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By MaryHelen Swanson
With costs rising and enrollment declining, even the most prudent of school districts is facing budget crunches this year.
Rush City School District #139 is no exception and most recently was facing a significant shortfall.
Saying the district is not done taking a look at various areas, Superintendent Vern Koepp told the school board last week that the district should end this school year with a good fund balance, although it will be much less than last year.
The school board acted on recommendations last week on budget control measures for the 2008-09 school year to address the shortfall.
The measures include the following:
• With the resignation of Pamela Meissner, an elementary teacher for 22 years, and not refilling her position, the district will save $68,500.
Class size will still be enviable, said Koepp.
• By reassigning a full-time high school reading teacher to the elementary for one hour a day, the elementary school will maintain four sections of reading and math.
• Because there are four full-time math teachers at the high school, Principal Mark Saari recommended eliminating the paraprofessional position in the Math Resource room which will save the district $18,000.
• Reorganization of duties of two clerical staff in the district office will reduce expenses. These changes, Koepp believed, would have minimal impact on the students, while a change in payroll procedure that was approved in the negotiation process could have cost the district as much as $14,000.
Much more time was spent on recommendations in extra-curricular areas where savings of just over $10,000 are expected.
Here again, it is expected there will be some impact on students, but minimal.
The savings will be done through a combination of fewer events, reduction in supplies and equipment and dropping a few positions.
Activities Director Bob Schlagel noted that due to weather issues this spring, sports have had a slow start and he said the kids are getting short-changed. There will be a cost savings this year because of fewer game and transportation costs. But this year is an exception, he said.
Schlagel’s recommendations for cost saving included cutting the junior high gymnastics coaches for a savings of $1,425. The participation numbers in that sport don’t justify the position, he said.
In addition participation in The Future Leaders of America (FLA) program is small so Schlagel recommended that the advisor position (an thus the program) be eliminated, with a cost savings of $1,425. Saari noted that the FLA program is not currently tied to an academic course offered at the high school.
In reporting on the athletic programs, Schlagel noted that the total number of students participating in athletics this year is 516, although some of the students are in more than one sport during the year. The outstanding statistic is that in Rush City 63 percent of girls and 58 percent of boys are involved in athletic activities.
With the exception of varsity football and hockey, RC sports have historically scheduled below the maximum number of games allowed by the Minnesota State High School League.
It is very costly to hire officials and scorekeepers and transportation is a significant cost.
Supt. Koepp reminded the board that in past years Schlagel has tightened his budget by reducing the number of contests, proving that he has been cognizant of extra-curricular costs.
Co-curricular includes school plays, band and choir, Knowledge Bowl, Speech, and National Honor Society. A large number of students are involved in these activities, also.
In discussion an activity fee, Schlagel figured the district would garner a revenue of $5,160 if each participant paid $10. The 2007-2008 athletic and co-curricular expenditure budget was $369,339.
Actual gate receipt for those sports that have a charge was $25,086.
Schlagel also explained how, for the past 12 years, he has received board permission to hold fund-raisers to pay for the extras in these programs.
Last summer $10,500 was raised at the annual golf tournament. Many alumni come back for this event, he noted. At Homecoming a pig roast brings in about $1,000 and Supt. Koepp and Schlagel run a wrestling tournament to raise funds.
All these measures are to ensure that students can participate in activities without paying a fee.
Still many on the board wanted Koepp to look into the fees charged in neighboring school districts.
The vote on the control measures went 5-1 with board member Stefanie Folkema opposed. Earlier in the discussion she was concerned about cutting programs.
Taking these measures, Koepp concluded, is a step in the right direction. It’s not an easy step, he said, but the right one and he noted there was a lot of cooperation from the staff.
This week he said the philosophy is that the fund balance will carry the district through the ups and downs of the economy. “We’re trying to avoid big cuts,” he said.
He added he didn’t think the actions were a harsh blow to the students and that he hopes the district doesn’t have to take big steps next year.
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