D-15 Board to Vote on Budget Reductions in March

During the Community Consolidated School District 15 Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, February 8, Superintendent Scott Thompson presented the Board with the administration’s budget reduction proposal and a set of five-year financial projections that reflect the impact the plan would have on the District’s structural deficit.

“My first charge is to provide the best education possible to the children we serve,” said Mr. Thompson. “Therefore, the recommendations being brought to you tonight were created through an attempt to impact students in the least possible manner. Because of limitations to available solutions, some of the recommendations affect students and classrooms.”

The budget reduction proposal specifically outlines roughly $6.1 million of reductions, which would reduce the District’s projected 2012-13 deficit from approximately $9.6 million to $3.5 million. The plan also incorporates input the administration received after reviewing a preliminary list of possible reductions with various stakeholder groups during recent budget information forums. For instance, the elimination of elementary band and orchestra programs and after-school activity buses is no longer recommended, nor is an increase in class size targets to 28 students for Grades K-6 and 30 students for Grades 7-8.

Roughly $3.1 million of the proposed cuts could be made with minor impact on students and programs, but approximately $3 million of the reductions would directly affect the classroom.

Currently, the District’s class size targets are: 20 students for kindergarten, 24 for Grades 1-3, 26 for Grades 4-6, and 28 for Grades 7-8. By increasing those targets to 26 students for Grades K-6 and strictly adhering to its prescribed student-teacher ratios, the District estimates it will be able to reduce 26 or more classroom teacher positions (21 of which would be accounted for through upcoming retirements) and save roughly $1.43 million. Also, reducing the equivalent of four traveling teachers from the District’s art, music, and physical education departments could save another $220,000, and reducing costs for program assistants in regular education classrooms could amount to about $1.3 million in benefits savings.

These cost-saving steps will not eliminate the District’s deficit, however. Rather, the plan requires it to use approximately $3.5 million of its fund balance next year, and to continue using more of its cash reserves in subsequent years. By the end of 2015-16, its fund balance would stand at a projected $28.3 million, or roughly 18 percent of its budget. However, without the reductions, the District’s 2015-16 fund balance is projected to stand at about $3.9 million, or roughly 2 percent of its budget.

The proposal also notes opportunities for additional savings related to salaries and benefits, but those savings would need to be negotiated with the District’s labor groups. If agreed upon, those savings could, according to the District’s projections, total an estimated $2.2 million next year and compound to an overall savings of about $23.2 million by the end of 2015-16. They could, in fact, leave the District in a strong enough financial position to consider reversing some of the proposed reductions.

“When I accepted the position of superintendent to lead the District, I did so knowing that the District has a long tradition of excellence in fulfilling its mission,” said Mr. Thompson. “I have continued to be impressed with the quality staff: administrators, teachers, program assistants, and other support personnel. These are the individuals that are responsible for the tradition of excellence the system continues to possess.”

“The financial recommendations tonight are necessary to continue that tradition into the future,” he continued. “These recommendations involve some of those valued staff members not having jobs in the District next year. These actions come with deep emotional angst; individuals losing their income, benefits, and professional status is no light matter. Consequently, these recommendations were made cognizant of these ramifications.”

The Board endorsed the plan Mr. Thompson presented. Now the District is set to continue soliciting community feedback and incorporating it into a final budget reduction proposal for the Board to act upon at its next regular meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, March 14. Comments and suggestions regarding the proposed budget reductions can be submitted to the Board of Education and the District 15 administration via an online survey the District is conducting at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5NLT3X7.

-Story Submitted by Community Consolidated School District 15