Tecumseh School Board approves staff layoffs for 2010-2011 budget

By DEANE ERTSThe agenda for Monday night’s Tecumseh School Board meeting set the mood for the evening’s proceedings. As the last meeting of the fiscal year, action items were scheduled for the approval of the district’s 2010-2011 budget and, inevitably, on the jobs that might be sacrificed to balance the next budget.The jobs hanging in the balance included teachers, library assistants, instructional assistants, and secretaries.To no one’s surprise, the budget was approved and the layoff and termination of services for the employees was approved by the board members to help balance the cash-strapped district’s ledger.The votes on the budget and the layoffs had been the topics of discussion by finance subcommittees, a community action group, administrators, and board members throughout the budget development process in which a one-two punch from declining enrollment and decreased state and federal income for the schools had to be factored against what cuts could be made to produce a balanced budget as required in the end-of-the-fiscal-year bookkeeping of all schools and most businesses. School district business manager William Wright presented a review of the 2010-2011 general budget and the projected general fund budget for 2011-2012.For the fiscal year just ending, the district had revenue of $24,519,230 and expenditures of $24,477,668 with an ending fund equity of $2,183,242.Expected revenue for 2011-2012 is $21,874,754. With the loss of the aforementioned state and federal revenues, such as American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which is no longer available, and total expenditures of $22,810,860, the shortfall of $936,106 will come out of the fund equity mentioned above for a reduced fund equity this time next year of $1,247,136. Put simply, despite all of the cuts to programs and staff, the district will still need to dip into its rainy day fund, leaving it perilously low according to standard school district accounting protocol.The board members knew the numbers going into Monday night’s meeting and the teachers, library assistants, instructional assistants, and secretaries anticipated that the fiscal news would be bad, also, and would have a direct affect on their employment status.During the public comment portion of the meeting Tecumseh Acres Elementary School secretary Linda Compau addressed the board on behalf of her fellow secretaries in the district’s other schools, reading a compilation of their pleas for no lay-offs or terminations.“We appreciate the honesty and reasoning but don’t think you understand the impact that the budget will have,” she said. “We are the first person that students see when they walk in the building in the fall. Of the 15 secretaries, only three make more than $27,000, and I don’t know one secretary who puts in less than 40 hours per week. We even purchase supplies out of our own pocket.”She went on to point out that the money that the district had spent on a consultant recommending the cuts could pay the salaries of several secretaries.Teacher Jamie Shepherd told the board of her concern for the loss of instructional assistants. “Just like the secretaries, instructional assistants don’t get paid a lot but they do a wonderful job that is greatly appreciated by teachers,” she said.Other audience members spoke on behalf of library assistants and voiced similar concerns about the loss of their services.Board members, in turn, expressed the difficulty that accompanied their decision to cut the positions.“By the end of next year we could easily be in deficit,” Board President Ed Tritt told the audience. “An emergency manager could come in and we could all be out. Next month things could change. That’s what budget revisions are for.”When the individual items for cuts were put before the board for a vote, all lay-offs were approved unanimously.They included:• Five teaching positions, including two from the high school and one each from Patterson, Sutton, and Tecumseh Acres elementary schools. • Five library assistants, one each from the high school, middle school, and elementary schools• Six instructional assistants, who were laid-off based on lowest seniority. (Last year, the same assistants were laid-off and then called back before the school year started.)• One high school secretary from the main office. A part-time secretary in the guidance department left for a different position elsewhere, decreasing the clerical staff even more.The affected personnel have been notified of the board’s decision and notices have been sent.The district administrative ranks have felt the budgetary pressure, also. The board had considered splitting principal duties for the high school but resolved to reinstate Griff Mills as principal and Casey Randolph as athletic director.There will be one less elementary principal next year. Eddie Manuszak will now serve double duty as the principal for both Patterson, where he has held the position for a number of years, and at Herrick Park, replacing current principal, Robyn Francis. Francis has accepted a position as first grade teacher at Herrick Park.In closing remarks from the board, trustee Jim Rice, who was a teacher in the district for decades before retiring, underscored the difficulty the board had in making the lay-off decision.“Many of you have been friends of mine for a long time,” he said. “I want you to know that this board has worked extremely hard to minimize staff loss and we will continue to do the best we can.” In his report to the board, Superintendent Mike McAran brought up another aspect that the statewide school financial crunch has brought to the forefront: the competition between neighboring school districts for students through the School of Choice option by which students may opt to attend an adjacent school district instead of the one in which they reside, taking with them their per/pupil foundation allowance.McAran noted that a district contiguous to Tecumseh Public Schools recently began an advertising campaign that included print ads in local publications and TPS responded with a similar campaign. He said that buses will be dispatched to make it easier for School of Choice students from adjacent districts to attend Tecumseh Schools.