The Hollister School District is weighing the possibility of
eliminating its elementary music program in an array of
recommendations to help fill a projected $5.5 million deficit
expected by June 2013, according to a report issued preceding
Tuesday’s board meeting.
The Hollister School District is weighing the possibility of eliminating its elementary music program in an array of recommendations to help fill a projected $5.5 million deficit expected by June 2013, according to a report issued preceding Tuesday’s board meeting.
Hollister school board trustees – three new members are set to be sworn in Tuesday as well – will consider the first of three required interim reports during the 2010-11 school year. That report includes an array of recommended cuts for this school year and the following two as well.
Among those reductions, the elementary school music program would be eliminated in 2011-12, while 11.3 full-time-equivalent classified positions, such as librarians and computer technicians, would get cut in February 2011. There are teacher layoffs on the table for the 2011-12 – the district can cut classified positions sooner due to the shorter notice required for those jobs – such as those relating to middle school consolidation.
The district previously has agreed to eliminate middle school sports – saving about $56,000 annually in stipends.
Other recommendations as part of the reduction plan for the financially troubled school district include waiver requests for maintaining class sizes above the state maximum figures, and reconfiguring Rancho and Maze middle schools so that they serve just seventh and eighth grades.
Overall, the proposed cuts would save an estimated $277,000 for this school year, along with $1.79 million in each of the next two years, according to the projections. Those projections and recommendations come on the heels of meetings in September through November by a special budget advisory committee. The district also is under close watch by a state fiscal expert due to its severely declining revenue trends, largely due to decreasing enrollment, and the latest proposed cuts add on to the $6.5 million eliminated before the current school year.
This fiscal year, the budget actually has a $900,000 surplus due to higher-than-expected revenue, such as the federal stimulus dollars awarded in a one-time allocation.
“The whole process, it’s really sad, but our hand is being forced,” said Jack Bachofer, the district’s financial chief. “We don’t have a lot of time in terms of getting the superintendent’s budget reductions approved by the board.”
He explained that the district actually has a Wednesday deadline to have the interim report approved and submitted to the county office of education. The current projections, however, exclude the January budget revision coming from Gov.-elect Jerry Brown, whom Bachofer expects to bring a “more direct” approach with less “smoke and mirrors” than Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger.
The Hollister district from there would have a March 15 deadline for a second interim report approval. And because of its troubled status with the state, the district must submit a third report at the start of June, just before the new fiscal year starts.
The district’s teachers union president, Joe Rivas, contended there are “a lot of areas they missed.”
He noted areas to potentially cut such as the superintendent’s assistant position that has a $102,000 annual cost. He wondered why there are three supervisors for computer teachers when the department is taking a major hit in the proposal. Rivas went on to mention the union’s prior idea to close a school, and how he believes the district under-estimated the prospective savings by projecting it at $250,000 annually. He estimated such a bill wouldn’t cover custodians, lunch room workers, yard duties, electric bills and $2,000 “to flush toilets.”
“Are you kidding me?” he said.
He also suggested that Rancho and Maze middle schools could combine into one campus, and criticized how “hundreds of thousands” of dollars in books would go unused by cutting librarians.
He said teachers understand they have to sacrifice through pay cuts.
“Before you come straight to the teachers, let’s make sure you look at everything,” he said.
The slate of challenging work, particularly for the three new trustees, starts Tuesday during the 5 p.m. meeting at the district office, 2690 Cienega Road.
One of the three new trustees getting sworn in Tuesday, Michal Query, is a retired educator who has worked with the Hollister teachers union in the past. She said she has ideas to avoid the cuts to such the music program, along with librarian and computer tech positions, which she plans to share Tuesday.
She pointed out how studies show a link between participation in music education and increased scores on standardized tests, though she added she doesn’t necessarily favor state testing.
“No one likes to see large class sizes for music, and sports cut,” Query said. “We’re going to do everything we can, at least I am, to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
One of the considerations for trustees is to request that waiver from the state to prevent the district from being penalized for the class sizes. The waivers would allow average class sizes exceeding the state minimum figures. The district previously had a class size reduction plan that affects the lower grades – keeping them around 20-1 – until this year when class sizes jumped to 31.62 students for a kindergarten through third-grade classrooms. Grades fourth through eighth have classrooms that range into the high 30s. Without the waivers, the penalties could exceed $1 million annually.
Some ideas, with annual savings
$78K: Cutting elementary school music
$136: Restructure HR department
$58K: Restructure business department
$56K: Cut middle school sports
$65: Restructure educational services
$19,800: Eliminate security patrol
$452,400: School consolidation
$178,500: Eliminate K-5 librarian; share at 2 middle schools
Preview:
WHO: Hollister School Board
WHAT: Consider recommended cuts
WHEN: 5 p.m. Tuesday
WHERE: District office, 2690 Cienega Road
