Schools to take $670,000 in cuts

Leaders of the Sisters School District have identified some $500,000 in potential cuts in an effort to make up a $670,000 deficit next year.

A special school board meeting was held Wednesday in which Sisters' three school principals presented proposals cutting approximately $100,000 from each of their school budgets.

The savings came from cutting staff hours, rearranging schedules, eliminating supplies and reducing some programs.

Principal Bob Macauley plans to save $40,000 by replacing two retiring teachers with teachers at the lower end of the pay scale. He also proposes closing the "Flex" school. About half of the 11 or 12 attendees will be reintegrated into Sisters High School. The rest will be placed in other programs in the region.

Macauley expressed resistance to making incremental across-the-board cuts.

"At some point, you cut 10 percent, then 10 percent again, then 10 percent again, pretty soon you have nothing good," he said. "You have a ... mediocre system."

Board vice chairman Glen Lasken charged outgoing Superintendent Elaine Drakulich with detailing the savings potential of eliminating two positions from the six-person administration staff roster. That savings is expected to total around $200,000.

Each principal identified the key programs and values in their schools' offerings that allow them to continue in the tradition of excellence for Sisters schools. All reasonable attempts will be made to preserve these critical values.

The loss of $90,000 in "school improvement funds" is forcing the district to end full-day kindergarten and return to a half-day kindergarten program. There appeared to be across-the-board support for retaining the full-day program if at all possible.

Kindergarten teacher Barbara Kamrath started the meeting with an impassioned plea to save the program.

"I cannot let full-day kindergarten go without saying that it will be a big loss to the district," she said. "It really is the foundation piece for getting these kids started."

The school principals agreed.

Sisters Middle School Principal Kathy Miner presented cuts totaling $114,740 and asked that any savings her extra cuts create be used to help restore the full-day program.

The board expressed consensus that even though major cuts could be deferred until the next year's budgeting cycle (2011-12), it was more prudent and fiscally responsible to be proactive and begin to face the budget shortfalls this year.

"The reality is that we could limp through this year," Drakulich said. "That makes what I call the 'crunch year' ... 2011-12 huge."

Looming retirement benefit rate increases, potential loss of enrollment, and other costs threaten to balloon the 2011-12 deficit an additional $1.5 million. If the district does not make cuts this year, the combined totals could exceed $2 million out of a general fund budget of approximately $12 million.

The board also embraced the concept that it is more responsible to look for the cuts out of the operating expense budget before considering "cashing in" on the few remaining school assets, including the remaining $582,246 in proceeds from the sale of the district's Lundgren Mill property.

Two items left for consideration that were not discussed were cutting the number of school days and cutting full programs.

The board meets again on April 21 to consider a draft budget based on Wednesday's proposed cuts.

Given that it takes a good two weeks to prepare all the paperwork for a formal draft budget presentation, all budget cut proposals will need to be finalized by April 7.

The ad hoc "strategy committee" headed by board members Don Hedrick and Cheryl Stewart will continue to meet with district personnel to brainstorm other ways to meet the requirements of the budget shortfall.