$1 Million cut from schools

April 16, 2008

The St. Johns County School District is facing a $10 million budget shortage for 2009 and says all district budgets will be reduced by 25 percent and all school budgets by 20 percent, making a $1 million reduction.

The first cuts planned? The School Board announced cuts on hiring and staff, transportation services, travel, energy consumption and textbooks. In addition, they may be able to save money by getting competitive bids on their property insurance, creating a mandatory four-day workweek over the summer, reducing transportation expenses and changing student’s schedules to a more cost efficient time.

Superintendent Dr. Joseph Joyner said this is the first time in 37 years that education spending has gone backwards. “It is particularly detrimental to districts such at St. Johns County that are continuing to grow. These cuts will affect the number of staff we can afford and the quality of services we can provide,” Joyner said.

Photo credit: Historic City Media news photographer Kerry McGuire

Written by Freddy · Filed Under Government

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3 Responses to “$1 Million cut from schools”

Freddy on April 17th, 2008 12:49 pm

Full text of School District media release:

In order to meet an anticipated budget shortfall of up to $10 million next year, the St. Johns County School District is cutting back on hiring and staffing, transportation services, travel, energy consumption, and textbooks and instructional materials. In addition, all district budgets will be reduced by 25 percent and all school budgets by 20 percent, resulting in a potential $1 million reduction.

The district has been preparing for this eventuality since the first budget cuts last October. In November the district mandated a hiring freeze on unfilled administrative and support positions and a 10 percent budget reduction across the board. The School Board members also cut their operational budget by 25 percent.

In February the School Board designated three insurance agents to seek competitive bids for the district’s property insurance, which is anticipated to save the district approximately $350,000. The district is also instituting a mandatory four-day workweek this summer as a cost-saving measure.

“This is the first time in 37 years that education spending has gone backwards,” said Superintendent Dr. Joseph Joyner. “And it is particularly detrimental to districts such as St. Johns County that are continuing to grow. These cuts will affect the number of staff we can afford and the quality of services we can provide. However, our School Board is committed to making the classroom a priority as we work through these unprecedented budget cuts.”

Reductions in transportation services will comprise a large share of the required budget cuts. Currently the St. Johns County School District is funded for only 60 percent of its transportation expenses. In addition, the district ranks as one of the three best in the state in efficiency indicators, and its transportation operating expenses are 30 percent below the state average.

The district hopes to reclaim $500,000 from its transportation budget by eliminating expenses in three different areas: out-of-zone busing, activity buses and operational assistance. This $800,000 reduction would be offset by $300,000 in bus routes needed to transport students to the three new schools opening in August.

In an effort to make school scheduling more cost efficient, the district plans to change the middle school schedule to maximize student contact time in both core and elective classes. With the new schedule to be instituted in August, middle schools would begin at 7:50 a.m., elementary schools at 8:30 a.m. and high schools at 9:15 a.m.

All schools would also observe early release on Wednesdays for the purpose of staff development, teacher planning and parent conferences. An advantage of having the same early release day for all grade levels is that it provides a consistent weekly schedule for families.

Although 85 percent of the school district budget is spent on salaries and benefits, the school district is committed to maintaining its current staff, if at all possible. Vacant positions are not being filled, and a hiring freeze remains in effect for administrative and support positions. The district has requested that teacher and support staff negotiations be delayed until fall.

Since the school district consistently ranks among the bottom five percent of the state in money spent on district level administration, not filling vacant positions requires current staff to take on additional responsibilities. The district continues to reduce the administrative payroll, and administrative staff will not receive any pay increases this year.

Another major area reviewed by the district for potential cost savings was energy consumption. The district hopes to recoup approximately $400,000 next year through an energy conservation plan offered through Energy Education, Inc. The company projects a savings of more than $18 million over the next ten years, primarily by designating an energy manager for the district and changing the behavior of employees.

The district is also cutting $500,000 from its textbook and instructional materials budget. Since the district has had success with its current elementary reading series, it has decided to continue with the same textbook series and delay the purchase of some textbooks. All reading materials will be updated with technology tools aligning with the new language arts standards.

Prior to instituting these budget cuts, the Superintendent visited schools throughout the county to meet with faculty and parent groups to share budget concerns. He also asked employees for their suggestions and received more than 300 responses recommending ways the district could save money. The district will continue to seek additional savings in other areas.

This initial action taken by the district to trim its budget is the first step in creating a balanced budget for the 2008-2009 school year. The school district is also in the process of planning for additional cuts expected for the 2009-2010 school year.
AuggieNewsHound on April 17th, 2008 2:19 pm

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Photo credit: Historic City Media news photographer Kerry McGuire
Mike on April 18th, 2008 5:44 am

Since the district has had success with its current elementary reading series, it has decided to continue with the same textbook series and delay the purchase of some textbooks. All reading materials will be updated with technology tools aligning with the new language arts standards.

School texbooks are a racket.

There is nothing that costs more or worth less than many of the textbooks we use in public and private schools today — at all levels.

With the advent of the Internet and new media communications, let the teachers distribute study guides and lessons on CD or DVD and encourage students to interact with each other through their keyboards and by oral presentations in class.

No more, “I left my book at home” or “The dog ate my paper”.