Superintendent

2009/10 Budget Projection

Budget Basic

USD290 Explanation

Alpha List

News from Mr. Katt's desk

As you know, the state is facing a major budget crisis. This means USD 290 is facing the same issues because of cuts in state funding for education. The purpose of this newsletter is to explain the challenges USD 290 faces and to inform you of some of the options that are being discussed.

Based on the current Base State Aid Per Pupil, (BSAPP) of $4012, the budget is short $422,865. To make up this shortfall, the district has cut budgets, eliminated some budget transfers, and will see savings on bus service. The remaining amount will be taken out of the contingency reserve fund.

Assuming the BSAPP stays the same next year at $4012, the projected shortfall will be $688,000. This includes the increased cost of business, such as insurance premiums, fuel, utilities, and other miscellaneous cost increases. If the BSAPP would drop next year to $3,726, which has been mentioned in Topeka, the shortfall could be as high as $1.6 million.

Decisions will have to be made by the end of March to meet the teachers' contract notification date of April 20. The school board has listened to many suggestions and cost cutting ideas. Regardless of what decisions are made, there will be a definite impact on student achievement and the culture of the school system.

The board is considering each option carefully. The board has, and will continue to keep primary grades a priority and support all day kindergarten and keeping the class sizes down in kindergarten and first grades, as long as the budget can support it. Other items that are being considered are calendar changes that would reduce the number of days in the year, which would result in a savings, pay to play policies, which would generate more revenue to support activities, reducing transfers to funds in the budget, and adding 1% to the Local Option Budget. The number of teacher retirements will play a major role in the final dollar amount that is cut by replacing a higher paid employee with a lower paid employee, but losing experienced staff will also have a negative impact on kids.

The following is general information that may help you understand some of the issues being discussed:

• The number of high school administrators has not increased for several years. It has actually been reduced by one from the 2001-2002 school year.
• The high school and middle school athletic budgets were reduced by $29,000 last year and an additional 20% this year. A total of 14 coaches and sponsors have been cut. The middle school cut its budget by reducing the coaching staff, and reduced the number of competition dates by 16. The budget will be reduced by an additional $10,000 next year.
• The salaries of custodial and maintenance staff has been reduced by $100,000 this year, because of fewer staff in the department. A savings of $75,000 is expected. Pur-o-Zone, an outside custodial supply and consultants company, recommends the number of custodians to be 32 to maintain a level of cleanliness of 3 in our facilities, on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being hospital grade clean. We currently have 22.5 custodians and are maintaining a level of cleanliness of 3. The buildings are evaluated by Pur-o-Zone to determine these numbers.
• The bus service duties were assigned to our current building and grounds department. No additional staff has been hired other than bus drivers.
• The number of positions in the board office were cut and duties were consolidated. State and Federal reporting requirements have dramatically increased the past couple of years. This requires additional hours for the current
  staff to complete.
• The Human Resource position was created to fill a huge district need. The district paid outside sources for many of the duties assigned to this position.
• The proposed pay cuts are a negotiated item with the teachers. The board cannot make these cuts without bargaining with the teachers. The dollar amounts listed on the Alpha list include everyone's salary from Superintendent on down.
• The district is on State School Improvement with Corrective Actions because of the Special Education subgroup. The district has requested the Special Education Department to have an in-depth review by the Kansas Learning Network. The results of this review and the previous KLN review will guide the school board in making changes.

Listed on the district's web site www.usd290.org are a couple of documents that may help you understand the district's budget. The first is Budget Basics, which explains how the school budget is determined. The second is an Explanation of Funds, Funding, and Expenditures. This document includes a history of Ending Cash Balances from 2005 to present and a list of Federal and Grant Dollars and examples of how the money is spent. For specific questions on the budget, please stop by the board office.

The district has made great strides over the past several years to raise expectations in all aspects of the school system. Test scores have risen dramatically and students are achieving at higher levels than they ever have because of many of the initiatives and technology that have been implemented across the district. Buildings are cleaner and are in better condition. A preventative maintenance system has been implemented that has increased the efficiency of this department. Maintaining these expectations is a priority. Through the budget cutting process, the board will ensure the district continues to run in an efficient manner and that high expectations continue to be a priority across the district. Some of the suggested cuts would put this in jeopardy, which would lead to higher cost of doing business in the future. Not reverting back to the old way of doing things is essential in the district's continued growth and improvement.

Suggestions of cutting positions that don't have direct contact with students sounds like an easy way to prioritize cuts; however, this kind of cut has an impact on student achievement as well as increasing long term cost in the district. All of the suggested options will be considered by the board. The final decision will be based on what is best for the school district and always keeping what is best for kids in mind.

Feel free to email your suggestion to kattd@usd290.org

Dean Katt

Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources
Brian Kraus has been the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources since July of 2008. He began his education career at Smith Center Jr/Sr High School where he taught English, Psychology, and Sociology. He then spent 19 years as a school counselor at Marion and Eudora. His administrative career began as the High School Principal at Colby for 2 years and then for 3 years as the principal at Santa Fe Trail High School. Brian has a bachelor's degree from Bethany College, a Master's degree in School Counseling from Kansas State University, building-level licensure from Washburn University, and a a Doctorate in Educational Administration from Kansas State University.