The Lapeer Community Schools Board of Education has approved a $49.7 million budget for the coming 2011-12 school year.
Throughout the budget process the Board faced state funding decreases and retirement cost increases that led to a potential shortfall of $8.6 million from current year spending.
About half of that will be made up in concessions totaling $4 million in new contract provisions with the Lapeer Education Association.
Another $2 million will come in other spending reductions. Part of those reductions include voluntary pay cuts of 2.5% by the two assistant superintendents and the Central Office administrators in the 2011-12 school year. Those administrators also agreed to a 7.5% reduction in pay for the 2012-13 school year.
The remaining $2.6 million required to balance the budget will come from the District’s fund equity. The District may qualify for an added $100 per student in state funding by meeting the governor’s financial best practices criteria. That could represent another $600,000 in revenue, reducing the fund equity portion contribution to the budget to $2 million.
The budget calls for a staff reduction of 45 teaching positions, which at this time includes 8 layoffs. The remainder of the staff reductions will come from retirements and resignations.
Under cuts to the athletic department budget at the high school level, the District will only fund one co-op hockey team for students from both Lapeer East and Lapeer West. The board agreed to continue to fund a co-op swim and dive team for students from both schools.
Pay-to-Participate fees at the high schools will rise from the current $120 to $150 per student (for participation in up to four sports) and at the middle schools from $95 to $125 for the 2011-12 school year.
Showing posts with label Budget cuts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Budget cuts. Show all posts
Friday, June 17, 2011
Friday, June 4, 2010
District administration proposes $3 million in budget cuts to Board of Education
A budget recommendation to cut $3 million from the 2010-2011 District budget, which includes large cost items like contracted food service, a reduction in bus driver hours due to a change in middle school and elementary school schedules and many smaller cuts, will be discussed further at the June 17 Board of Education meeting.
In addition to retirements, the District also proposes saving $500,000 by not replacing five teachers and another $210,000 by reducing the number of new buses purchased.
Other recommended cuts include, reducing and restructuring administrative staff at central office, eliminating auxiliary secretaries at the elementary schools and reducing custodial costs through contracting services as current employees retire.
Smaller cuts are also proposed like allowing parents to choose paper or electronic copies of school mailings, an expected savings of $11,300. That leaves the District spending about $1.5 million from the District’s fund equity.
Board members requested additional budget information and further discussion before making a final decision.
A special Board of Education meeting will be set to adopt the budget following the June 17 discussion. By State law a budget must be in place by June 30.
In addition to retirements, the District also proposes saving $500,000 by not replacing five teachers and another $210,000 by reducing the number of new buses purchased.
Other recommended cuts include, reducing and restructuring administrative staff at central office, eliminating auxiliary secretaries at the elementary schools and reducing custodial costs through contracting services as current employees retire.
Smaller cuts are also proposed like allowing parents to choose paper or electronic copies of school mailings, an expected savings of $11,300. That leaves the District spending about $1.5 million from the District’s fund equity.
Board members requested additional budget information and further discussion before making a final decision.
A special Board of Education meeting will be set to adopt the budget following the June 17 discussion. By State law a budget must be in place by June 30.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Lapeer Board of Education studying 'difficult' budget cuts in 2010-2011 school year
“Everything is on the table” as the Lapeer Community Schools Board of Education and administration officials look for ways to overcome a budget shortfall of between $5 million and $6 million for the 2010-2011 school year.
The Board looked at a long list of potential cuts and budget savings during a difficult meeting Thursday night, May 20, at the Administration & Services Center. The meeting lasted more than three hours, but no decisions were finalized. The discussion will continue at the June 3 Board meeting.
The Board also scheduled a budget hearing for June 17, at which time the budget could be adopted.
“This is my fifth year as Superintendent and this year’s budget cuts are the most painful,” said Superintendent Debbie Thompson. “We are talking about friends and colleagues. These are tough times we face with a unique set of circumstances, not of our making.”
The size of the budget shortfall will depend on how much or how little the state cuts the individual student allowance. The District is required to submit a balanced budget by June 30.
The Board looked at 59 possible budget reduction items, including contracting food, custodial and dean of students services.
A representative of Chartwells, the food service company that currently manages the breakfast and lunch program in the schools, said that by transferring the hiring and supervision of food service employees to Chartwells, the District could save about $350,000 annually.
