School Board Votes 3-2 for $227,000 in Cuts to Meet Pact on Raises

A divided Board of Education has approved another round of cuts in service and supplies to pay for raises negotiated in October.

By a 3-2 vote, the board last week approved cuts in, among other things, school maintenance, capital equipment and transportation for the high school band to out-of-town football games. The transportation expenses will be picked up by a high school booster club.

Money for Raises

The latest round of cuts came as the 3,500-student district faced the necessity of raising an additional $720,000 to pay for raises agreed to by the board after a 1-day teachers’ strike on Oct. 19. The cutbacks approved last Thursday amounted to about $227,000, said Supt. Lou Joseph.

The district’s budget, which funds three elementary schools, an intermediate school and a high school, is $11.6 million.

Under the new contract, teachers and non-classroom employees received an immediate 8% raise. They will receive an additional 2% raise next year.

Board members Margaret Ann Abdalla and Joan Sturkie voted against the cuts, claiming that Joseph had failed to consult sufficiently with the board in deciding what to cut. “I’ve said many times that the budget process was not acceptable at all,” said Abdalla, who declined further comment until she consults with county officials on the budget. Sturkie could not be reached.

“Some of the board members feel they as a board should make the cuts,” Joseph said. “But when you’re negotiating, you need quick answers. I take it more on a consensus basis. When I run something by the board and there’s not a great deal of resistance, I feel it’s OK to cut.”

Joseph said he and his staff have been involved in paring the budget since July. “Every time you go over the budget and refine it, you’re cutting different things,” he said.

The district has trimmed its public relations budget by $7,500 and transferred $55,000 from a capital projects reserve fund into operating funds. It also eliminated $20,000 set aside for teachers, administrators and board members to attend conferences.

Textbook Funds Cut

In previous rounds of cuts, the district eliminated a position for a high school developmental teacher and slashed funds budgeted for new textbooks by $10,000.

Additional cutbacks may be required for next year, Joseph said. The state has already allocated a cost-of-living increase of just $340,000 for school employees, he said, and it is uncertain how much new revenue will be available under Proposition 98.

That measure, which was approved by the voters in November, sets a minimum level of funding for all districts and ensures that excess state revenues go to the schools.