Reduction of six teaching positions approved by the RC School Board

Rogers City Area Schools superintendent Paul Mancine said 99 percent of the costs in the school district are ?people costs.? Budget cutting measures recommended by the planning and finance committee and the administrators were heavy on the people side Monday as the board of education approved a motion that included the reduction of six teaching positions for the 2006-07 school year. The decision was part of the Phase II Budget Reduction Plan intended to save the district a total of $375,475. Along with the laying off of six teachers, the board has decided to not renew the contract of the school success worker and reduce the general fund obligation to athletics. School officials also are looking at saving money by reducing energy costs and not renewing North Central Accreditation fees.

The planning and finance committee met March 8 to discuss the proposed cuts presented to them by the administration. ?Over the years we have tried to buffer these cuts by drawing our savings account down, in the hope that the economy would rebound,? said Scott McLennan, committee chairman. ?We are hoping we have made sufficient cuts and that the economy will rebound. We will continue to lobby our legislators to supply adequate funding to our school district. We are very lean right now, but we are hoping to offer a very balanced program that will meet the needs of all of our children.? Mancine commended committee members for their analysis of the information and their challenging questions.

THE LAYING OFF of six teachers will reduce the budget by an estimated $342,570, which includes unemployment costs. Six positions will be reduced, but there will be a net loss of five teachers because assistant principal Missy Wozniak will be stepping down from her administrative position to join the teaching ranks next school year. Mancine said, ?It will be a heck of a juggling act for the administration.? The names of the teachers affected by the layoffs will be announced at the next regular board meeting in April after a tentative plan established by the administrative staff has been discussed with the teachers? union. Mancine said the challenge would be to provide a diverse program, and yet meet the needs of all the students.

?The administrative challenge will be to balance this desire with the reality of limited finances, staff seniority and certification, student scheduling, and contract requirements,? he said. ?Obviously, we need to be creative.? In the next school year, the superintendent said class sizes could get larger. At an average of 17 per class now in Rogers City, Mancine said it is still below the state average of 22.

AN ESTIMATED $33,500 will be reduced by cutting the school success worker, while $13,000 was skimmed from the top of the $113,000 athletic budget. Mancine said he has put the challenge of finding ways of making that up in the hands of the athletic director. Part of the plan to reduce energy costs by $5,000 is to mothball the second floor of the Grambau Center again and finding room for the Alpena Community College classes on the main floor. The library room near the gym or other rooms, may be utilized. He also said the thermostats in the buildings will be turned down, and students and staff may need to wear sweatshirts and heavier clothing next winter. In dropping NCA fees, principal Deb Jones said costs have been going up as other schools have dropped the program. Jones said new state requirements mirror NCA. Not having accreditation will not harm college-bound students, Mancine said.

McLennan tried to answer the question of how the district ended up in this position. Part of the reason he said was that some of the cuts have been buffered by the district dipping into the savings account, or fund equity, which was at 24 percent two years ago. That is down to 15 percent. ?We can?t drop below that?it will last only six to eight weeks.?

IN OTHER business:

? The board authorized the superintendent to provide a $1,000 payment to each currently employed teacher who decides to leave the district at the end of the 2005-06 school year and who submits a written letter of resignation, effective on or before June 30, 2006, to the superintendent by April 3.

? The board accepted the resignations of junior varsity gir

ls basketball coach Amanda Munger and assistant varsity football coach Nick Rethman. On the spring coaching recommendations, the board approved the coaching assignments of Howard Madsen, varsity baseball; Wayne Karsten, junior varsity baseball head coach; David Haselhuhn and Matt Bredow, volunteer assistant baseball coaches; Karl Grambau, varsity softball; Kathy Tulgestke, JV softball; Mike Grulke, Paula Pietsch, Gary Pietsch, Mike Tulgestke, and Cindy Bellmore, volunteer assistant softball coaches; Rethman, head track and field coach; Munger, assistant track coach; Dave Nowak and Rob Kortman, volunteer track coaches.

? The board approved and adopted the revised Technology Plan.