The District administration also outlined a plan to contract custodial services by replacing retiring school custodians with contract employees at a savings of $209,000. The District would save an additional $791,000 by turning over custodial services to a private company without waiting for employees to retire.
Currently the District has a $6.9 million fund balance, which through careful financial management has helped the District avoid layoffs or major mid-year cuts as experienced by other school districts. While some fund balance could be used, the District will move cautiously with a future that appears to be grim.
Some items from last night’s discussion include:
· A potential need to close an elementary building in the following (2011-2012) school year, likely the Seaton campus, at a cost savings of $350,000 per year.
· Reduction of custodial staff by 1/3 and alternate day cleaning at a savings of $470,000.
· Create more efficient bus routes at an annual savings of $250,000 through reduced hours and benefits to transportation employees.
· Reduce the number of new bus purchases with a savings of $210,000.
· Contract dean of students services at a savings of $105,000.
· Eliminate all deans of students for a savings of $470,000.
· Eliminate only elementary deans of students to save $357,000.
· There were several staff reductions discussed including Media Center employees, a reduction in secretarial staff, central office administrative staff reductions, partial reductions in counseling staff, reductions in support staff. The complexities of those cuts are too difficult to recount here.
The Board looked at a long list of potential cuts and budget savings during a difficult meeting Thursday night, May 20, at the Administration & Services Center. The meeting lasted more than three hours, but no decisions were finalized. The discussion will continue at the June 3 Board meeting.
The Board also scheduled a budget hearing for June 17, at which time the budget could be adopted.
“This is my fifth year as Superintendent and this year’s budget cuts are the most painful,” said Superintendent Debbie Thompson. “We are talking about friends and colleagues. These are tough times we face with a unique set of circumstances, not of our making.”
The size of the budget shortfall will depend on how much or how little the state cuts the individual student allowance. The District is required to submit a balanced budget by June 30.
The Board looked at 59 possible budget reduction items, including contracting food, custodial and dean of students services.
A representative of Chartwells, the food service company that currently manages the breakfast and lunch program in the schools, said that by transferring the hiring and supervision of food service employees to Chartwells, the District could save about $350,000 annually.
The District administration also outlined a plan to contract custodial services by replacing retiring school custodians with contract employees at a savings of $209,000. The District would save an additional $791,000 by turning over custodial services to a private company without waiting for employees to retire.
Currently the District has a $6.9 million fund balance, which through careful financial management has helped the District avoid layoffs or major mid-year cuts as experienced by other school districts. While some fund balance could be used, the District will move cautiously with a future that appears to be grim.
Some items from last night’s discussion include:
· A potential need to close an elementary building in the following (2011-2012) school year, likely the Seaton campus, at a cost savings of $350,000 per year.
· Reduction of custodial staff by 1/3 and alternate day cleaning at a savings of $470,000.
· Create more efficient bus routes at an annual savings of $250,000 through reduced hours and benefits to transportation employees.
· Reduce the number of new bus purchases with a savings of $210,000.
· Contract dean of students services at a savings of $105,000.
· Eliminate all deans of students for a savings of $470,000.
· Eliminate only elementary deans of students to save $357,000.
· There were several staff reductions discussed including Media Center employees, a reduction in secretarial staff, central office administrative staff reductions, partial reductions in counseling staff, reductions in support staff. The complexities of those cuts are too difficult to recount here.
Friday, March 5, 2010
District management staff, deans of students put on notice of potential job cuts
Faced with a $3.9 million budget shortfall the Board of Education put 12 members of the District management staff and 7 deans of students on notice that their jobs could be eliminated in the 2010-2011 budget process.
The vote Thursday to approve these notifications to management staff was required by State law to allow the Board to consider elimination of management positions later in the budget process.
In addition to these nineteen staff members, who were part of this Board action, 6 other management staff members are contract employees whose employment immediately can be terminated at any time. Also, 4 central office administrators were not part of this board action because they are in the first year of a two-year contract. These 4 administrators have received notice that their positions could be eliminated and that they could be reassigned in 2010-2011, the final year of their contracts.
In January, Board members emphasized that “everything was on the table this year” when considering how the District would balance its budget in the face of shrinking State education support.
“Again this year we are faced with extremely difficult choices,” said Superintendent Debbie Thompson. “We need to be true to the promise that we will examine every part of the budget for places to cut.”
