San Benito High School District Superintendent Stan Rose this
week laid out preliminary plans for layoffs and other cuts to fill
an estimated $1.8 million deficit next school year. As a whole, the
proposal includes eliminating the equivalent of 18 positions and
other cuts such as reducing the athletic department budget by
$100,000 and pay decreases for administrators and supervisors.
San Benito High School District Superintendent Stan Rose this week laid out preliminary plans for layoffs and other cuts to fill an estimated $1.8 million deficit next school year.
The “Budget Gap Elimination Plan” breaks down the proposed cuts into four categories – certified, classified and unrepresented employee groups, along with other non-personnel-related reductions.
The list of proposed cuts totals $1.5 million, while the district also would pull $300,000 from reserves.
As a whole, the proposal includes eliminating the equivalent of 18 positions and other cuts such as reducing the athletic department budget by $100,000 and pay decreases for administrators and supervisors.
Of the three employee groups, cuts for the certificated workers – which include teachers – make up about 65 percent of the proposed reductions while amounting to $891,000, according to the proposal. Classified employee groups are scheduled to experience $304,000 in cuts, or 22 percent of the overall reduction, and unrepresented staff members would take on 12 percent of the reduction, or $167,000, according to the district.
The proposed reduction for unrepresented employees – which includes administration and supervisors – is mostly made up by cutting the supervisor of alternative education for a savings of $78,000 and by not filling the half-time, vacant superintendent administrative assistant role. Twenty employees who are unrepresented, meanwhile, would take pay cuts that are equivalent to five work days, totaling $42,000.
Other proposed maneuvers to go along with staff reductions include having students with “F” grades make up the classes in summer school, cutting the travel budget by $10,000 and reducing department budgets by a total of $40,000.
Some programs would be eliminated altogether such as AVID and 10th Grade Academy, according to the document.
The total, annual budget for San Benito High School District is about $25 million. Officials project the district would maintain a general reserve of $4.5 million after this year.
District officials plan to meet again Feb. 22 and Feb. 25, with a goal of having the cuts finalized by March 3, Rose said.
Look to the Free Lance on Tuesday for more on this story. The proposed list of cuts is available at www.sbhsd.k12.ca.us.
