New budget proposals presented by board members

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

It was another long night for members of the Onaway Area Community Schools (OACS) Board of Education, the district administration, as well as concerned school staff and citizens during Tuesday?s three-hour workshop session.

Part of the meeting included the presentation of two new proposals by president Mitch Winfield and Sharon Lyon. There also was a resolution presented by the Case Township board opposing the school?s closing.

The topic: the 2009-10 budget. The same agenda item that has been discussed for more than five weeks and has resulted in the layoffs of six teachers and two paraprofessionals, the subsequent shutting down of the building and trades program next fall and a proposal to close Millersburg Elementary School. There?s also a major concern about class sizes reaching 30 at some elementary grade levels if Millersburg closes.

THE BOARD is dealing with a $430,000 budget deficit this year and a financial imbalance of $830,000 next year, which is based on the estimated revenues coming in, compared to the projected expenditures. The budget needs to be balanced by June 30, but adopted before that, preferably at the regular meeting in early June.

Part of Tuesday?s workshop included 47 minutes of citizen input, which included Case Township supervisor Dean Storms, who thanked the board for their efforts and said he did not envy their position. He presented a resolution fervently opposed to the closing of the school and supports its continued use as an elementary building.

The resolution, passed unanimously the night before by the Case Township board, in part states: ?whereas the residents of Case Township send their children to Millersburg Elementary, which is located in close proximity to their homes, and whereas the parental involvement of the Millersburg School students is enthusiastic and supportive…? A copy of the resolution was submitted to the board.

WINFIELD AGAIN took part in the meeting via the Internet. Just before the workshop he sent a PowerPoint presentation to bring before the rest of the board, after independently going over the budget line by line with a business consultant.

?This is being responsible to our children, allowing the best possible education with a balanced budget,? said Winfield. He said $100,000 to $200,000 has eroded from the fund balance each of the last few years.

?The following proposal could actually make the district some money,? said Winfield. Part of the ?President?s Vision,? as he called it, would be to optimize the performance of the administration, maintain current class sizes and plan for consolidation with other school districts.

Short-term goals would be to utilize stimulus money for additional Title One teachers, laying off three teachers and not six, but hiring them back as Title One teachers, plus possibly adding one.Winfield said, long term, the objectives would be to ?improve student achievement and not become a state run school district.? He also would like to see OACS become a school of choice to parents of the area.

?WE WANT to be put out there as a visionary school district,? said Winfield, his face appearing on a computer screen. ?Wouldn?t it be great if it was with a balanced budget.? Winfield, a Millersburg businessman, remains against the closing of Millersburg School, saying, ?If we shut Millersburg down, where are we going to put the kids if we receive, or start to received additional students.?

He said his proposed budget cuts were ?nickel and diming,? as he put it, line items in all department budgets. Some of the largest cuts were in the high school ($109,600), technology ($78,900) elementary ($68,740) and operations and maintenance ($41,800). Some of figures were questioned by business manager Rod Fullerton, such as moving the Early Childhood Education program to the elementary wing in Onaway, and how much of a savings it would be. Figures in Winfield?s proposal need to be recalculated before next Tuesday?s regular board meeting.

Lyon said she would have liked receiving a copy of the proposal so she could have looked up some of the numbers and asked informed questions. Lyon also asked Fullerton what the ramifications would be if the board approved a budget ?and take every frill away, and then we overspend our budget.?

FULLERTON SAID, ?At the end of the year, if you don?t have any wriggle room at all in the budget, and you come to a point where your actual is higher than what you?ve budgeted come June 30, then you?re in kind of a pickle.? He said the state would probably send a letter and there could be penalties.

?We can amend our budget at anytime?? Winfield responded. Fullerton said a financial cushion allows the district to handle any unplanned expenditures, if there are any, in July or August. Winfield wanted to give the board a chance ?to look at it, spit it out, and see what we have left.?

Before the board was about to adjourn to closed session to discuss support staff negation strategies, Lyon had a proposal of her own and message to the community. First, Lyon went over the details of the expenditures and revenues from the last three years until she got to the 2008-09 budget. She said there is $519,976 less revenue to work with from state cuts and fewer students.