The vote Thursday to approve these notifications to management staff was required by State law to allow the Board to consider elimination of management positions later in the budget process.
In addition to these nineteen staff members, who were part of this Board action, 6 other management staff members are contract employees whose employment immediately can be terminated at any time. Also, 4 central office administrators were not part of this board action because they are in the first year of a two-year contract. These 4 administrators have received notice that their positions could be eliminated and that they could be reassigned in 2010-2011, the final year of their contracts.
In January, Board members emphasized that “everything was on the table this year” when considering how the District would balance its budget in the face of shrinking State education support.
“Again this year we are faced with extremely difficult choices,” said Superintendent Debbie Thompson. “We need to be true to the promise that we will examine every part of the budget for places to cut.”
Friday, January 22, 2010
2010-2011 Budget cuts subject of discussion at Board of Education meeting Thursday
School budget cuts were once again the focus of a January Board of Education discussion.
A projected State foundation grant cut for school year 2010-2011 of $268 per student, will result in a loss of $1.7 million to the District based on the current student population. That cut is added to a $165 per student reduction, a $1 million loss in the current 2009-2010 school year.
With mandatory increases in retirement and health care costs for 2010-2011, the District is facing a $3.6 million shortfall even without the additional $1.7 million loss. The District faces further cuts if a new All-Day, Every-Day kindergarten program is started. The additional cost for that program is $500,000.
The discussion at the Thursday, January 21, Board meeting was led by Kevin Rose, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance. Information was presented, that led to questions and a productive dialogue at the meeting.
“While extremely unfortunate, Michigan’s economic woes continue and we are faced again with trimming a budget that frankly is already cut to the bone,” said Mr. Rose. “Our efforts, and I include the many sacrifices made by all our employee groups, have positioned us in many ways better than most, but it still leaves us with some hard decisions this year.”
The District has worked ahead of the downward curve to make cuts and preserve a fund balance of about $6.6 million, or about 13 percent of the District’s $52 million budget. The prospects for Michigan’s economy remain bleak for one or more years in the future and the District must continue to guard those funds, while using them carefully to preserve vital academic programs.
Potential retirements and possible federal stimulus funds could lessen the impact on the budget shortfall, but those decisions have not yet been made.
As in past years, the District will review all expenditures and prioritize all its options to trim as much as possible outside the classroom for the 2010-2011 school year.
“Everything is on the table and we will work together with all our employee groups,” said Board President William Laidlaw. “We are going to do this as a team.”
The administration will again meet with all principals, department heads and union groups, who will then work with their respective staff to decide where belts can be tightened to realize savings.
A projected State foundation grant cut for school year 2010-2011 of $268 per student, will result in a loss of $1.7 million to the District based on the current student population. That cut is added to a $165 per student reduction, a $1 million loss in the current 2009-2010 school year.
With mandatory increases in retirement and health care costs for 2010-2011, the District is facing a $3.6 million shortfall even without the additional $1.7 million loss. The District faces further cuts if a new All-Day, Every-Day kindergarten program is started. The additional cost for that program is $500,000.
The discussion at the Thursday, January 21, Board meeting was led by Kevin Rose, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance. Information was presented, that led to questions and a productive dialogue at the meeting.
“While extremely unfortunate, Michigan’s economic woes continue and we are faced again with trimming a budget that frankly is already cut to the bone,” said Mr. Rose. “Our efforts, and I include the many sacrifices made by all our employee groups, have positioned us in many ways better than most, but it still leaves us with some hard decisions this year.”
The District has worked ahead of the downward curve to make cuts and preserve a fund balance of about $6.6 million, or about 13 percent of the District’s $52 million budget. The prospects for Michigan’s economy remain bleak for one or more years in the future and the District must continue to guard those funds, while using them carefully to preserve vital academic programs.
Potential retirements and possible federal stimulus funds could lessen the impact on the budget shortfall, but those decisions have not yet been made.
As in past years, the District will review all expenditures and prioritize all its options to trim as much as possible outside the classroom for the 2010-2011 school year.
“Everything is on the table and we will work together with all our employee groups,” said Board President William Laidlaw. “We are going to do this as a team.”
The administration will again meet with all principals, department heads and union groups, who will then work with their respective staff to decide where belts can be tightened to realize savings.
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