School District 55 has cut about a million dollars from its budget for next school year, but a change in rules governing the use of federal stimulus money will allow the district to bring back several teachers who have been laid off to work in different positions.
As a result, the district will provide more resources for elementary students who are struggling while losing regular staff and slightly increasing classroom sizes.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has provided $800,000 over the next two school years, $400,000 in Title I funds and $400,000 for special education programs. Each area receives $200,000 per year.
The district cut 11.45 full-time equivalent certified positions.
Among retirements, resignations and the creation of new positions using federal dollars two teachers have been laid off at this point. A third has had three-fourths of her hours reduced. Five teachers whose positions were cut have been recalled or transferred and at least one whose hours were reduced has had hours restored through reassignment.
Among the cuts are 2.5 PE positions, including the music and movement program at Oak Heights, across the district; a teacher at Hawthorne; a blended third- and fourth-grade teacher and a Title I-reading coach position at Foster; a second-grade teacher at Oak Heights; a CDS position shared between Oak Heights and Crawfordsville; a social studies position at Sweet Home Junior High; a resource room-special education position, .75 FTE in a CRISS-ELL position, a language arts teacher and .2 FTE swimming pool supervisor time at Sweet Home High School.
“Last week the rules changed dramatically,” Supt. Larry Horton said. “What we have been able to do is move some of the teachers into other slots because of the Title I money.”
For example, a teaching position was cut but a Title I position was added there, he said. One of the district’s regular teachers will take the position, working with individual students and assisting regular classroom teachers to develop programs to help low-achieving students.
With the federal money, the district has added 1.5 FTE Title I positions each at Foster and Oak Heights. Another .5 FTE was added with different federal funding to coach other teachers in reading, writing and math.
Title I programs are aimed at children who have difficulty but have not been identified with a disability, Horton said. Generally, the money is used at schools with higher levels of poverty, which is often correlated with poor academic performance but not always. Title I funds are usually provided to schools with high numbers of students on free and reduced lunches.
Special education programs are aimed at students who are identified with disabilities.
Adding Title I positions to the district is going to strengthen the district’s work with lower-achieving students, Horton said. Oak Heights hasn’t had Title I for years because its free and reduced lunch counts didn’t warrant Title I.
Kindergarten students at Oak Heights who need extra help will be able to attend full-day kindergarten two days a week, he said.
Projected decreases in revenues from the state are driving some cuts, while some cuts are tied to enrollment declines.
“We have reduced teachers where enrollment has declined,” Horton said. “Ratios should remain the same as they were a couple of years ago before the declines.”
Ratios will run about one teacher to 20 or 21 students in kindergarten through second grade and about one teacher per 25 or 26 students in the third through sixth grades, Horton said. “Some classes are going to be large.”
Some afternoon classes at Holley and Crawfordsville, most likely, and possibly other schools may get as large as 30, Horton said. This year classes run between 28 and 30 at Sweet Home Junior High. Next year, they may have 30 to 35.
At the high school, some classes will be larger, he said. The school is going from five English teachers to four.
“This budget crunch is causing some stress and negatives,” Horton said. “But it is going to have positives also.”
The budget changes won’t help the high school or junior high, Horton said. “The extra (elementary) assistance is much appreciated and will be put to good use. Low-achieving kids will receive extra help above and beyond what they had this year, which is a positive.”
The district’s elementary physical education program was extremely successful this year, Horton said, and he feels bad that it has been eliminated, especially with the academic success it provides.
Losing the music movement program at Oak Heights is going to hurt too, Horton said. Tegan Johnson, who taught that program, also coordinated a music mentor program using high school music students at Hawthorne. Horton is unsure if the district will be able to continue the program.
“Music and PE is something the board wanted to me to try to bring back to the schools,” Horton said. All of the gains made in the last year are in jeopardy.
The state released revenue projections for the next biennium, but how those will impact district funding was unknown, Horton said. The district’s budget was built on a statewide education funding level of $5.9 billion.
At $5.8 billion, Horton believes the district can get by without further reductions for next school year, he said. The statewide budget figure could be as low as $5.6 billion.
District administrators were planning to meet on Monday to plan for potential shortfalls at $5.6, $5.7 and $5.8 billion, Horton said. “We’ll have a plan in place that we can move before we have a final budget in June.
“I’m proud of my staff and the way they are responding to the uncertainties.”