After closely studying the extensive public feedback received on proposed cuts to the 2010-11 budget, Superintendent Ken Arndt has modified his proposal.  The School Board will vote on his modified proposal this Monday (Feb. 22) at 7:30 p.m.

The cuts are necessary to help keep the District 300 budget balanced despite the state's failed payments this year and the state's bleak fiscal future. 

Dr. Arndt said he greatly appreciated the hundreds of calls, emails and Board meeting comments that he and the Board members have received for their consideration over the past six weeks from parents, staff and general community members.  Based on this public input, the modifications to his original recommendations are:

• Technology - Continue to support D300's technology goals by growing the technology program and infrastructure as planned in 2010-11. The demands on D300's technology infrastructure continue to grow, as does the community's appetite for electronic resources. We are gradually migrating to more web-based communications and student lessons.
• Long-term subs - Instead of reducing the pay rate for long-term substitute teachers to $108/day, the rate will be reduced to $150/day - which is more consistent with surrounding school districts. (The current rate is $218 a day in D300.)
• Counselors - Do not cut any counseling positions.
• Cuts to Pupil Personnel Services - Instead of cutting 3 counselors and 3 special education support staff (6 positions total) as proposed, all of whom are managed under the Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) Department, PPS will restructure the distribution of elementary social workers and elementary psychologists. This will result in the elimination of 4.6 positions total, all at the elementary level.
• Custodians - Cut 5 building custodians instead of 11 as originally proposed. Do not cut any substitute custodians as originally proposed. These modifications are made possible partly by cutting a building manager position and a mail delivery position. Sanitation standards will not be compromised.
• EAP - Do not cut the Employee Assistance Program, which provides mental health and counseling services for staff members in crisis.
• Administrator salaries - The higher the salary, the more furlough days a year-round employee will be made to take. The change was made to ensure that administrators carry more of the financial burden than support staff. Dr. Arndt's updated proposal calls for administrators to take a pay cut of 3 to 5 percent. Administrators will have to take 9-12 unpaid furlough days, with higher paid administrators taking the most days of all. The proposal still stands that all other year-round employees (which does not include teachers) would take 5-7 furlough days, resulting in a pay cut up to 2 percent for these staff. In summary, administrators make up 24 percent of the employees facing furloughs, while administrators would generate nearly 40 percent of the actual savings. The cost savings of this revised proposal would be about the same as the original proposal, at roughly $815,000.
• High school electives - Do not target high school art, advanced languages, or CTE (Career & Technical Education) for reductions. Instead, base the high school staff cuts (about 4 positions, in total across the entire District) on the level of student interest in elective courses. Those elective courses that receive the very fewest students signing up for them this spring would become subject to reductions.
• Clarification on food expenses - Dr. Arndt continues to recommend that the food budget be cut by 75 percent. But he clarified his proposal to state that the remaining 25 percent (roughly $14,000) will only be spent on students and the School Board - not staff, volunteers, community events, or other adults.

The rest of Dr. Arndt's original recommendations stay in place.  To review the original recommendations, please visit www.d300.org and click on the "B" (for Budget) icon on the right.  The Budget webpage includes the Jan. 11, 2010, news release outlining the original proposal. 

It should also be noted that the Board and Dr. Arndt continue to diligently negotiate additional cost savings measures, including benefits, in a positive collaboration with the employee groups.

Therefore, the School Board will vote Feb. 22 on $5.3 million in cuts.  On April 26, the Board will vote on an additional $1.2 million in transportation-related cuts, for a grand total of about $6.5 million.  Administration will present the proposed transportation cuts in detail to the School Board and the general public during the March 8 Board meeting.  The Board will wait to vote on the transportation cuts until the April 26 Board meeting, in order to provide several weeks for public input.  If approved by the Board, the changes would go into effect this summer (August 2010).

On March 8, Administration will present to the Board about $1.2 million in proposed cuts to transportation services which Dr. Arndt is recommending to be implemented this summer (August 2010).   These cuts would eliminate some services that are not required by the state, such as preschool busing (except for special education students), Dual Language busing, and busing for our Elgin Community College partnership.   The plan also seeks a more cost-efficient but equally safe means of supervising the bus loading areas, which must be negotiated with the respective employee groups.  Additionally, we propose to continue providing busing to parochial students for the 2010-11 school year but to end the mid-day special parochial shuttles. 

The savings of these transportation cuts would be as follows:

• Preschool (special education students still bused): $671,000
• Dual Language: $157,000
• ECC: $118,000
• Bus supervision: $230,000 estimated
• Parochial: $34,000

Families who live within 1.5 miles of a school need to be aware that this June (2010), D300 will study all bus routes within 1.5 miles of a school that are currently deemed to have "serious safety hazards."  This comprehensive audit is necessary because of the numerous residential developments and improvements that have been made over the past several years.  Transportation staff will determine whether the hazards are still in place, according to state law.  If there have been safety improvements such as the installation of sidewalks, D300 may discontinue bus service to those areas.  Affected parents would be notified of the change by mail this June (2010) and the change would go into effect in August 2010.

Some state leaders have proposed cutting education funding by 50 percent next year.  There is a growing movement in Springfield to cope with the state's massive revenue/budget issues by drastically cutting funding for education - rather than finding a viable, fair, and long-term solution.  If this occurs, we estimate we will have to cut an additional $18 million from the D300 budget for 2011-12, which is double what we have cut in 2009-10 ($3 million) and 2010-11 (over $6 million) combined.

The District continues to urge D300 staff and community members to follow up with their state legislators and candidates for state office as often as needed, until a realistic solution is forged in Springfield and the political stalemate finally ends.  Go to the Budget webpage at www.d300.org for legislator contacts and maps.