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School system tries to trim its budget
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Published: November 22, 2008
Iredell-Statesville Schools officials have targeted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cuts to the district's operating budget as a result of a significant reduction in state funding.
In anticipation of a revenue shortfall, the N.C Department of Public Instruction last week directed I-SS to return $859,400.
Public schools across the state must send a total of $58 million back to Raleigh.
The reversion amounts are based on each district's enrollment.
Combined with earlier cuts, I-SS officials are faced with slashing nearly $4 million in spending, Superintendent Terry Holliday said.
Nearly $1.2 million in savings have been identified within the central office. All of the cuts must be approved by the school board.
Among the proposed cuts:
Elimination of School-wide Assistance Team ($150,000). This team helps schools develop plans for improvement.
Elimination of virtual school coordinator ($60,000).
Elimination of principal coach ($40,000). The coach was a retired principal guiding new principals on various processes.
Elimination of administrative substitute ($40,000).
Transfer one position to grant ($57,000).
Elimination of Central Office Science Task force chair ($30,000).
Salary adjustments for Central Office replacement ($30,000). This is the salary difference between more experienced personnel who are leaving the district and their less experienced replacements.
Moving to eight-hour custodians ($100,000).
Overtime reductions ($70,000).
Elimination of Summer School ($600,000).
Even with those reductions and redirection of funds, the district will still be short.
I-SS will send funding for 16 positions back to Raleigh.
"We're not going to reduce any positions," Holliday said. "We had been saving those positions in anticipation of those cuts."
State-funded teaching positions with benefits cost some $50,000, meaning these cuts will save $800,000.
The positions will be taken over by lower-paid beginning teachers making about $30,000.
"No teachers will lose their jobs," Holliday said. "We will cover those positions with local dollars."
That still leaves the district another $2 million to $3 million short.
I-SS has put a freeze on some hiring, supplies, equipment, and is considering cuts in the travel and professional development budgets.
The exception is filling any classroom teaching position.
Holliday said I-SS will not fill administrative or non-instructional positions unless they are "one-of-a-kind positions."
Holliday anticipates another state reversion and believes it will be even greater than $859,400.
Spending reserve funds was not an option because the district will need that money to fund positions next year.
"We fully anticipate next year's budget to be less than what we're currently getting from state and local," Holliday said. "That's the way we have to plan because everybody's cutting back next year."
Eliminating Summer School
Summer school was tailored toward students who didn't pass the EOG math or EOG reading tests or failed the teacher standard.
Student enrollment for this previous summer session included 349 elementary students, 387 middle school students, and 978 high school students.
The high school students recovered 1,393 credits, according to Chief Academic Officer Melanie Taylor.
Holliday said the district is eliminating summer school because "it wasn't effective."
I-SS has been gradually reducing summer school because of its ineffectiveness.
"It's very costly," she said. "Very few students were actually successful."
She said they are focusing on interventions throughout the school year which are proving more effective.
Holliday said the district is trying to find different innovative approaches that are less costly and more effective.
"If I believed for one moment it would negatively impact student learning, I wouldn't do it," Holliday said.
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