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Teachers, programs face budget ax
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - March 24, 2010)
Teachers, programs face budget ax
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
The Chardon Board of Education continued to look at where it can reduce expenses Monday to offset a $1.25 million shortfall in next year's budget.
Special education, busing, staff cuts, food service and pay-to-participate fees were all items the board touched on in seeking ways to reduce the district's costs or increase its revenues.
The district also is banking on the passage of a 1 percent earned-income tax issue on the May ballot as a way to stave off additional cuts.
The board was provided with a stack of documents, including planned capital projects, the district's five-year forecast and recommended increases for pay-to-participate fees to review as possible areas that may provide the district some relief.
Board President Blake Rear said the information was substantial and board members were not prepared to act Monday. Instead, he said, the district will digest the materials for the next two weeks and return for another meeting to possibly decide where the cuts will come.
School Superintendent Joseph Bergant II said the proposed cuts before the board were considered after significant input from staff and administrators.
Among the proposed cuts are the elimination of what amounts to 16 teaching positions, cutting two school bus routes and trimming $50,000 from food services. He said the district also is considering hiking its pay-to-participate fees to offset the costs of those programs.
One area that has seen tremendous growth in expenses is purchased services, Mr. Bergant said, the bulk of which is special education costs.
Special education costs include transporting children to outside facilities and paying for services for the children. He said the district may be able to save by bringing some of those children back into the district and providing the services there.
He said the cost for one child in special education is around $108,000 a year. The district is responsible for providing for the child until the age of 22, which means the district will have spent around $1 million for that one child alone.
Board member Larry Reiter said the costs of special education have and continue to grow. "My gut feeling is it's a runaway train," he said.
Mr. Bergant agreed, saying the costs for special education are killing the district and only have continued to go up. The annual cost for transporting one child is $27,000, he said.
He said the district is mandated to provide those services. And while the costs may be killing school districts, the children do deserve the opportunities provided by the programming.
The district also has been challenged by parents through lawsuits, which become part of the costs of the program as well, Mr. Bergant said.
Mr. Reiter said the district has never lost one of those lawsuits, although some "minor settlements" have been made.
Board member Paul Stefanko said the district has no intention of eliminating the programming, but only wants to find ways to reduce its costs. ""We're not trying to get out of educating these kids," he said. "We're looking for the most affordable cost."
Mr. Stefanko said in the current economy, the district now is experiencing the "new norm." He said the board must make an even greater effort to stretch the public's dollars as well as inform the public of its efforts.
Mr. Bergant said he was recommending that the board also consider increasing fees for sports from the current $50 to $150. Fees for other extracurricular activities, such as the science club, should also be enacted. He said those fees would be more modest, in the $25 range.
He said the fees would apply to those in the middle school as well as the high school. The "activity fee," he said, would be charged per child, per activity.
Mr. Rear said the $150 fee does not "seem too far out of line."
Mr. Bergant said he hoped for a board decision on the fees soon so the district can figure the new income into the budget.
"Unfortunately, we're at a crossroad," Mr. Bergant said. "We have to decide whether to continue to pursue it or go in another direction."
Mr. Rear said the district faces difficult times and the board is being forced to make tough decisions to keep the district afloat.
"We have to do something as unpleasant as it is," he said. "We can't make cuts and leave everything the same."
He said the state cut the district's general fund by $200,000, but denied doing so. He said the $200,000 from the general fund was replaced by $200,000 in stimulus funds, which had certain restrictions on its use. In the general fund, he said, there were no restrictions.
Mr. Bergant said the state has eased some of those restrictions.
District Treasurer Stephanie Swain said the money originally was limited to new expenses. Now, half the money can be used for existing expenses, she said.
The board also reviewed capital projects planned over the next three years, but found little room for reducing those expenses.
Mr. Rear estimated that no more than $75,000 of the $650,000 total is discretionary. Only a deteriorating fence around the high school stadium and locker repairs may be able to be trimmed.
But, other costs, such as new boilers at Hambden Elementary School, were needed and not something the board could debate.
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