School budget faces cuts

Last updated 4/30/1996 at Noon

A gloomy picture of cuts in programs and services faced the Sisters School District's Budget Committee in their first meeting Monday, April 29.

The 1996-97 budget proposed by the school district administrators calls for the elimination of "the equivalent of 1.5 staff positions at the elementary; the equivalent of four classroom assistants; reduction in nurse services," according to the budget message read by Superintendent Judy May.

The budget also projects cuts of $19,539 in the co-curricular program, a $3,000 reduction in staff development programs and a cut of $15,000 in the talented-and-gifted program.

The proposed budget increases funds for textbooks by $21,213, provides for a 3.5 hour classroom assistant at the flex school and pays expenses associated with using four Baptist Church classrooms and transportation for teen mothers.

District Business Manager Earl Armbruster cautioned the budget committee, comprised of five school board members and five appointed citizens, that the proposed budget numbers are subject to change when the district receives final revenue information from the state May 6.

Armbruster also acknowledged that the fate of the $5.5 million bond issue before the voters May 21 could impact the budget.

"There is money in this budget that could be freed up if the bond passes," Armbruster said.

The budget committee will not meet again until May 22, after the election and after final state revenue figures have been factored into the proposed budget.

The budget must be completed by June 9.

At that time, school administrators are to address the committee to explain how proposed budget figures were arrived at and why proposed cuts were made where they were. Committee members also asked administrators to assess the direct impact of the cuts on the students.

"We need to see how reductions play out in terms of output of product," said committee member John Hughie. "Otherwise I don't know whether to be supportive of the cut in co-curricular or not supportive of it."

Committee chair Leslee Bangs urged the school board and committee to develop formal priorities to determine where scarce dollars should go first.

"We need to develop priorities to guide us through this so we're not shooting from the hip," Bangs said.

Board member Harold Gott stated his priorities.

"The bottom line is that our business is classrooms," he said. "Everything we do here is about kids. It's the only reason we're here."

Based on that, Gott advocated the addition of a new staff member at the middle/high school, acknowledging that the money to pay for a teacher "would have to come from somewhere else" in the budget and that would force further cuts and tough decisions.

Athletic Director Chuck Dekay, speaking as a citizen, admonished the board to look at what it would have cost to run the identical programs from this year in 1996-97.

"I would like to see what it would have taken to run this year's programs with next year's dollars," Dekay said. "You will never appreciate how much has already been axed until you see that figure."

Dekay estimated that with increases in salaries and benefits for coaches and a slight increase in technical services costs for officials, the cost of running the same co-curricular program as this year in 1996-97 would run approximately $151,000, roughly $3,400 more than this year's budget.

Dekay said the increased costs of offering the co-curricular program, combined with the proposed cuts would have a significant impact.

The budget committee will meet next on Wednesday, May 22 at 6 p.m. in the high school lecture/drama room.

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Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.