CUMBERLAND – The County's School Board held a work session with the Cumberland County Public Schools administration this week for the purpose of discussing where possible budget cuts would come from in order to fill the expected 2012-2013 operating budget deficit.

With over a one million dollar budget shortfall anticipated for the upcoming school year, Superintendent Dr. Amy Griffin presented several possible cuts.

The budget process is just beginning and it's possible more cuts could be on the horizon since the estimated shortfall is, right now, just based on the numbers projected in the Governor's budget and only final numbers will be known after sitting down with the County's Board of Supervisors and when the General Assembly concludes, according to Dr. Griffin.

During the work session, it was explained that state funds are projected to decrease approximately $282,816 due to rebenchmarking and a decrease in enrollment projections.

The school division will also experience the loss of Federal stimulus funds (JOBS) in the amount of $247,000 and an increase in VRS/group life/benefits rates totaling $485,000 and an increase in health insurance participation by $64,050.

Proposed Cuts

To begin, eliminations and cuts proposed by Dr. Griffin include ActEarth, a program that was implemented this year.

“We want to be able to save this money up front,” she noted to the Board about the new program. “That's $51,395.”

The second is the benefits from not filling/replacing the supervisor of custodians position this year.

“We lost that person and we did not fill it,” she said. “As you can see the salary went into ActEarth and we would save that amount.”

Proposed to be included in the eliminations is also a bus purchase for next year.

“We would take that out as well,” she offered.

The bus purchase would amount to $94,648.79.

The transition specialist position was paid for through the JOBS funds (stimulus).

“He has been great about taking them out and trying to find them internships and hooking them up with employers. However, it was a position that was federally funded and now those funds are gone,” she said.

According to Jones, the budget does include the salaries of those other positions that are currently being funded with JOBS money.

Those salaries include the salaries of one elementary school teacher, two elementary school paraprofessionals, and portions of an elementary school paraprofessional, high school special education teacher, a bus driver, and the supervisor of special education.

The next position targeted by Dr. Griffin is the secondary librarian but it is also a standard of quality (SOQ) position.

“This is a SOQ position and I have called the state department and I have been talking with them and the assistant superintendent of finance is suppose to call me back…about if there is anyway they can help me with that because it calls for three. Now, if you look at our library set-up, my recommendation would be that I'd rather have a teacher in a classroom… One of the librarians is planning to leave at the end of the year and one of my recommendations is, since she's not coming back, is not to replace it but I do want to be up front because it is a SOQ position.”

School Board member Dr. Christine Ross voiced, “The SOQs are the bare minimum…and my concern is once we start playing with that…I think once you do that you are going down a very slippery slope. If the SOQ is a bare minimum, I understand why you are suggesting it but, however, it's probably a very slippery road to follow.”

Dr. Griffin added, “When I look at the situation of our complex here-of this library and at the High School with the satellite library-because if we don't do that we're probably having to look at cutting an elementary school teacher.”

Cortez history and math lab programs are also on the chopping block in Dr. Griffin's proposal.

This would be a cost-savings of approximately $239,155.

“That would be a big curriculum hit for us and there are five lab assistants that are employed by Cortez that would lose their jobs,” she offered to the Board. “That's what we are looking at there.”

Related to eliminating the Cortez history and math lab programs, Chair Ginger Sanderson asked if there would be any additional money reinstated in the budget due to textbooks?

Chip Jones, assistant superintendent of finance and operations, noted that a “big chunk of the textbook” money line item would have to go to the purchasing of new textbooks for math.

“There will be a big cost in textbooks,” added the Superintendent. “There is textbook money in there but we just have to be really strict next year when it comes to textbooks. That it is going to have to be geared toward math.”

Dr. Griffin's plan also includes reducing the senior project teacher stipend from $12,000 to $6,000 and either having one person coordinate for $6,000 or two teachers for $3,000.

“We're still looking at that option,” she said.

The next item discussed by Dr. Griffin was to eliminate one special education master teacher stipend.

“What's happened is that they have been able to work it out to where they really aren't teaching a class,” she said. “It's been a great benefit to make sure everything is coordinated but then they shouldn't get a stipend if they aren't doing any teaching in my opinion…We have a special education teacher that's leaving …but we don't know how that's going to work yet because you'll see a big decrease in special education funding because our numbers went down.”

The New Beginnings elective teacher was also recommended as a position to cut.

“I do still believe we can do New Beginnings curriculum during PRIDE time instead of having a teacher…,” she said.

The budget numbers proposed by Dr. Griffin on Monday evening during the work session also did not include salary step increases for eligible employees.

Steps at the division have been frozen for next year.

Dr. Griffin went on to explain how the salary scales have been adjusted due to concerns received related to hiring new employees when steps are frozen.

“It is a valid concern,” she noted. “If we hadn't adjusted the scale, they (a new hire) may be receiving a step increase rather than someone who has been here while it was frozen… That can happen sometimes when you freeze salaries. The new people come in and start where their experience is while the people who are employed are frozen so what we've done to fix that is this salary scale has been adjusted.”

Instead of Cumberland's salary scale starting with zero to three years and moving forward in that manner-it now is adjusted to zero to four years, which means it really is five year steps because you count zero, noted Jones.

A new teacher probation time period is also five years.

“This right here is the proposed change unless we find money to fund the steps,” added Dr. Griffin.

