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The Garfield School District Re-2 Board of Education voted 4-1, Tuesday night to approve a $36,453,303 spending budget for the 2011-2012 school year.
“We've hashed and re-hashed, agreed to disagree, and probably still disagree on some things in the budget, but it's time we approve it and move on,” said School Board President Jay Rickstrew.
The final budget aims to cut $774,218 in expenses by cutting expenses in BOCES administration, not hiring an assistant superintendent, increasing elementary class sizes through attrition, cuts in transportation and food services and capital projects, among other cuts, according to a budget report from Re-2 Finance Director Christine Hamrick.
The school board also approved the district to deficit spend approximately $1.8 million from the district's fund balance, which is projected to be $13.6 million as of June 30.
In all, the district will receive about $1.4 million less in state funding and had to reduce the overall budget by $2.5 million for next year. While the amount is larger than district officials hoped for, it was better than the they first anticipated.
“It's less than we first thought, but it's still a lot to cut,” said district Superintendent Susan Birdsey.
Dr. Lee Krauth was the lone school board member to vote against the budget. It was his opinion that the district had other options to cut spending that were more logical.
Krauth said that the district could save nearly $900,000 by closing Elk Creek Elementary School in New Castle, which has an enrollment of about half of its total capacity, and send those students to Kathryn Senor Elementary which also has a student population well below capacity.
“We have the ability to close one elementary school, and combine two elementaries, without decreasing student to teacher ratios, and without taking away any of the educational value,” Krauth said, “So, I think that would have been a wiser decision.”
However, Birdsey said that closing schools should not be a first choice.
“Closing schools is a very last resort,” she said. “I don't want to close schools unless there is really no other option, and we have some other options.”
Birdsey said that it's important to go to the community and ask them what they want, and what they are willing to do, before the district closes any schools. And according to the budget report, the district did just that.
According to the report, the community, through a district survey, supported a mill-levy override before closing any schools. The district heard the same response from district residents through 14 community focus groups that the district held over the past several months.
However, Krauth said that he didn't think that voters would support a mill-levy override during these tough economic times.
“I support asking voters to vote on a mill levy, but I don't think, in this economy, that it will pass,” he said.
The district will look to pose a mill-levy override to voters on this November's ballot to help cover the deficit for the 2012-13 school year.
“We've hashed and re-hashed, agreed to disagree, and probably still disagree on some things in the budget, but it's time we approve it and move on,” said School Board President Jay Rickstrew.
The final budget aims to cut $774,218 in expenses by cutting expenses in BOCES administration, not hiring an assistant superintendent, increasing elementary class sizes through attrition, cuts in transportation and food services and capital projects, among other cuts, according to a budget report from Re-2 Finance Director Christine Hamrick.
The school board also approved the district to deficit spend approximately $1.8 million from the district's fund balance, which is projected to be $13.6 million as of June 30.
In all, the district will receive about $1.4 million less in state funding and had to reduce the overall budget by $2.5 million for next year. While the amount is larger than district officials hoped for, it was better than the they first anticipated.
“It's less than we first thought, but it's still a lot to cut,” said district Superintendent Susan Birdsey.
Dr. Lee Krauth was the lone school board member to vote against the budget. It was his opinion that the district had other options to cut spending that were more logical.
Krauth said that the district could save nearly $900,000 by closing Elk Creek Elementary School in New Castle, which has an enrollment of about half of its total capacity, and send those students to Kathryn Senor Elementary which also has a student population well below capacity.
“We have the ability to close one elementary school, and combine two elementaries, without decreasing student to teacher ratios, and without taking away any of the educational value,” Krauth said, “So, I think that would have been a wiser decision.”
However, Birdsey said that closing schools should not be a first choice.
“Closing schools is a very last resort,” she said. “I don't want to close schools unless there is really no other option, and we have some other options.”
Birdsey said that it's important to go to the community and ask them what they want, and what they are willing to do, before the district closes any schools. And according to the budget report, the district did just that.
According to the report, the community, through a district survey, supported a mill-levy override before closing any schools. The district heard the same response from district residents through 14 community focus groups that the district held over the past several months.
However, Krauth said that he didn't think that voters would support a mill-levy override during these tough economic times.
“I support asking voters to vote on a mill levy, but I don't think, in this economy, that it will pass,” he said.
The district will look to pose a mill-levy override to voters on this November's ballot to help cover the deficit for the 2012-13 school year.
