Sharing.
It’s one of the first lessons we learn
as children, and it’s the strategy we need
now as we struggle to solve a budget crisis
in the Brandon School District.
School boardmembers and administrators
have studied the budget
for months, searching for remedies
to a projected $2.5 million
budget deficit. More recently,
they have aimed for
$3.5 million in cuts as the state
continues to slash per-pupil
funding. Cuts seem to be the only way to
balance the budget as the main source of
revenue dwindles and the district loses
even more money as the student count
drops.
The most recent list of proposed cuts
includes efforts that we applaud? early
retirement incentives for teachers and
support staff, self-funding of community
education and childcare, reduction in the
maintenance budget, elimination of weekend
busing for sports and other extracurricular
activities, and elimination of
middle school sports including soccer,
football and cheer for which there are
other existing opportunities for students
in the community.
We also understand the need for and
support the difficult recommendations to
cut the technology budget and curriculum
purchases. We’re relieved and grateful
that the finance committee has withdrawn
a recommendation to eliminate
busing for seventh through 12th grade
students and will keep the swimming pool
open now.
But the proposed list of cuts still has
dramatic effects to academics that we
oppose? layoffs of six teachers, elimination
of all-day Kindergarten paraprofessionals
and some special education
paraprofessionals, reduction of hours for
a literacy coach, and elimination of the
band program at the intermediate school.
Other cuts such as
privatization of busing and custodial
services may not affect
students in the classroom, but
would have devastating effects
nonetheless. The Brandon
School District is the largest
employer in our community. The last thing
our failing economy needs is more lost
jobs and more families struggling to keep
their homes, and food on the table.
During a recent discussion on the budget,
School Board Trustee and Finance
Committee Member Debbie Schummer
said, ‘The state of Michigan is
hemmorhaging money and the fact of the
matter is, if you’re able to go to a doctor
and you have a job, you’re lucky.?
We couldn’t agree more.
Of course we still need a balanced
budget and a solvent school district.
What we propose, in the spirit of giving
our children a quality education and keeping
people gainfully employed, is shared
sacrifice? also mentioned more than
once at a recent finance committee meeting.
Shared sacrifice in these times means
everyone gives something? in this case,
we hope it means that bus drivers and
custodians will agree to 10 to 20 percent
paycuts to save their jobs; teachers will
agree to opening their contract before
talks are scheduled to begin in September and offer
to take at least a 5 percent salary
cut, as well as pay more of their health
benefits, a major for the district; building
principals will agree to a similar plan with
their contract negotiations this spring;
and that central office personnel not in a
union including the superintendent, finance
director, curriculum director and
other staffmembers lead by example and
offer salary concessions themselves.
No one wants to see their salary reduced.
We know that everyone in the
district works hard for our children and
we appreciate the jobs you are doing, but
now more than ever, we need to stop the
bleeding. The loss of more jobs is a hit
this community can’t afford. We need to
work together and accept our next lesson?
how to live on less so that we can
keep what we have? our jobs, our
homes and quality education for our children.