The amount of funding that Cook County Schools will receive from the State of Minnesota for the 2010-11 school year is a big unknown. The school board tried to work on its budget anyway in a special meeting Wednesday, May 5.
Superintendent Beth Schwarz told the school board that the Minnesota Supreme Court had just that day ruled against Governor Pawlenty’s unallotment of last year. The governor had not unallotted public school funding, which comprises 37% of the state’s budget, but he borrowed 27% of the year’s public school funding for other programs that were underfunded, with the intention of giving it back to the schools at the end of this school year.
With the unallotments ruled unconstitutional, Schwarz said, the legislature would now need to deal with the state’s $2.5 billion shortfall for this biennial. Cuts to school funding may now be part of the equation.
Another unknown is how much money the state will receive from the federal government for schools this next year.
A preliminary budget created earlier this year was balanced, but anything added in or any expected funding not obtained would have to come out of the district’s reserve fund. The board previously resolved not to let the reserve fund go below the amount it would cost the school to run for 45 days, but at this meeting, they voted—with one nay vote by Eric Kemp—to let it get down to 30 days instead, which would be $736,650.
In January, the school had $1.2 million in its reserve fund. That amount is expected to be down to $846,000 by the end of June.
“Why worry about the future?” Leonard Sobanja said. “We can’t foresee the future.” He expressed a desire to focus on maintaining the highest educational quality possible with the funding that is available right now. “I am not afraid of an SOD [statu- tory operating debt, in which the state becomes involved in budgeting and program decisions],” he said.
Some teachers are already looking for other jobs in light of declining enrollment and looming unrequested leaves of absence, Sobanja said. He maintained that if the district wants to retain a good staff, the board needs to do everything they can to show that they are trying to keep programs and teachers in place.
One of the budget-cutting measures considered for next fall is to increase class sizes and minimize the number of classes for which not a lot of students have signed up. Superintendent Schwarz went over the middle and high school class schedule and teacher assignments she and Principal Gwen Carman were recommending. “We are looking at a wide range of college and vocational electives,” Schwarz told the board.
The board spent some time discussing Schwarz’s recommendations regarding things that could be added back into the budget if the board allowed the reserve fund to go down to 30 days. Theyinclude:
. increasing the propane budget by $10,000 to
reflect rising prices;
. having another K-2 teacher to keep class
sizes down and address statistics showing low
reading fluency scores among this age group;
. adding a .10 full-time-equivalent position to
help students who don’t qualify for special ed
but struggle with math or reading;
. maintaining the current janitorial staffing
level in order to meet minimum industry
standards for school cleaning;
. adding a second culinary arts class to attract
more of the 35 students who have signed up for study hall that class period. School counselor Bryan Hackbarth estimated that 10-25 students would sign up for the class if it were
offered.
Regarding the additional K-2 teacher, Schwarz said, “Our kindergarteners are coming to kindergarten unprepared.” She said she is not blaming anyone or anything for this phenomenon. Leonard Sobanja opposed adding the position, saying that he wants to support already existing programs and that the addition could be part of next fall’s referendum. He expressed his continued support for vocational education, saying only 25% of Americans end up with a college degree.
“I totally support this with a passion because it gets a return,” Mary Sanders said of the K-2 position. She said she could support advocating for vocational education in the referendum but thought the K-2 addition should be part of the budget.
“If we spend money when they first start,” board chair Bill Huggins said, “we’ll save money down the road.”
Sobanja said he didn’t think janitorial time should be a top priority right now. Eric Kemp said he was very strongly in support of putting a .6 janitorial position back into the budget. “This is a situation where we’re bordering on a liability issue,” he said. “This is a critical add-back.”
By split vote, the board voted to go with the additions recommended by the superintendent at a cost of $106,995, leaving the board $2,515 of wiggle room between what is budgeted and the amount they can spend while keeping the reserve fund at the 30-day mark. Voting for the motion were Mary Sanders, Eric Kemp, and Rod Wannebo. Voting nay were Leonard Sobanja and Bill Huggins.
Keeping Industrial Arts teacher
Eric Kemp addressed Industrial Arts teacher Eli Hill at the meeting, saying he was aware that Hill, facing a significant reduction in his hours next year, had made a proposal to the school in the face of another job offer. He said that his job as an industrial technology teacher was similar to jobs in the trades in that it is facing reduction during a time of economic hardship.
Kemp said to Hill, it would be a shame to lose you because of what you bring to the school. He acknowledged that Hill has done a good job selling the program, citing the robotics program as an example. He recommended, however, that Hill try to find a way to integrate his department with others, such as by involving the physics program with the robotics program.
Kemp posited that Hill had felt disrespected during the board’s process of deciding on cuts and said, “The board is partially to blame for disrespecting you as a person.” He said he hoped Hill would stay at CCHS but also said, “Everybody is replaceable.”
At Mary Sanders’ suggestion, the board passed a motion to fund a coaching position for the robotics program. Next year, the school will pay a $3,000 stipend for a robotics coach.
Rescinding proposed teacher cuts
The board added back some teachers and teacher hours that had been on a list of cuts in the preliminary budget. Facing the loss of their entire jobs were Ann Russ and Michael McHugh. Russ will now have a full-time job, and McHugh will have 66% of a full-time job. Betsy Jorgenson will have a full-time job instead of 66%, and Cindy Muus will have a full-time job instead of 83%. The teaching staff will now be reduced by 3.72 full-time-equivalent positions.
The cost of these reinstatements will be covered by Deonne Cicak’s retirement as well as by the add-ins the board had already approved.
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