at CHS is on the list, as is the administrative assistant in the Guidance Office. Eliminating Tufte's job would save $88,316.
CHS English/writing teacher Dave Davidson, president of the Crookston Education Association, said he didn't think the reductions in administration fit proportionately with the cuts as a whole. "That seems a little bit light to me," he said.
Asked by Gilman for his suggestions, Davidson said he didn't want to offer any immediate input, "But I bet we could come up with a suggestion in due time."
Brist lobbied for Tufte's position to be retained, saying that, with the dean of students gone, he'd have to spend more time on discipline and student supervision and less time on curriculum issues. "I would like to figure out another way to get help in the office on the discipline side of things," Brist said.
The list also includes revenue boosters, such as a $10 annual parking fee for staff and students who park on school grounds, and the sale of the property around Lincoln School. Revenue could also be boosted if the state doesn't reduce its education funding formula. The list as of now assumes a 1 percent drop, which amounts to around $87,000, Business Manager Laura Lyczewski said.
Then there's the prospects for a larger operating levy. It's likely that one will be on the ballot in November and, Gilman said, right now the district is getting about half the revenue that it could through operating levy dollars.
"You would hope that, with a successful levy, you could put some of these things back, so we don't look at this list and say we're stuck with this for the next ten years," Gilman said. "Some of this, it could only be a year or so; we could double the operating levy revenue we have now."
This morning's meeting was just the beginning of the process. The CEA will meet after school today, and Davidson invited board members and administrators to attend. Meetings with staff at the three school buildings will follow, and it's likely a public forum will be scheduled, too, Gilman said. The board's Finance Committee will meet again at 7 a.m. on March 17 at the high school to discuss the reductions again.
