Over the past three months, the Budget Adjustment Advisory Committee has been working to create a list of budget cuts that will work for the school district. The BAAC consisted of about 40 members and they met seven times. They have already worked to make the decision on a total of $2,064,600 expected to be cut from many aspects of the district for this second semester. They recently finished working through 200 ideas submitted by the community to find a way to meet the $10 million funding gap for next year. The committee have put together a tentative list with all of these ideas.
For this large budget deficit, the school board offered up three levies for the community to vote on in the fall, none of which passed. They missed by about only 600 votes. Because of this, the school district will not have enough public funding, leading to cuts in many different areas of schooling. In the spring there will be changes in accounting, curriculum, facilities, fees and revenue, staffing, transportation and more.
Science teacher Andy Weaver, who is a member of BAAC said, "The committee has mostly finished up our work for considering the areas for cutting the budget. The committee consists of some teachers and a lot of community members. The community offered up ideas for what they felt needed to be cut. During our meetings, we put into stone the best possible ideas for cuts to be made."
The real changes are expected next fall. As of now, the budget cuts are split into three tiers with approximately $4 million in each tier. There is also a fourth tier, for the future, that will be needed if the levy does not pass in 2014.
"The district has a savings account and for Tier One, the plan was to basically raid part of the savings account. Tier Two has the next priority and then Tier Three. All of Tier One and Tier Two will most likely be cut and then the majority of Tier Three will most likely be cut as well. We have created a Red Line which divides what is necessary to be cut and that line is after the first half of Tier Three," said Weaver.
Each tier has a different amount on impact on students. Tier Two and Tier Three have the most impact on students. These tiers include calendar adjustments, the growth of class sizes and other programs and change in the start and end times. One section of budget cuts includes the decrease in faculty, which could possibly decrease the amount of counselors as well.
There could also be an increase in activities fees and an increase in parking fees by $30 a year and seasonal and athletic passes for $5 a day. Athletics for the high school will see a raise in fees as soon as this spring. As of now, the school board is looking at cutting all funding for junior high athletics, but finding alternative ways to fund them.
In Tier Three, everything is organized by priority. A fee for extra organizations in schools that are free, could soon see a fee. There could also be a fee for College in the School classes, which would most likely be $50. When it comes to the 5th and 6th grade music program, the first priority is to decrease teachers for this. If it is necessary, they could possibly eliminate just the 5th grade section of the band or the 5th and 6th grade band altogether. There are many other things the school board is taking into consideration.
"Since I'm graduating next year, the budget cuts won't affect me that much, but I feel it will affect the high school in years to come if junior high athletics are cut, because without the extra years of practice, the athletes coming to the high school will be less equipped to maintain the level of sports that there is now," said junior Hannah Kennedy. "I also hope people realize how important school music programs are and how some kids revolve around music," continued Kennedy.
On Thurs. Feb. 2, community members, students, teachers and the school board gathered to work out the details and voice their concerns. Many students, parents, and faculty attended the meeting speaking mostly on behalf of the 5th and 6th grade music program, the need for counselors at all schools, and the high quality of schooling the district gives.
"Counselors are advocates for students and provide inspiration. These personal relationships are very important," said senior Eric Corcoran of the counselors at the meeting on Feb. 2.
Many board members as well as Superintendent Corey Lunn and Ray Queener, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Administration services talked about the immense challenge that it has been to consider everything and that everyone needs to work together.
"The decision making process is still going on. There are many factors going into this that the school board will have to think about. It has been a challenging process and the impact will be very significant. My hope is that there will be minimal student impact so every student can learn at the highest quality," said Josiah Hill, who is an English teacher as well as a member of the BAAC.
There are many ways to get involved in this decision. Anyone can attend the next school board meeting which is Feb. 23 or post feedback in the discussion on the Stillwater Area Public Schools website. The school board will vote on the final cuts on March 8.
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Copyright Stillwater Area High School MMX
February 17, 2012
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