Up to $2.5 million in school busing cuts are off the table, deemed ‘impact too great,? and millions more are on hold.
That’s fine with Jennifer Adair, speaking at Monday’s public hearing on proposed budget cuts for Clarkston schools.
‘I get it ? we must make cuts,? Adair said. ‘But the list of items is extensive and overwhelming.?
Administration prepared a new list of 160 proposed cuts, classifying them using stop-light colors, green for ‘feasible for next year,? yellow for ‘caution,? could do with restructuring, as well as two shades of red for cuts considered too deep (see Clarkstonnews.com for complete list).
They will decide on cuts, up to $13 million over two years, by mid-March.
On the ‘caution? list is the creation of sister schools throughout the district. The sister-school proposal would combine North Sashabaw and Pine Knob, Clarkston and Bailey Lake, and Sprinfield Plains and Independence elementary schools. Andersonville Elementary would be unaffected. It would cut $800,000-900,000 and up to 12 full-time classroom teachers.
Shifting from trimesters back to semesters was also put on the ‘caution? list.
‘We want to save money in scheduling but we need more time before implementing it,? said Steve Hyer, board president.
The change would save the district $300,000-360,000. The district began the trimester schedule two years ago in response to new state graduation requirements.
Parents commenting at the Feb. 8 meeting complained about the proposed change, saying their children just got used to the trimester schedule.
Instead, budget-cut teams of building and district administrators will consider other scheduling options, Hyer said.
‘We do need to do something more efficiently,? he said. ‘We don’t want to just cut for the dollar amount and rush through.?
Savings would come mostly from cutting teachers needed to run the trimester schedule.
Another element put on hold was elimination of K-5 special programs, such as art, music, and physical education classes.
‘We need to re-evaluate and save in another way,? said Hyer.
Trustee Rosalie Lieblang strongly agreed.
‘That was one of the items I was looking at as well,? Lieblang said.
Several parents commented on special programs during a public hearing before the Feb. 22 meeting.
‘How do children learn best? Not just by giving them information, but by giving them experiences,? said Gwen Stuart, teacher and parent of a student. ‘Nothing does that like the arts ? in these tough times, people still listen to iPods, buy movie tickets, and support the arts.?
Outsourcing custodian and transportation services, cutting about $1.4 million, is still on the green list.
‘We have been meeting with organized (employee) groups,? said Hyer. ‘On March 8, we will make a decision with administration on what do do.?
The board will continue looking at the list of proposed cuts and present revisions at its March 8 meeting at Clarkston Junior High School. Public hearing will be at 6 p.m., meeting to start at 7 p.m.