Mohon draft budget includes 43 instructional position cuts, pay freeze requested for unions
Mohonasen students might have been enjoying a snow day on Monday, March 7, but district officials were hard at work, plowing through tough fiscal decisions as they worked toward a 2011-12 budget.
The first of three Mohonasen Central School District budget presentations unveiled the proposed cuts for general support, operations and maintenance, transportation, athletics and co-curricular activities. More details will follow at the second presentation on Tuesday, March 22, but instructional cuts the biggest issue with most parents won’t be detailed until the third presentation on April 4.
After the March 7 meeting, Superintendent Kathleen Spring said the district is faced with potentially cutting 43 full-time equivalent instructional positions, 10 FTE support staff members and two and a half FTE administration positions.
`We choose to keep instruction as the last component, because that is where we are seeing the most significant potential reduction,` said Spring. `This is still a work in progress. We have tried to incorporate some of the things that we’ve heard during the budget forums from the community into this first presentation.`
At the forums, community members addressed values and priorities, so areas for potential cuts or to remain fully funded help Spring develop the proposed budget. The state budget, if adopted on time, would be set April 1, which could affect the final district budget scheduled for adoption on April 11. Spring said the district is still hoping for some additional revenue from the state, but the possibility isn’t looking too promising.
The district is looking at a $2.9 million budget gap with a reduction in state aid totaling 13.8 percent, which is almost double the average statewide cut of 7.2 percent. Spring continued to tout the district is the seventh lowest per pupil cost in the state according to the most recent data, which means there isn’t much `padding` to easily keep programs intact.
`We’ve had a dilemma in the past few months in looking at our educational program and what can we do to try and swallow the cuts we are talking about without devastating our programs, and that has been a significant challenge,` said Spring. `We know that these are unprecedented reductions in state aid, and I know there hasn’t been this significant of a reduction since 1990.`
The preliminary report from the Mandate Relief Redesign Team was released on March 1, offering initial suggestions on how to reduce the tax burden locally, but Spring said nothing for `short-term significant mandate relief,` and most options would be explored in the future. Also, she said, there is a perception in the community that the tax cap is in place for the current budget even though it won’t be in effect if passed until the next budget.
Through informal discussions, the district has talked to unions, but Spring said she plans to formalize the discussion and will send a letter to all the unions and associations in the district. If all salaries were frozen in the district, there is a savings of $1.2 million, which would tighten the budget gap.
`I have formally written to each president of each association in our district asking them to consider a salary freeze for one year,` said Spring.
In the budget cuts presented by Denise Swezey, assistant superintendent for business at the district, athletics wasn’t immune to cuts totaling near $49,000. Also, co-circular activities saw cuts with the majority from supervision in the afterschool cafeteria and busing totaling $41,647, but band also saw $1,222 in proposed cuts.
Sports eliminations include strength and conditioning coaches and fall freshman cheerleading. Also, talks include eliminating assistant coaches in boys and girls soccer and basketball, baseball, softball and modified wrestling.
The board is hoping to have as little effect as possible on programs and after-school activities, such as sports, because the district wants to have well-rounded students, said Board of Education President Dominic Cafarelli.
`Our intent is not to cut any programs,` said Cafarelli after the meeting. `We will do anything in our power to not lose programs.`
Some residents said they don’t plan to stay quiet during the process either.
On behalf of 25 families in the district, Lorri Dunleavy, a parent with a fourth- and sixth-grader in the district, presented the board with questions about the budget, which included administrative staffing, curriculum cuts to special education and enrichment, class size, alternatives to web communication, economic impact to the community by losing teachers and how to generate revenue.
`I think they are doing everything possible to balance personal needs, student needs and professional needs,` said Dunleavy. `These are all my main concerns: class size, programs and Mohonasen not becoming a district in crisis.“
