Take a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief for 2009/2010.
The school year won’t see any programming or staff cuts. And any money lost in state funding will be replaced by American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) money.
But 2010/2011 isn’t off the hook.
In an effort to dull the sting of funding cuts, Lake Orion Community Schools is in the process of restructuring its middle and high school concepts beginning 2010. The school board took emergency plans ‘off the shelf? in a May meeting which outlines a new curriculum for the middle school’s team-teaching approach and the high school’s block scheduling.
Currently, Lake Orion receives $8,302 per student in state foundation allowance. In 2010, the district will lose ARRA money and the state just announced that it will cut funding as much as $500 per student, or $4 million total, according to Jillynn Keppler, assistant superintendent of administrative services.
Add that $4 million to this year’s $877,000 loss and next year’s $7 mil deficit, and the schools? $18.5 million in fund balance ? or ‘rainy day? money ? dwindles drastically in just two years.
‘There’s no comfort in the fact that every other school district in Michigan is going through this,? said Superintendent Ken Gutman.
Because the middle school emergency plan was a ‘cleaner? plan, the district has set it in motion as of this week, according to Assistant Superintendent of Education Services Heidi Kast.
High school restructuring planning will come in the fall.
In the middle schools, students will see a reduction in class options and the team-teaching approach will be changed so teachers meet before hours instead of during the day. School hours will remain the same, but schedules will change from seven to six classes and students will only have one elective, according to a presentation given to parents Monday evening.
So what’s been nixed from class listings?
Choir and Life Management are gone. Computers/Modern Technology classes have been reduced. Drama, Exploring Theatre, Media Productions, Publications, Reading 2 and Curriculum Support could end up on the chopping block, too, but only time will tell.
To determine which classes would be cut, the district carefully tracked student enrollment numbers, checked graduation requirements and researched the ease of switching the class to an after school program, Kast said. It’s a process that’s been repeated since the emergency plan was created in 2006 to make sure those on the elimination lists were still appropriate to cut.
Some community members, like Annette McNeil, and school staff would like to see cuts made evenly across the board instead of eliminating a few programs all together.
McNeil especially wants the district to keep performing arts.
‘Drama and choir helped my daughter become a leader and have confidence,? she said.
Others fear enormous class sizes.
Leann Lowe, a teacher at the high school, sympathized with administrators? task of selectively eliminating programs but warned of upping enrollment caps in classrooms.
‘Please do everything in your power to keep our class size as it is or smaller,? she said. ‘We want high school to be a comfortable learning environment and not an overcrowded mouse maze.?