Schools’ FY11 deficit decreases, but cuts still loom

The Canton Public Schools’ budget shortfall in fiscal year 2011 has decreased slightly from its worst-case forecast of $1.5 million and could be reduced even further, Superintendent Dr. John D’Auria announced last week; however, D’Auria said officials still face some “ugly choices,” including whether to bring back bus fees and raise athletic fees in the shadow of a successful Proposition 2 ½ override.

Speaking at Thursday’s School Committee meeting, D’Auria pegged the latest figure at $1.37 million after explaining that he got a “fairly good glimpse” of what the Board of Assessors’ revaluation of properties would be able to generate in additional revenue.

He added that the schools could also receive around $200,000 in state funds for extraordinary special education costs, and he did not rule out the possibility of receiving “additional support” from the town in light of encouraging talks with both the selectmen and the Finance Committee.

At the same time, D’Auria said there are “no guarantees,” and he made it clear that cuts will still be necessary even in a best-case scenario.

“If we get a few breaks, we might lose fewer teachers than the 18 that I saw in the worst-case scenario,” he wrote in a follow-up email, “but we probably will end up losing some staff and most of our cash capital (again); we will also lose valuable opportunities to advance our work with technology, the use of data, support for valuable professional development, etc.”

In reviewing his recommended cuts with committee members for a second time, D’Auria explained that he had prioritized them into levels in order of least to most painful, with many of the staff cuts reserved for the later levels. He also noted that the current deficit has two components: roughly $145,000 in reduced state aid and $1.229 million in additional out-of-district special education costs.

He said the first figure could be addressed with projected savings in energy and staffing costs — a recommendation that garnered unanimous support from the committee.

Not all members agreed with the superintendent’s proposal for fee hikes, however. Chairman Reuki Schutt said the increase in the athletic fee, although modest, was particularly concerning because of the potential for a “slippery slope” to develop. 

She also expressed doubt over the proposed bus fee of $180 — a dollar a day — for students in grades 7-12, while committee member Rob Barker suggested it be tempered with a high school parking fee, which represents a less essential form of school transportation.

Schutt initially proposed switching one of D’Auria’s “higher level” cuts — the elimination of a school bus — with the bus user fee, but D’Auria said that has several drawbacks as well, including making the middle and high school late buses even later.

“You have to keep on reminding yourself that none of this stuff is really a good idea,” he said.

Other recommendations discussed Thursday night included a reduction in supplies, the elimination of 2.4 positions between the middle and high schools, and the use of “attrition” money that is typically generated when veteran teachers retire.

D’Auria also proposed charging the Recreation Department a fee to use school gymnasiums, to which committee member Tim Brooks, a recreation commissioner, replied, “They’re in a crunch. We’re in a crunch. It’s time to work together.”

After the meeting, D’Auria acknowledged via email that there is a “perception issue that chases the school department,” namely that school officials “cry wolf” every year when it comes to the budget.

“What has been challenging for me is how to manage that perception and deal with a different issue — some have criticized the schools for not being sufficiently transparent with their budgeting,” he wrote. “Part of my thinking, in relationship to transparency, is to lay out all the scenarios as soon as possible so that there are no surprises.”

He said last year, for instance, they were worried that the deficit was going to be larger but were eventually “bailed out” by the federal stimulus package. Yet they still lost “hundreds of thousands of dollars in infrastructure — professional development, technology, and capital items.”

“Despite these significant losses, reductions, and lost opportunities to advance our work, because we didn’t dismiss classroom teachers and our class sizes did not increase, ‘nothing really happened.’ That is where the cry-wolf perception is born. What saddens me about it is the fact that people actually perceive that no damage has been incurred.”

“We are facing a $1.37 million deficit for next year and a $449,000 for this year,” he continued. “There is nothing imaginary about that, and I continue to lose sleep over the potential impact on the system if we lose that much, especially when we look ahead to next year.”

D’Auria added that school systems, because of Proposition 2 ½, are “structurally designed to almost always be in a financial hole” since many of their “essential ingredients,” including special education, increase at a rate far greater than 2.5 percent.

“How many times can a school share this with its community without it starting to sound like whining?” he wrote. “On the other hand, if schools don’t lay out the costs and potential implications of insufficient funding, citizens might think everything is fine.”

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Posted by Jay Turner on Mar 4 2010. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.