|
C-I schools face painful decisions on budget cuts
Staff Writer Crosby-Ironton School District voters have made their decision for no new taxes and now the school board will have to look at making cuts identified by school officials of between $800,000 to $1 million.
Crosby-Ironton voters were asked two questions in Tuesday's operating levy referendum: a $495 per pupil tax increase for 10 years and, if the first question passed, a $100 per pupil tax increase for 10 years.
The first question failed by a vote of 2,339 to 1,757 and the second question failed by 2,466 to 1,602.
"It is what it is," said board chairman Mike Domin. "We gave our community a choice, our constituents a choice. They made their choice and we'll move on from here and make decisions, and they'll be tough ones. That's the hand we're dealt."
Domin said nothing is set in stone as far as cuts but he wanted to let Crosby-Ironton students know the one guarantee he could offer is classes will be taught in the district next year. He also said he felt sorry for the students in Crosby and Brainerd, and hoped both communities and school boards will be creative when making decisions about the schools' futures.
The referendum's failure puts on the school board's table a number of possible changes in the school district, including a four-day school week, elimination of all extracurricular activities, outsourcing its support staff and eliminating several positions and programs.
"Now and in the next couple months that's job No. 1, to present the school board with those options in terms of how do we balance the budget," Superintendent Jamie Skjeveland said. "All of those things are out on the table and when the day is done it's really up to the school board now.
The community has spoken, we are a public school, our public has spoken and now it's up to the school board to balance the school district's budget in a fiscally responsible manner."
Skjeveland didn't wait Tuesday at the school district's offices in Crosby to see the referendum results come in because he was preparing to address district employees early Wednesday morning. In fact, Skjeveland said he had prepared a presentation as if the referendum had passed.
"It's a numbing feeling. People are just numb today, kind of in an unbelievable shock," Skjeveland said. "When you're in the business of kids, you want the best for the kids. You want them to have the best opportunities. No one goes into the education business saying they went into education to take away opportunities from kids. That's why that numbness was there."
Like the Brainerd School District, whose operating levy referendum also failed, Crosby will have a different identity in 2008. Still, the district's focus will not change, he said.
"We will have a school and we'll do the best we can with what we have for our students," he said.
The first operating levy question was expected to generate an additional $808,086 in increased revenues annually for the district over 10 years and be used to maintain existing academic and extracurricular activities for students, as well as adding all-day, everyday kindergarten.
The first question had to pass in order for the second question to be considered. The second question would have paid for preventative and current maintenance-related projects that would increase annually for inflation.
It was expected to generate about $163,250 annually in increased revenues for the district over 10 years. The money likely would have been used to replace air handling units at both schools.
Other maintenance and preventative maintenance costs that the levy would have been used for included updating the football stadium electrical infrastructure, including stadium light posts; resurfacing of the track; upgrading the aging school vans used to transport kids; parking lot pavement and crumbling curb and gutters and pillar tile repair at CRES.
If the cuts, as projected by school officials, result in hundreds of students leaving the district, then Cuyuna Range Elementary School would be closed and the district would have a single K-12 building.
High school social studies classes would increase to 50 students per class and would be taught lecture-style in the auditorium.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.
|
Overcast, 61°
