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Fees eyed to fill gap in EACS’ budget hit
All-day K, athletics among pay-for options discussed
Devon Haynie | The Journal Gazette
East Allen County Schools board members Tuesday discussed eliminating teaching assistants, charging fees for athletics and cutting or changing all-day kindergarten as possible ways to trim the district’s 2011 budget.
Superintendent Karyle Green said discussions about possible school closures will wait until the summer, when the board plans another round of budget adjustments, to address the district’s long-term financial health.
The district overbudgeted its $92.8 million 2010 budget by $10 million, Green said, and faces ongoing financial challenges because of decreases in state funding, a 2009 tax collection shortfall, state property tax caps and increasing costs, among other factors.
The board plans to vote March 30 on a proposal to cut $4 million from its general fund, which is financed by the state.
During Tuesday’s public budget-planning meeting, board members discussed eliminating some paraprofessionals, or teaching assistant positions.
Green estimated that existing paraprofessionals could cost the district about $2.7 million in 2011, though not all are paid through the general fund.
The board also considered charging fees for athletics, much as it charges fees for band students, or eliminating some athletic and extracurricular programs.
“Am I looking to cut activities? No,” Green said. “Could we see how we might be able to eliminate activities? Yes. We need to find some reduction (in extracurricular activities), whether it’s an assistant coach or program or something.”
Board members also discussed eliminating all-day kindergarten or charging parents for the program, which is estimated to cost the district roughly $241,000 in 2011.
The district now has 507 students in the all-day program, Green said, and faces a per-student shortfall of $475.
“I’m thinking parents would pay to offset that cost,” Richard Allgeier said, though others on the board wondered whether it was practical or how it would affect low-income students and their families.
Board members also considered ending extra payments for curriculum coordinators, elementary and secondary team leaders and department heads; eliminating mandatory trips to the McMillen Center for Health Education; and saving money on print-cartridge costs by ending the practice of keeping printers in every classroom.
The district could spend roughly $98,600 on toner cartridges in 2011, Green said.
The board also discussed changing alternative education; having professional- development classes after school; changing insurance plans so that all deductibles are equal; and adjusting summer school so courses incorporate a state-approved computer learning system.
Tim Gerig, one of the few parents who attended the meeting, said he thought Green had a good sense of the bigger picture of funding challenges and that the board seemed genuinely concerned with making “kids’ education” a priority.
But he said he was concerned that the board was focusing too much time on smaller budget items.
“It seems like they’re spending 80 percent of their time focusing on 20 percent of the cost,” he said.
The board will conduct its next meeting from 4 to 7 p.m. March 23 to discuss other options.
Green plans to reserve at least an hour at that meeting for public comment.