Art is safe. So are Family School Coordinators and middle school assistant principals, for now. And it looks like all day, every day kindergarten will be sticking around.
The Lake Orion Board of Education outlined their preliminary budget recommendation and had audience members breathing a sigh of relief when those hot-topic items weren’t on the chopping block.
Picking up where they left off of last meeting, the board’s finance committee brought a list of items it believed should be altered or cut, potentially saving the district over $1.4 million. The list included the modified high school block schedule (which is in the works already), reducing special education staffing, reducing 12-month secretaries, charging for afterschool programs, reducing building allocations, altering career-focused education, coordinating purchasing, charging for indirect food service costs, eliminating a police liaison, expanding distance learning, eliminating the high school media assistant and combining Guided Activities Program (GAP) and community education.
The finance committee’s plan for the budget could also reduce classroom cleaning rotations, thereby eliminating four or five custodians. Final decisions will be made at the board’s April 28 meeting.
Art was the first item rescued from the chopping block, with all board members in support of keeping the program as it is now. The board did discuss the option of combining art and music, which could save the district $241,000 by eliminating four instructors.
But boardmembers echoed Mary Jo Burchart’s sentiments after she simply said, ‘I’m not for this.?
All boardmembers were also in support of keeping Family School Coordinators. Eliminating the positions by 3.5 could save the district $155,200.
Jim Weidman, board treasurer and finance committee member, said the committee wanted to keep Moose Tree for another year in hopes of partnering with other entities in the future to keep it running.
‘Of all the elementary field trips I’ve been on, I would say this is one of the most educational programs out there,? said Boardmember Tiffany Weber-Phillips in support of keeping Moose Tree.
Moose Tree costs the district $79,200.
Cutting middle school assistant principals could save the district $247,000. Boardmembers decided to keep them for the time being, but put those administrators back on the chopping block in the future, when the board discusses a modified middle school concept.
Opinions on upping ‘pay to play? fees for high school and middle school athletics were mixed. The board tossed around the option to raise fees by $25 and didn’t come to a consensus.
‘I hate to put more money back on the parents,? said Tina Peterson.
Janet Wolverton said ‘it’s time? to look at coaching salaries, which are higher in Lake Orion than other districts. Coaching salary structure is tied to Lake Orion Education Association contract details, according to school officials, and is subject to negotiation.
All day, every day kindergarten (ADEDK) opinions were also mixed. The district could save $1.014 million if it eliminated the program.
Weidman said, ‘I voted in favor of it because it would have given us a leg up on the mandate. Chances of (mandating) in the near future are pretty much zero. That million dollars would go a long way toward buffering programs across the K-12 spectrum.?
Board President Bill Walters was on opposite side of the coin, stating, ‘I think [ADEDK] is one of the best investments we’ve made in education and I’d be reluctant to change that program this early in its life. I think we’re going to see some real long-term benefits.?
Wolverton said she could ‘never go back to the way it was,? noting that all day, alternating day kindergarten was not a good program. She said she would consider half day, every day.
At Walters? prompting, ADEDK was taken off the chopping block for this year.
In addition to the tentative $1.4 million in savings proposed by the finance committee, there’s further savings found in staff taking the early retirement buyout. However, much of the $1.36 million projected savings is already accounted for in the items on the chopping block. Around $400,000 is not accounted for and will be additional savings, according to school officials.
At the April 14 meeting, Superintendent Ken Gutman noted negotiations continue for cuts in salaries and benefits for Jillynn Keppler and Heidi Kast, assistant superintendents, Margaret Hazlett, human resources executive director, and Gutman.