By Patrick Tepoorten

Facing a $2.5 million shortfall in next year's budget, and without enough surplus fund balance to cover any portion of the difference, the North Branch Area School District has been busy trying to whittle it's expenditures for 2007 - 2008. Last Thursday, Finance Director Randi Johnson summarized for the school board where the cuts will come from.

The largest of the districtwide cuts will be in special education, where $656,700 will be trimmed by teaching more students in-district rather than sending them to off-campus sites, reducing regular bus routes by one, utilizing federal funds for contracted services, third party billing for services, and expanding the number of students that receive Early Childhood Special Education services.

$435,120 will be cut from curriculum and textbook budgets by freezing new purchases except replacements, as well as by reducing curriculum writing and eliminating the curriculum council.

The remaining $330,285 will be gleaned from transportation, building/maintenance, technology, office, and activities budgets. Included in that will be a reduction in positions, increases in lunch prices for students and staff, and the elimination of transportation to and from hockey practices. As well, bus routes will be reduced by one to reflect an enrollment decline.

Overall, those cuts reflect roughly $1.4 million of the shortfall and will affect the entire district. Other cuts, will be site specific and the middle school, with its decline in enrollment, will feel the brunt.

Four and a half support and specialist teachers will be eliminated districtwide, for a savings of $239,645.

The middle school will see $95,570 cut from its program budgets and will include the elimination of industrial technology and family and consumer science. Johnson called these program cuts "the most dramatic we have seen in the last five years."

Two and a half full-time classroom teachers will be eliminated from the classroom at a reduction of $123,755 in costs, and those reductions will be felt at the middle and high schools, as well as the Area Learning Center (ALC).

Administrative and support staff reductions will affect all schools, and the elimination of 15 full-time positions, and reductions of others, will save the district $421,830.

$151,000 will be reduced from supply, service and equipment budgets, and the remaining $58,000 will come from staff turnover savings, program reductions, and revenue generated by increases to high school parking fees, new fees to park at the ALC, graduation participation fees, project fees, and an increase in yearbook fees.

Johnson stated that she was satisfied the cuts had been made while protecting core academic areas and class sizes to the greatest degree possible. And, while class sizes in kindergarten through fourth grade will range from 24.6 to 28.3, middle school and high school classes will average more than 28, and in many cases, significantly higher.

Johnson pointed out that those estimates are lower than projected class sizes in the 2005 - 2006 budget process, but attributed it primarily to declining enrollment.

Following a public hearing on April 19, the board is expected to act on the recommendations on the April 26 regular meeting.

Comment from Aaron Vehling, 4/24/07

This is pretty horrible news, overall. The public needs excellent schools and in order for there to be excellent schools there needs to be adequate funding.

An operating levy won't kill anyone, but will instead make North Branch a healthy, competitive city with astute, college-ready graduates.

To prepare for life in an incredibly complex world, North Branch needs the funds to teach its students not only the basics, but conversely an entirely comprehensive worldview.

Proverbs 9:9
Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.