The tough task of funding a level-service budget was addressed at the ORR District School Committee meeting on Wednesday, February 8.
However, just getting in the door was an issue, with over 80 teachers and instructional assistants standing at the entryway, asking the committee to resume negotiations on a contract that expired on October 31, 2011 (after a 60-day extension from August 31, 2011).
“We’ve been away from the table since October,” said Old Rochester Professional Educators Association (ORPEA) Co-President Colin Everett, who held a sign reading “Please Come Back to the Table.”
ORPEA Co-President Teresa Dall added that they wanted to set a date to sit down with the committee and the mediator to get talks moving forward.
Meanwhile, at the meeting, Superintendent Doug White started the budget discussion by saying that that benefits, contractual obligations and increased health costs pushed the level services budget up $495,000 above the FY 2012 budget, with approximately $221,000 for increased health costs and $81,000 for other contractual services for custodial and secretarial employees.
According to Mr. White, the district employs 97.2 staff currently and the budget cut scenario presented reduced that figure to 92, with the elimination of five positions. Mr. White said that the district enrollment remains flat, with 1,150 students at the junior and senior high school, and 23 of them being School Choice students, meaning out-of-district students who pay tuition to attend the school.
“We need to increase revenue to replace federal and state funds we’ve lost,” he said. One suggestion was to increase the number of School Choice students from 23 to 48; ORR receives $5,000 from the sending district for each School Choice student.
“If the towns can’t support the schools, what [does] it look like?” asked Peter Bangs.
“We’ve picked the bone clean on supplies and upgrades, like laptop replacements…that’s not going to happen,” said High School Principal Michael Devoll. “No new text books,” added Junior High Principal Kevin Brogioli.
Also on the block was the reduction of one nurse. ORR currently staffs two nurses: one for the senior high and one for the junior high. The senior high has approximately 700 students and the junior high has around 460 students. The proposal would employ one nurse and add a certified nursing assistant.
ORR Committee member Joseph Scott asked if there was a state or Department of Elementary and Secondary Schools requirement for a nurse for a certain number of students.
“We’ve been looking at that and will clarify it,” said Mr. White. The savings for a change in nursing staff would amount to $25,350.
In addition, custodial staffing would be reduced, with a savings of roughly $75,000.
A $109,000 savings was proposed by reducing seven paraprofessional staff positions. Another $80,000 cut would be found by eliminating a high school English teacher. The result would be an increase in class size from 20 to 23 students per teacher.
Mr. Devoll was quick to mention that these teachers also man study halls and other extra curricular activities, so the impact is much larger than it appears.
$56,000 would be generated in the elimination of the junior high school librarian position. The reduction from six special education teachers to five was also in the proposed plan. That position would result in a $32,630 savings in the budget shortfall.
A high school social studies teacher position was also on the chopping block, resulting in a savings of $36,215.
“Remember, this affects class size and the options we offer to students,” said Principal Devoll. A partial mathematics teacher position would also be lost, saving $20,500.
The committee was asked to take time to look over the various proposals and come back at the next meeting prepared to finalize and tweak budget preparations. A public meeting, scheduled for March 5, will include open discussions on the proposed cuts.
In other business, the committee approved:
• The 2012-2013 school calendar. It shows the February break from February 18 to 22 and the April break dates as April 15 to 19. The last day of school would be June 13, given that no snow days are incurred.
• A revision of the high school student handbook, changing the wording of “revision scheduling” for students. The change is to prevent a student from having two study periods resulting from a dropped class. The student would be required to opt into another academic subject.
By Joan Hartnett-Barry