Octorara Area School District employees have suggested 50 cost-saving measures which could help the school district close a $3.4 million shortfall in its proposed $47,609,008 million 2010-11 budget.
The suggestions aren’t quite (with thanks to singer Paul Simon) 50 ways to leave your lover, and many of them would not likely be adopted without controversy, but each “way” is a plan which could save as little as $200 or as much as $1 million per annum.
“We’re taking a stab at some numbers,” said Superintendent Tom Newcome, who asked school board members on March 15 to weigh in on the list before the school board’s April 12 meeting.
“Some of these deserve some close consideration,” said board member Sam Ganow. “If we’re $3 million off we’ve got a long way to go.”
The names of the working “Stans” who are trying to make some new plans for the cash-strapped district are being kept anonymous. They have suggested: eliminating two assistant principals to save $137,400 per salary; cutting a guidance counselor to save $96,656; providing career and technical education in-house to save $1,036,397; eliminating one sub per day per school to save $106,605; and shutting down buildings to all outside use after 6 p.m. to save $16,275.
The district could move to a four-day week, extending the 180-day school year into the summer, which would save $65,100 in heating and cooling, $606,237 in transportation, and $324,679 in custodial costs.
Board members could also: save $40,491 by offering no raises to non-contractual employees; cut the $356,600 athletic budget; and eliminate the summer reading program and kindergarten outreach to save $40,000.
According to Newcome the district could save $67,000 each by taking these measures: offer no high school class with less than 15 students, make sure each high school teacher has responsibility for six classes, and eliminating or reducing the number of study halls.
Although both board members and administrators have said it will be trimmed, the preliminary budget is up by $3,587,000, or 8.15 percent, from last year. The school district has applied to the state for an exception, allowing it to raise taxes by more than the 3.7 percent allowed under Act 1, due to sharp increases in pension and health care costs.
Preliminary figures mean real estate taxes would rise 2.69 mills, or 9.7 percent, for Lancaster County residents, from 27.68 mills to 30.37 mills. Taxes would rise 5.65 mills, or 17.5 percent, for Chester County residents, from 32.23 mills to 37.88 mills.
During the March 15 meeting the school board also approved an agreement to pay $10,000 to settle claims in a U.S. District Court case involving a minor special education student. Newcome said while there was no admission of guilt by either party involved in the suit, the written agreement and financial settlement were recommended by legal counsel for the school district.
The school board also heard from Scott Grimes, volunteer director of the district’s Lacrosse program. Grimes said the program is supporting 41boys and 14 girls on a budget of $9,000 which students and boosters raised themselves.
The school board held executive sessions for personnel and legal issues. The next meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 12 in the intermediate school multi-purpose room.