Posted on

Charles City School Board considers temporary tax hike as alternative to position cuts

Charles City School Board considers temporary tax hike as alternative to position cuts
The Charles City School Board and building administrators discuss options and rationales for budget reduction proposals during a workshop meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 17. Press photo by Travis Fischer
By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City School Board took an in-depth look at the district’s options for budget reductions in the upcoming fiscal year during a workshop session on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

The district is looking at making a $750,000 budget reduction, with a plan that includes a number of cost-saving measures to ease the strain on the school’s general fund.

In many cases savings have been found by reclassifying employees to be paid with funds separate from the general fund, encouraging early retirements through incentive packages, and through not filling certain positions left by outgoing employees. Other measures, such as reducing a bus route and cutting back on some summer maintenance work have also been factored in to save the district some money.

However, with so much of the district’s general fund dedicated to employee salaries, it is all but impossible to make such a substantial budget reduction without an involuntary reduction of staff, school officials said.

An initial budget-cutting proposal, made in December, sparked a strong response from the community for including the reduction of up to two positions in the middle school music program. Following feedback from the community, the district decided to take the proposal that featured a reduction of two music instructors off the table.

Remaining on the table were the other two options, now designated “Option A” and “Option B.”

Both options include the baseline portion of the budget reduction proposal of roughly $600,000, but have different ways of pushing the budget closer to the $750,000 goal.

In Option A, the district would cut one music position along with a secondary English teacher for a total reduction of $706,868.68.

In Option B, the district would cut one music position and the high school assistant principal position for a total reduction of $759.914.68.

During the workshop, the school board and district administrators met to review the plan in detail, explaining the rational of how each reduction in the plan was identified as one that could be done with a minimal impact to programming.

In the music program, the district has identified that the current staffing is about one position larger than in comparable schools and remaining staff would be able to absorb the additional work without cutting programs, officials said.

In a similar vein, the reduction of a secondary English teacher was proposed as an option for being the next least disruptive choice. The reduction of an English teacher may affect the ability to offer in-person concurrent college classes, but those classes could be taken online.

All proposals thus far include the reduction of one business teacher, with those responsibilities being spread out among other departments. This would limit the flexibility of the math department to absorb an additional reduction.

The board went over the responsibilities of the high school associate principal, which include oversight of special education, at-risk students, and the innovative campus among other general administrative duties.

The proposal to reduce the high school’s associate principal position was made as a response to public calls for deeper cuts at the administrative level, with the review explaining how that would impact the remaining administrators and staff.

A portion of time was also dedicated to detailing the responsibilities of the newly established director of academic services position, which has also been a frequent suggestion among the public as a position that can be reduced.

Superintendent Dr. Anne Lundquist and the other administrators stressed the importance of having somebody overseeing curriculum for the entire K-12 range, particularly as the district works to improve academic performance.

“This district has many students and we’re doing well in a number of areas,” said Lundquist. “We also have to acknowledge that we are slightly below average in the state.”

Having examined Options A and B, the board considered alternate routes, asking what would happen if the district simply ran at a deficit for the year or if there was a way to generate additional money in the short term.

While operating “in the red” would force the school into a legally and financially perilous position, the district does have an amount of unspent spending authority that would allow it to make up the difference by raising the tax levy.

Thus, Options C and D were proposed, with Option C making all of the baseline cuts of the budget proposal without reducing positions in music, business, English, or administration; and Option D only reducing a business teacher.

While Options A and B could be implemented without generating additional revenue, Options C and D would require a tax increase.

The idea would be to use a temporary tax increase to buy time in the hope that next year’s enrollment numbers and retiring teachers will offer a more favorable budget situation.

However, it was noted that Charles City’s enrollment is on a downward trajectory, with the district expecting to graduate some of their biggest groups of students over the next few years.

“We’re passing the ball, honestly,” said Director of Finance Evan Marten.

The board will discuss and decide on which course of action it wants to take during its next meeting on Monday, Jan. 23, which will be held at the Floyd County Fairgrounds Youth Enrichment Center as opposed to the normal meeting location at the high school.

The general spending cuts that have been common to all the budget-cutting options are:

  • Bus route adjustment – $59,875.20
  • Operations position reclassification – $20,000.00
  • Eliminate summer workers – $30,000.00
  • Central services reclassification – $46,500.00
  • Middle school leadership teacher position cut – $84,682.00
  • Middle School special education reclassification – $59,000.00
  • Middle School general education to talent and gifted (50%) – $38,921.36
  • At-risk coordinator cut – $61,084.00
  • Business teacher cut – $85,497.00
  • Library aide paras reclassification to 50% special education – $49,987.00
  • Director of communications cut – $60,336.00

Total cuts common to all options – $595,882.56

Social Share

LATEST NEWS