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Board reviews options for budget crunch

A decision is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday

Staff writer

Superintendent Lee Leiker laid out six options Monday for the USD 408 Board of Education to consider to counteract losing $449,500 in funding.

The total includes $57 in state funding per student this year, $175 per student next year, and $40 of funding cut from the KPERS fund. Declining enrollment is also a factor. Leiker estimated that the district will lose about 21 students next year.

The options the board is facing:

  • Cut expenditures
  • Increase property taxes
  • Ask staff to take a pay cut
  • Cut days of school
  • Cut programs
  • Cut staff

No one option could make up the entire $449,500. For expenditures, Leiker suggested taking $50,000 out of the vehicle fund — an emergency fund for the district to purchase a vehicle — and place that money in the general fund. He is also recommending the district forego purchasing new textbooks and athletic uniforms.

For programs, Leiker explained that even if every athletic program were to be cut, the district would only gain $60,000.

While most options relied on decreasing spending, raising property taxes would bring in increased revenue.

As much as 30 percent of the district budget can come from property taxes — only 18 percent of the current USD 408 budget comes from property taxes.

Leiker said the district is at 46 mills — he calculated that 1 mill equals about $28,000 in revenue. However, 20 mills go back to the state.

If the board decided to increase the mills to the maximum amount and cover 30 percent of the budget, Leiker said the district would gain $315,000.

“We can’t just look at taxes,” Leiker said. “We would cripple businesses in town with the local option budget.”

The only decision the reached after two hour-long closed sessions was to schedule a special meeting for 7 p.m. Monday.

“We want to get those decisions as soon as possible because it’s going to affect people,” Leiker said.

USD 408 teachers were already trying to plead with the board Monday to be wary of hurdling toward the chopping block.

Marion Elementary School title I teachers Shannon Cooper and Cindy Vinduska gave an unscheduled public presentation asking the board to consider the importance of teacher’s aides.

Cooper explained in kindergarten alone, four out of every six students work with teacher aides. She also said that library aide Lori Kirkpatrick and physical education aide Pam Jones are invaluable to the school.

“She knows more about reading than some teachers in the state of Kansas,” Cooper said of Kirkpatrick.

“An aide in PE is a safety factor,” Cooper added about Jones.

While learning to implement the multi-tiered system of support at MES, Cooper talked to teachers at different schools. The large number of teacher’s aides made USD 408 unique.

“If aides are cut, it will affect student learning,” Cooper said.

In other business:

  • Marion High School juniors have started standardized testing and Missy Stubenhoffer reviewed projections for the class. Preliminary findings suggest that 32 of 39 students met the standard in reading, while 30 of 39 students met the standard in math. Stubenhoffer explained that the state of Kansas has applied for a waiver to hold the rising standard for state assessments to the 2009-10 numbers — 81.3 percent in reading and 76.4 in Math. Juniors, as they stand now, would meet that requirement. If the waiver request fails, the class would not meet the 86 percent of students in reading and 82.3 percent of students in math, which is the set standard for the 2010-11 school year.
  • The board accepted the resignation of bus driver Danny Duckworth in the consent agenda. Leiker said Duckworth’s house has sold and he is moving.

Last modified March 10, 2011

 

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