Last month Charles Tait, Lebanon schools business manager and assistant superintendent, warned that people were going to lose their jobs because of budget cuts from the state.
And Tuesday night, he explained just how many.
“There’s no way of increasing revenue, so we have to look at how to reduce expenditures,” he said to a crowd of about 30 at Lebanon Middle School. “The bottom line is, it does affect personnel. There’s no way around it.”
Last December, Tait walked into Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor’s office and gave him good news — the corporation was in good financial shape, he said, and wouldn’t have to make any changes. But in January, that good news was crushed when the state announced they were cutting Lebanon’s general fund by 4.56 percent — more than $81,000 a month, or nearly $1 million per year.
The cut has caused the administration, staff, community and board members to think of every possible way to reduce the corporation’s expenses. And after “examining every budget line,” Tait said, he presented to the school board and community the proposed strategy to face the revenue reduction.
“We put this together with one lens focused on teaching and learning,” Taylor said, “to negate disruptions and distractions from the core classroom.”
Tait explained the four areas of consideration: reducing expenses not related to personnel, reducing expenses related to personnel, use of cash balance and transfer of available funds.
In a time where many corporations entered the school year with no cash balance — or were even in the red — Tait said Lebanon is blessed to have a $2.8 million cash balance as of the first of the year. Those dollars will help absorb the sudden loss. He predicts they will use $800,000 this year, $400,000 in 2011, and $500,000 in 2012.
“After three years, that reduces it to $1.1 million,” he said. “And that’s kind of reaching a dangerous territory.”
Tait hopes to be able to transfer dollars between different school funds to help cushion the blow — since staff salaries and benefits are paid out of the general fund, and the corporation is not allowed to mingle dollars between funds now. Legislators are trying to decide if they will allow that change in the future.
“I don’t have that last piece of the puzzle to work with yet,” he said.
FOR THE COMPLETE LIST OF PROPOSED CUTS, SEE THURSDAY'S LEBANON REPORTER.
The reduction in expenses not related to personnel may be large, Tait said, but he thinks it can be made without having a negative effect on the classroom. It will involve conservation wherever possible, like turning lights off, shutting down computers at night and not ordering unnecessary things like new posters.
“It’s attainable with everyone’s assistance,” he said.
Additional programs like the J. Everett Light career center and summer school will be kept, Tait said, but there will be a reduction there too.
The mood became even more somber as personnel cuts were discussed. The proposal included cutting one teacher from each of the art, music and physical education programs at the elementary schools.
“You’ve heard the same horror stories I have,” Tait said. “In a lot of corporations, those programs are gone.”
But even with a reduced staff, the programs will remain at Lebanon. No sports teams will be eliminated either, Tait said, though several will lose assistant coaches.
“We feel the extra curriculars have to be a part of these reductions,” he said. “Last year, there were no reductions in extra curriculars.”
When Lisa Erwin, head coach of girls tennis at the high school, voiced a concern about the reduction of her staff, Board President Alan Cragun had one suggestion: volunteers.
“It’s obvious to me to ask for parent volunteers to step up once again. Just say, ‘Help me,’” Cragun said. “That’s spreading the hurt, but none of this is easy.”
All of the administrators — totaling 17.5 FTEs (full-time equivalent) — voluntarily offered to take cuts in salary and benefits of 2.6 to 3.8 percent, after taking no increase in pay this year and without a decrease in contract days, Taylor said.
Those savings were in excess of $40,000.
And though some teaching positions will be eliminated, Tait said the maximum class size in all core academic classes will be 30 students.
“It’s still a lot; it’s an awful lot,” he admitted. “But there are a lot of corporations already approaching 40 (students to a class).”
But in the midst of all the tough decisions, Tait was pleased to share some of the positive things going on at Lebanon schools. Many corporations have eliminated summer school, he said, but last year, 30 percent of students took advantage of it at Lebanon. They have high ability services for all grade levels, English as a second language, AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination, which helps students prepare for rigorous college preparatory curriculum), many sports teams and great numbers of course offerings.
“You did not see any pay-to-play here, or any pay-to-ride-the-bus,” Tait said. “We’re blessed. Schools are closing down — one, two, three schools, shutting them down. And our corporation continues to improve; the recognition keeps coming and coming and coming. And duly so.”
And all the credit goes to the corporation’s teachers, staff and administrators, he said, who work hard and don’t worry about the hours.
“There’s a job to do, and we get it done,” he said. “This is not easy. A million dollars is a lot of money. But we can certainly be proud.”
Taylor said he plans to distribute 29 letters within a week, informing employees that they may not be called back next year. But Taylor said he expects a high percentage of them to be brought back.
Tait stressed his presentation was only a proposal, and that the corporation will continue to accept suggestions and recommendations until the April 20 school board meeting, where the board will vote on a final proposal. Administrators are still looking at many other options.
“It’s a tough time for us,” Taylor said. “We must acknowledge we are a business. We have the most precious commodity of any business in the world, but we’re still a business.”
Taylor also said he predicts they will be back within the next 12 months to discuss more reduction issues as a result of state funding.
“We must face the reality we’re faced with and move forward,” he said.
A broadcast of Tuesday’s meeting will be shown at 10 a.m. today and 2 p.m. Friday on Channel 19.
