Auroraadvocate.com - Funding cuts for schools adopted

by Ken Lahmers

and Brent Hovey

Editor and Reporter

Aurora -- Fewer student clubs and extracurricular activities, student admission charges for athletic contests, and less money for textbooks and educational materials are among measures the Board of Education has adopted to reduce spending.

At its Nov. 26 meeting, the Board adopted seven resolutions which will save money in fiscal year 2008 in light of voters defeating a 6-mill bond issue/operating levy Nov. 6. The Board tabled one resolution dealing with the cost of Advance Placement and International Baccalaureate testing.

School officials had said prior to the Nov. 6 election that if the levy failed, $850,000 would have to be cut from the budget. The first phase of cuts earlier this week amount to about $116,000.

"We have agonized over this," said School Board President Jerry Kohanski. "I'm sure all the members' stomachs feel as bad as mine does. This is the worse feeling I've had in the 10 years I've been on Board."

Superintendent Russ Bennett said deciding what to do to save money has been a difficult process.

"We've been very proud of what we offer," he said. "Now it requires us to do a whole lot more with a whole lot less. We don't want any programs or children to suffer, but we must do it [make cuts].

"I said when the levy failed that it was devastating and it really is. Even if the levy passes in March, we won't see the money until January 2009, so many of the cuts will be around until then."

Although the district has adequate funds to get it through 2009, officials project an operating deficit of close to $2 million could occur in 2010 if additional revenue is not forthcoming.

THE SCHOOL Board has informed the state that it intends to place another 6-mill bond issue/levy on the March 4 ballot, with 1.94 mills going for school building expansions and improvements and 4.06 mills going for operations.

One of the resolutions the Board approved Nov. 26 calls for suspension of several supplemental contracts, meaning two dozen extracurricular activities will not be available to students for the remainder of 2007-08.

At the high school, they are: Chess, environmental, French, SADD, Spanish, men's chorus and reading pilot.

At Harmon, the list includes: Eighth-grade talent show, the spring play and the following clubs -- newspaper, art, photography, science, reading, natural history, math and writers.

Elementary school clubs to be suspended are: Bicycle, bowling, newspaper, art, book, garden and jump rope. Students in the Leighton Leaping Stars will be charged to participate.

Cutting of these programs will save the district just shy of $23,000, officials said.

Students who wish to attend athletic contests and plays now must pay admission. Up until now, those who presented a district-issued ID card at the gate were admitted free.

Starting in December, students can buy a 10-pack of tickets for $20 in the AHS athletic office. They are good for all home games and Chagrin Valley Conference away games for any sport.

Single-game tickets will be $3 presale and all tickets at the door will be $5. Parents can by a 10-pack of tickets for $30, but those are good only for home games.

Individual game presale and at the door tickets cost the same as for students.

"NOT MANY, if any, school districts admit their students for free," Bennett said. "It's generated a lot of interest in our teams, and with the success they've had it brought a lot of excitement.

"It's really a shame we can't keep doing it, but there's no way to do so with the funds we have."

The Board also decided to cut this year's curriculum purchasing budget in half -- from $100,000 to $50,000.

"Textbooks are extremely expensive and with 3,100 kids in the district, that's a lot of money," Bennett said.

"We'll have to curtail some purchases and not replace some books. That's sad because this directly affects the classroom."

Field trips will no longer be funded by the schools. All non-athletic trips will stop unless they are supported by non-general fund dollars.

Trips such as the second-graders going to the Schwebel bread factory will cost parents between $3 and $5, depending on the number of students, to cover the bus and driver.

Summer school will require students to pay tuition, the amount of which will be determined by Bennett and Treasurer Bill Volosin.

It is estimated a fee of $100 would save $14,000 a year. However, as several members of the Board noted, care must be taken not to set the fee too high so as not to discourage those who need remediation.

The Board authorized the reduction of staff professional development budgets in an amount to be determined by Bennett. That includes sending teachers to conferences and training seminars, and paying for their mileage.

The final change deals with bus stops. Bennett will set up "cluster stops" effective in the second semester of this year.

BENNETT SAID the actual stops are yet to be determined, but cluster stops at intersections are likely. A 50- to 100-foot walking path would be implemented.

He said officials have tested these bus stop changes in one subdivision and they saved 21 minutes a run. "Figure twice a day for 180 days and that adds up saving a lot of fuel and time," he said.

Changing the bus stops is estimated to save the schools $10,000 for a half year.

A resolution to have students cover the full cost of AP and IB tests was tabled. Currently, the district pays two-thirds of those fees, or $60 of the $90 total.

Officials will try to find another way to cover the cost of the tests since students have already signed up for classes and expect to pay only $30.

Kohanski agreed with Bennett about the cuts.

"Stuff like the Harmon spring play and field trips, those changes hurt the kids and that's the sad part," he said. "It reduces the level of service we can provide. But the magic act can't continue; we need more money."

Kohanski said if the levy passes in March, he hopes most of the services that have been cut will be restored.

The cuts agreed to Nov. 26 were the first step of two phases. More cuts in personnel and other areas are forthcoming before the next school year depending on the results of the March election, officials claim.

Nine employees will be trimmed, but Bennett said not all have been identified. If the levy fails, the personnel cuts combined with any others, will have to add up to $850,000.

"When we do that, it will no doubt raise the class size to a minimum of 25 students," Bennett said.

Personnel cuts are the ones Kohanski is not looking forward to. "Those will be the most painful and the ones you want to avoid," he said. "But we can't."