Phase I cost containment action taken by RC school board, phase II will be much more difficult

The financial cuts by members of the Rogers City Area Schools Board of Education are a pittance compared to what awaits in the New Year, school officials fear. Acting on the recommendation of the planning and finance committee, school board members approved Phase I cost containment cuts, which will be effective for the second semester that begins in January. ?The reality is, this is small,? said committee chairman Scott McLennan. ?Think of the anguish we go over right now to come up with $37,000 or so. This is nothing. It really gives us a taste for what we may be faced with.? The original estimate for the first phase cuts was $58,682, but some recommended cuts were spared this round. The final recommendation was to trim $37,416. The phase II cost containment cut could be more than 10 times phase I.

Discussions on phase II, which will probably include public forums, is targeted at reducing $400,000 to $450,000 from a budget that went from $164,000 to $240,000 in the red in October because of a slip in the student population. Estimates place the deficit above the $400,000 mark for the next school year.

FALLING UNDER the first budget cutting axe was the in-school suspension support position, JV baseball and softball head coaches, and the after-school detention person. Cost savings will come from retaining the services of the interim superintendent ($20,000) through the end of the school year and the sharing of the technology coordinator with Posen Consolidated Schools ($5,000). Originally on the list was the school success worker?s position. That would have reduced an additional $11,500, but the administrative staff wanted to take another look at that line item. Board president Mike Marx requested that the issue be talked about and brought back before the board next week. The assistant junior varsity wrestling coach also was spared because the season started Monday.

THE COMMITTEE outlined a goal of keeping the fund equity at 15 percent. ?We cannot dip into fund equity any longer. Our fund equity is down to 15 percent,? said McLennan. ?When you hit that area of 15 percent, you are going to be borrowing just to get your school started, and the expenses associated with that.? ?You look through all of the numbers and you are moved by the fact that not only are these people, but these are services to our children. This phase I is just that, it?s the first phase of more to come. This is where it becomes real critical that we as a school board, we as a school, and we as a community, start reaching out to our legislators and say enough is enough,? McLennan said. ?We have to come up with better funding for our students. Will this school system feel some tremendous pains, loss of services and greater class sizes? You bet. It?s going to happen. So, we need to be proactive wherever we can.?

Board member Dick Hanson said he couldn?t vote for the phase I cuts as presented. He didn?t believe the figures from the committee were accurate and was against eliminating the JV baseball and softball coaches as paid positions.

?WE NEED to make the cuts,? said Hanson. ?The cuts are real. Come springtime, I can?t imagine finding $450,000 without cutting major people, but to sit here and cut $4,000 for two other coaches, I guess I feel like I?m being a hypocrite, and I really despise being a hypocrite. Both of these teams have significant numbers.? Hanson objected to the first in, first out concept that was being proposed. Since the JV baseball and softball coach and the assistant wrestling positions were added last, the recommendation was that they be considered first for cuts. Mancine said the only question of accuracy was the school success worker and the computer proposal with Posen. ?These are pretty good numbers,? Mancine said. ?None of this, as we talked about in the committee, is any good or any fun, but you have to start this process. The only question of accuracy comes from the school success worker. You need to start making some of these cuts today. I know it?s not popular.? Marx said the board needs to do what is best for the majority of the students.

?WE MAY need to seriously take a look at the JV program next year. We may have to take a look at some pure varsity sports, where participation levels are going down. I?m not going to pick on one sport, but there is a sport out there where we?ve got a problem fielding a team.? Board member Jo Bush Glenn does not want to see anything cut, but something needs to be done. ?How do you decide if the ISS (in-school suspension) position is less important or more important than the assistant va

rsity wrestling (coach)?? she said. At the end of the meeting, Glenn encouraged everyone in attendance to log onto the website www.michigank16.org to request a petition. The K-16 Coalition for Michigan?s Future is a group of statewide education organizations working together to get full funding for public schools, community colleges, and universities that has started a petition drive in August. The aim is to force the legislature to provide adequate funding. A petition can be requested, but not downloaded, from the Internet. Signatures obtained from a petition printed from the Internet will not be considered valid.

IF PASSED by the legislature or approved by the voters, this legislative initiative will: ? Provide annual funding increases equal to inflation for K-12 schools, community colleges and universities. ? Reduce the gap between lowest-spending and highest-spending districts from $1,300 to $1,000 between 2007 and 2012. ? Cap retirement costs for K-12 districts, community colleges and universities at 14.87 percent of payroll. ? Fund school districts with declining enrollment based on the student enrollment average of the three prior fiscal years.

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