During a five-hour meeting last week, Lake Orion Board of Education continued its budget talks, which have been ongoing since January.
These talks are preliminary discussions on how to deal with a possible net loss of anywhere from $1 million to $5.2 million. According to Executive Director of Finance Jillynn Keppler, it is still unclear on how much must be cut from the budget, as the State of Michigan has not informed what the loss will be.
‘The state is really boxing us into a corner,? she said. ‘They hold all the cards.?
Keppler said that while there is no deadline for the state to notify a district of this information, the district must set and approve its budget for the next year by the end of June.
Furthermore, due to contract requirements, any pink slips that will be issued would have to be issued by the end of April.
According to Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Kenneth Gutman, it is the district’s goal to make as few cuts as possible, but with a lack of information to what extent the cuts will be, they may have to issue more pink slips than they would like.
‘This is minimal cuts and minimal layoffs, but with less information we may have to do more in order to protect ourselves,? he said.
In situations like these, districts have been known to issue more pink slips then they need, and then hire back employees after the cuts have been finalized and the budget allows it. According to Keppler, the board hopes not to do this as it creates unwarranted stress on its employees.
‘We don’t want people worrying about their jobs,? she added.
She also said that the board is looking into every possible way to save money to help lessen these cuts. Preliminary talks are occurring about a possible sale of the old transportation building, which would bring in some revenue to supplement the net loss.
Keppler also opened her efforts into the community asking parents and staff for recommendations on ways to save more money for the district. Requests were posted on the district’s website asking for people to e-mail suggestions.
According to Keppler, over 100 e-mails were received from the community with their advice for the district. Keppler and her staff responded to each of these emails, and she thanks everyone for their suggestions.
While no decisions about cuts have been made, Board President Leeann Bartley wants the community to know that these discussions are occurring.
‘We just want people to know that we are not trying to hide anything, we just don’t know how much has to be cut until the state lets us know,? she said.
The next school board meeting will be held on March 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the School Administration Building, located at 315 N. Lapeer Street.