Budget Reduction Scenarios 'Shocking' to Stillwater School Board

Budget reductions became a reality at Thursday’s school board meeting when Assistant Superintendent Dr. Ray Queener presented the potential scenarios for cutting from the budget.

The scenarios are meant to “demonstrate the magnitude of the reductions,” Queener said.

The scenarios were compiled after the district’s Budget Development Committee gathered their budget reduction considerations.

Click here to read a message Superintendent Corey Lunn sent to parents about the process.

These considerations are broken down into catergories. The following are some but not all of the considerations. For a complete list, visit the district’s website.

Fees/Revenue/Fund Balance

• Increase parking fees
• Increase fees for community education classes
• Add admission fees to all school activities
• Implement significant advertising in the schools (lockers, floors and walls.)

Supply and Material Budgets

• Decrease school supply/instructional budgets
• Reduce district communications to the public.
• Decrease/eliminate resources for replacing classroom technology.

Co-Curricular

• Decrease athletic and co-curricular opportunities (fine and performing arts, etc.).
• Reduce activity and co-curricular budgets.
• Reduce/eliminate junior high activities.

Transportation

• Reduce transportation services by possibly adjusting school start and end times, decrease number of bus routes, and decreasing transportation zones and shuttles.

Staff Reductions

• Eliminate positions across all employee groups.
• Reduce school support and public services in central service office.
• Reduce/eliminate building maintenance and operations staff positions.
• Reduce administrative structure in school buildings.

Calendar Adjustments

• Decrease the number of student instructional days in the school calendar. According to Queener,  students currently attend five days more than the state law requires.
• Implement alternate models to the five-day school week by having a four-day school week.
• Reduce to four-day week during  the summer months for year round staff. This option would need to be “bargained and negotiated,” Queener said.

Class Size/Other Programs

• Eliminate security services at the high school.
• Reduce/eliminate school resource officers.
• Eliminate cross guard positions.
• Reduce services for remedial and gifted students. Consider fees or elimination of all-day kindergarten.
• Increase class sizes across all grade levels.
• Close the swimming pool.
• Decrease elective opportunities, career and vocational education offerings.

There are six potential Scenarios for implementing the budget reduction considerations. These scenarios are to “demonstrate the magnitude of the reductions, there are not recommendations,” Queener said.

• To save $930,000, the district could choose to reduce administration staff which would have an impact of reduction in support for schools, students, parents and families.

• To save $520,000, the district could choose to reduce 20 percent of all supply and material budgets. The impact would include fewer resources to purchase instructional materials, fewer resources for other areas such as printing and communications to parents and families.

• To save $400,000, the district could choose to increase activity fees by $50, reduce high school activity programs by 20 percent and eliminate junior high activities. The impact would include, increased cost to parents, fewer students participating in activities and fewer activities for students to participate in.

• To save $600,000, the district could choose to eliminate transportation services greater than the state law requirements; the impact would include changes to school start and end time, increased bus ride, increased distance to bus stops and no transportation services for hazardous crossings.

• To save $3 million, the district could choose to go to a four-day work week for all employee groups, except teachers, SAC, paraprofessional and food service) and reduce five school days from the calendar. The impact would include, reduction in services provided for students, parents and families, and reduction of instructional time for students.

• To save another $3 million, the district could choose to increase class size across the district by 10 students. The impact would be an increase in class sizes for all grades.

All of these scenarios total $8.45 million in reductions. The district would still need to find an additional $1.55 million to reach $10 million in budget adjustments.

“It is shocking,” School Board Chairman George Dierberger said after Queener’s presentation. “Don’t know if we could be any more transparent.”

According to Dierberger, more than 133 school districts are asking for additional funds from voters this year.

The district has reduced the budget by $20 million in the past serveral years, Queener said. However, the district has added some of the items back into the budget, so the net reduction is currently at $16 million, he added.

Currently, there is a hiring freeze in the district. The district is also sharing resources with the city and county to save money.

The district is looking for the public’s input on their cost saving ideas and to vote on other people’s ideas.