The actual salaries didn't change for the different positions in the division just the years or steps, according to the discussion.

Middle School Addition

During the work session, Dr. Griffin originally proposed an addition to the budget that would include the recommendation that the Board consider modifying the 12-month teacher position with administrative duties at the Middle School to an assistant principal position due to the reconfiguration of grade levels at the Middle School resulting in moving the fifth grade up to the complex next year.

“This would have been a position that would have been advertised and open for anyone qualified to apply,” provided Dr. Griffin to The Herald on Wednesday. “I originally proposed this change due to the fifth grade moving to CMS and the fact that before finding out that we would not be able to give step increases next year, it was going to save us money. Without the ability to give step increases, this position now will cost us. However, moving fifth grade was going to save us approximately the same amount. Due to the pending cuts more may be coming, I will not be recommending this change in my proposed budget at the February Board meeting.”

Jones told the School Board on Monday evening that the projected enrollment next year at the Middle School is about 421 students.

Two Worst Case Scenarios

“We've investigated some things that are pretty severe and that I don't care for at all,” noted Dr. Griffin about two scenarios that were played out by the administration in case questions were to arise during budget discussions and would need answering. “I don't like each option.”

The first one would be the examination of the four-day school week.

“All you save there is the people who work transportation and food service,” offered Dr. Griffin, “and custodians. When we looked at it, it would be a 144 school day year and we'd have to go 42 minutes longer and we'd have the bare minimum time in and I don't think with our students it's the answer.”

This scenario would save the school division approximately $239,000.

“That's not saving a big enough chunk to me,” added Dr. Griffin. “But we did look at it because a lot of people come up and say what about this some people also say, “Why don't you just cut athletics?'”

Dr. Griffin noted that the 'no athletics' scenario was also investigated and that it wouldn't be that big of an impact because it would decrease student enrollment.

The cost-savings would be approximately $145,000.

“That is all Cumberland has…,” said School Board member Eurika Tyree.

“Don't get me wrong, I'm not recommending those two things. I'm just updating the Board on what those costs are and I would never want to go there,” suggested Dr. Griffin.

Original Principal Budgets

At the beginning of the process, each school's principal submitted their own budget requests to Dr. Griffin.

During the work session, the Superintendent asked each school principal to tell the School Board what their original budget requests were for the upcoming budget cycle.

Middle School Principal Mark Mabey started off and noted that he had asked for the 12-month teacher with administrative duties at the school to be transitioned into an assistant principal position since the Middle School would include the fifth grade in the upcoming school year.

He also had asked for more elective courses that “were mostly tied to CTE classes so we could get more starting points for completers.”

“I asked for a full-time Spanish teacher and I asked for an additional English teacher so I would have two per grade level. I feel that makes the best scenario for teaching.”

The Middle School guidance counselor is retiring and Mabey said he had asked that the counselor position be divided into a counselor position plus a secretary to replace the current guidance counselor.

At the High School, Principal Jeff Dingeldein had asked for funding for an additional health and physical education teacher, funding for an additional foreign language teacher, and funding for an additional teacher position.

Dr. Griffin noted that, as far as athletics at the High School, a full time athletic director position was also requested.

“Mr. (Matthew) Pearman had recommended that I propose adding a certified athletic trainer to the budget as well as one stipend per season at $2,000 in three positions each for strength and conditioning,” continued Dingeldein to the Board. “A stipend for $2,000 for the position of assistant cheer coach for the fall, a stipend for $2,000 for the position of an assistant golf coach. A stipend for $2,000 for the position of assistant for middle school track and field, a stipend of $2,000 for the position of middle school cross country coach and a stipend of $250 for the middle school basketball clock operator… As well as bonuses for coaches but that would have been a little bit different in how it would be funded.”

Jones spoke up and added, “The bonus for the coaches was if a coach won a District Championship… There was an incentive program put in and so forth to pay the coach for winning.”

Dingeldein later noted, “The athletic director was looking for a minimum stipend increase for his position from $9,600 to $12,300.”

At the Elementary School, Principal Jeff Scales described to the School Board that his original plan was just to maintain what was currently in place.

“I was just trying to maintain what I currently have in place for the staff,” he said. “Right now, at this point, I didn't need anything additional… But, staffing wise, I'd like to maintain what I currently have.”

Sanderson noted, “I was just curious to see how far they got paired.”

“A great deal,” offered Jones.

“Every bit,” added Dr. Griffin reflecting on the deficit.

Local Funding

The school division's administration is requesting the County's Board of Supervisors provide the school's operating budget with level funding ($3,487,418.81) but with one addition:

That the County takes over the shortfall needed to close the deficit created by the increase in VRS/group life/benefits increase in the amount of $485,000, according to Dr. Griffin. This would increase the total being requested by the School Board from the County to $3,972,418.81.

“My recommendation is to ask for that increase,” said Dr. Griffin. “We'll see how that goes.”

The School Board will meet with the County's Board of Supervisors on February 16 in the Middle School Media Center at 7 p.m. to discuss the school division's 2012-2013 budget.

The work session was not open for public input; however Dr. Griffin noted that she is open to hearing any suggestions from the public concerning the budget. Also, there will be time for public comments at the February and March School Board meetings and during the public hearing on the budget scheduled for February 27.