School board may cut three positions
Monday night at the board of education meeting, Superintendent Gordon Mohn recommended a reduction of three elementary school positions for the 2004-05 school. The positions currently held by Michelle Faul, Sunshine McEwen, and Michelle Goldsby will likely be cut due to budget constraints and low enrollment.
Mohn recommended the board postpone action on the cuts and hold a special board meeting April 26 to provide time for board members to consider the action and allow the public the chance to give input on the issue.
The delay in action by the board also will allow eligible teachers the opportunity to take advantage of a new early retirement package the board approved. Any reductions in staff due to retirement or resignation could eliminate the need for some contract non-renewals.
The reduction in force at the elementary school will result in increased class sizes for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classes. There also will be some shifting in teaching assignments at the elementary school.
Mohn told board members he hopes these cuts will prevent major cuts next year. The savings to the school district in salary and benefits for the proposed cuts of the three positions will be approximately $117,000.
"I want to send the message to the people we don't have back," said Mohn, "that this is a fiscal issue, not a people issue."
In his report to the board, Mohn said that two classrooms above the auditorium did not pass the state fire marshal's inspection. In order to bring the classrooms up to code, the district will need to create a secondary exit. Mohn's plan is to look into options for bringing the classrooms up to code and the cost effectiveness of the options.
In the meantime, in order to keep using the rooms, the school is required to keep a dedicated fire watcher on duty.
Even with declining enrollment and lack of funding, Mohn said he didn't want the school system to stop being innovative. He recommended the district send one teacher to the Intel 'Teach to the Future' program.
The teacher who completes the program would be a Master Teacher and able to train others. Intel offers the program at no cost, and only requires the teacher and district to commit to training 10 teachers within a year.
Mohn also asked the board to provide the Master Teacher and any future teachers trained with a wireless laptop computer and $2,000 budget to be used in integrating technology in the classroom.
"Training is integral," said Mohn. "Until the teachers are comfortable with laptops, it's just not effective to have them in the classroom."
Some of the funding for the training will come from the current year's budget. The board approved the motion, and the school will plan on sending one teacher to Intel's training offered April 28-30 and May 6-7.
