Posted: 4/5/05
By Aaron Vehling
For the third year in a row, the North Branch school district plans to make a series of cuts to address a $3.4 million budget deficit.
School board members listened attentively at a work session Thursday night as finance director Randi Johnsonís budget presentation was peppered with such words as ìcuts,î ìeliminationsî and ìadjustments.î
Bringing to the table a $1.3 million fund balance, Johnson recommended cuts and adjustments (i.e., increased activity fees) totalling about $2.1 million.
The cuts are across the board. Fall cheerleading, foreign language from the middle school and the high school marching band are among the programs to be cut.
Staff positions in special education, pupil support and specialist teacher positions (such as art and music teachers) will also be cut.
In some cases, Johnson said, positions that were to be filled will simply go unfilled. In addition, many of the staff cuts are by ìattrition,î which means resignations, retirements and leaves of absence.
In her presentation Johnson attributed the deficit to three main factors: flat state funding while inflation continues, enrollment loss and unsuccessful referendum elections.
She said that in addition to the elimination of programs, reduction of services to students and the community and an increase in class sizes are some of the impacts of the budget issues.
Here is a list of the budget cuts:
ï A variety of activities are headed for the chopping block. Fall cheerleading at the high school will be eliminated, along with knowledge bowl at the middle school. Family, Career and Community Leaders of America and marching band at the high school will also be eliminated. Middle and high school ski clubs, international club and drama club will be cut as well. These cuts, along with some adjustments in sports, will save the school district $101,243.
ï Middle school foreign language will be eliminated.
ï Two middle school coaching positions eliminated.
ï The grant writer position will be cut. This is technically an attrition cut, Johnson said, as the districtís grant writer has been away for some time. The duties of the writer will be assumed by administrators and support staff.
ï Specialist and support positions in special education, pupil support, and art, music and physical education will be eliminated in the Sunrise River, primary and middle schools. The district planned on hiring a social worker for Sunrise River, but decided not to do so, in light of the budget problems. This will save the district $365,420.
Johnson said that these cuts produce two adverse effects: classroom teachers will be teaching more art and recess will replace some lost physical education time.
ï Other staff cuts include an in-school suspension paraprofessional, a computer lab paraprofessional and a health office clerk. These cuts are expected to save the district $163,100.
ï A planned bus route will be eliminated and an existing route will be cut as well. The district chose not to hire a new groundskeeper for the Sunrise River school and will instead use the groundskeepers that drive buses to carry out the groundskeeping duties. Standby drivers will be increased.
Here is a list of the budget adjustments:
ï Fees will be increased for activities. In the high school hockey will cost $175; football, basketball, volleyball and wrestling will cost $125; other sports will cost $100; the musical and speech will cost $75; other fine arts and academic programs will cost $45.
In the middle school, sports will be $75 and fine arts and academic programs will be $45.
Students who participate in more than two activities can be involved in a third one free of charge.
ï Ticket prices will be increased for athletic events and the fall musical. Adult tickets for sports will be $6 and student tickets will $4. The musical will cost $7 and $5, respectively.
Johnson said that the price increases are in-line with the ticket fees within the new North Suburban conference the district will join this fall.
In addition, ìthe prices are consistent with neighboring districts,î she said.
ï Boys golf will be combined into one program for grades 7-12.
ï Coaches will have to pay their own membership dues for coaching associations. The district will no longer pay membership dues for them.
ï Only head coaches will be able to attend state tournaments. Any other coaches will have to pay their own way.
ï Meal prices will be increased five cents for a savings of $15,000. This will not affect students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.
ï The assistant superintendent position will be replaced with a director of teaching and learning. The director of special services position will be replaced with a director of special education position that is funded by federal money. This will save the district $139,370.
ï The districtís communications department will see a reduction of its budget by $25,000. This means that the districtís in-house publication will see a reduced frequency of distribution and more focus will be on using the districtís Web site to get the word out.
ï The district plans to save $133,131 by expanding its North Gate program for special education. Johnson said that there are some special education students in the district who need facilities that North Branch cannot offer and so those students attend school at Intermediate District 916 in White Bear Lake. The North Branch school district pays $30,000 tuition for each student who attends school there. This expansion plan would allow those students to return to North Branch. The reduction of tuition costs and some funds from the federal government will cover the cost of the expansion.
ï A $118,298 savings is expected from cuts to maintenance. One position that was full-time before that person resigned will now be a part-time position. The district will also reduce the amount of substitutes and overload staff and reduce overtime hours for maintenance employees. Contacted maintenance will also be reduced.
Johnson said district will start up a ìhomegrown PR campaign for energyî that will focus on reducing energy consumption in all district buildings.
ï Student parking fees will be increased at the high school from $25 to $40 a trimester. This will trim about $15,000 off the deficit.
ï The after-school tutoring program at the middle school will be reduced. This is reduce the deficit by $2,125.
ï Supply budgets will be reduced districtwide.
After the presentation, the board members were morose.
Board member Kirby Ekstrom was disappointed by the fate of some extra-curricular activities, including marching band.
ìTo sit up here as a board member and vote to eliminate such programs, makes me feel really bad about this,î he said. ìI support sports, band. choir - all the fine arts - and when we have to start cutting things like that it makes me feel bad.î
Board treasurer Donna Setterís face went red as she indicated her frustration with the situation.
She looked at two of the cuts - an increase in parking fees at the high school and an increase in the fee for hockey - and said that it would cost families less to pay for the levy that would have brought the district millions of dollars than it would to cover these activities.
Regarding deficits in the future, Johnson said that Governor Tim Pawlentyís budget has a significant increase in the second year of the biennium. This year North Branch will get about $500,000.
The budget cut process is far from over. A public forum is scheduled for April 14 with the school board taking final action on the budget April 25. Adoption of the budget is planned for May 12.
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Share your opinions about the budget cuts
ï Leave a voice mail message at (651) 674-1080.
ï E-mail mailto:budgetinput@northbranch.k12.mn.us
ï Send a letter to the District Office Attn: Budget, 6644 Main St., North Branch, MN 55056
ï Go to the districtís Web site at
www.northbranch.k12.mn.us
ï Attend the public meeting at 7 p.m. on April 14 in room B100 at the high school.
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