Layoffs for two more teachers

There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel in reeling in the projected budget deficit for the 2009-10 school year. Members of the Onaway Area Community Schools (OACS) Board of Education had another round of deep cuts to discuss Monday during a special meeting scheduled about the budget.

At the end of a long evening, board members came up with a painful list of recommendations and items to act on, including the layoffs of teachers Amber Watson and Sarah Koves.

The decision results in Mark Grant moving into the mathematics department and no longer being able to teach the popular building and trades program, meaning the program will no longer be available to students.

The lay off of two more teachers, which will save $122,000, brings the deficit to $458,000, but brings the total number of teachers to be laid off at six, to go with the reduction of two paraprofessionals, originally brought out of committee.

Among the recommendations still on the table are the closing of Millersburg Elementary School ($100,000), elimination of the head custodian ($10,000), board cuts ($10,000), reduce supplies/books ($11,000), transportation ($30,000), for a total of $226,200 in additional cuts.

According to superintendent Bob Szymoniak, the additional teacher layoffs needed to occur by March 27, per the contract with the Onaway Federation of Teachers.

?THEY (BOARD) knew there was that contractual deadline looming so they went ahead and took action to layoff those secondary teachers,? said Szymoniak. ?After that, we went into closed session to discuss support staff negotiations.?

The board needs to make cuts from the projected budget deficit next year, and looking further down the line, the district is looking at the deficit ballooning to $830,000 the following year.

During Wednesday?s public forum at the Onaway High School media center, attended by citizens and parents, board members, as well as a large contingent of teachers, Szymoniak said further deterioration of the fund balance could give the district a negative balance by the summer of 2011.

That would put OACS into receivership, meaning the state could take over and appoint its own governing body to get the budget in line the way it would see fit.

Szymoniak had a PowerPoint presentation at the beginning of Wednesday?s forum, which has been presented during recent meetings, but with the updated information from Monday?s special meeting. He said the budget problems have come from increasing retirement expenses, health insurance premiums, salaries, declining enrollment and reduced flexibility with Title One money.

Szymoniak went through the costs of running Millersburg School and projected class sizes, which could reach 30 and 31 in the upper elementary grades.

Former teacher/administrator Charlie Schaar believes Millersburg Elementary should have been closed five years ago. ?It cost $1 million to leave Millersburg Elementary School open. You probably could use that $1 million now. I understand it was a hot potato, but the potato has exploded now and here we are. I?m totally, 100 percent in support of closing he Millersburg School. I?m totally 100 percent against losing the building trades program that is very good to this community.?

KEN SZYMONIAK, who has been fighting to keep the school open, said he wants to keep the quality of education where it is and not have any teachers laid off. ?The MEAP scores are finally starting to come up,? said Ken Szymoniak. ?And when all indications are the ideal classroom size is 13 to 17, and you are telling us it is going to be 20 to 23, I believe that is an area of concern. Now we are looking at 30, that is an area of concern.?

Ken Szymoniak suggested combining administrative jobs, re-opening the teacher contract, and ?getting rid of some excessive fat at all levels.?

In a statement read at the meeting, teacher union representative Max Boettger said they are open to discussion about wages, ?if the building merger takes place, if there are equitable, across the board cuts, and decisions are based on fact.?

NEIL OSANTOWSKI, a 2009 OHS graduate, spoke abo

ut the importance of the building trades program in his life. ?To me, that kept me at school,? said Osantowski. ?If we drop a program like building trades or band, you are going to lose students.?

There are no proposals on the table to trim the band program, Szymoniak said Thursday morning, even though it was brought up several times during the meeting. ?It is important to let the public know that the school board could reinstate any of those laid off teachers at any point,? said Szymoniak.

It is going to take some tough decisions and historic cuts. The budget needs to be approved by June 9.

Another special meeting is scheduled for Tuesday for further discussions about the budget and a closed session to continue support staff contract negotiations.

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