Members Present:

Richard Kowalski, President; Dawn Klida, Vice-President; Terrence O’Hare, Treasurer; Barbara Skowronski, Secretary; John Loop, Trustee; Patrick Shaffer, Trustee; Scott Sturm, Trustee

Members Absent:

None.

It was the consensus of Board members at this time to revisit three items that had been put on hold from the March 2, 2005, budget reduction meeting.  Those items included:  1) the high school secretary position, 2) special education aide positions, and 3) custodial positions.

expressions/communi-

cations from the public

Mr. Andress gave a review of updated budget information that had been received from Mr. Lenar. 

Discussion followed regarding the auditor’s opinion on the recommended balance for fund equity.  Mr. Andress agreed with the auditor’s recommendation of ten percent. Mr. Loop felt that the district should try to maintain where it currently is.  Mr. O’Hare said that the district’s fund equity had been lower than that over the years.  He preferred that the district get by with what it can and not follow the auditor’s recommendation.  Mr. Kowalski did not believe in keeping the fund equity at the recommendation of the auditor when the district was laying off people.

Mr. Loop stated that the updated budget information from Mr. Lenar says that the original $1.2 million reduction recommendation could not be reduced.  He felt that the Board could now make $1.0 million in reductions if that was Mr. Andress’s suggestion.  Mr. Andress confirmed this.

Mr. Sturm asked if the amount being recommended included the pay-to-play “additional revenue.”  Mr. Kowalski said that the issue regarding the $120,000 would be discussed at the next meeting.

Mr. O’Hare asked about the timing of Level 1 and 2 cuts.  Mr. Andress explained that most of the reductions would take place at the end of June 2005.  Mr. Balash asked if it would be possible to delay the custodial and utility portion until the end of August due to the bond work taking place this summer.

Mr. O’Hare suggested that, if Level 1 was done at the end of the year and Level 2 was in place, there may be a possibility that Level 2 would not need to be implemented.  Mr. Andress said that this could be done at any time up until the start of the next school year.  Mr. O’Hare said that he would rather do that and see if there was a chance the district would not have to go any further.  Mr. Andress said that it was a question of timing.  Mr. Kowalski stated that Mr. Andress had the latitude to implement the reductions at the appropriate time.

Mr. Andress said that it was necessary to inform the people being laid off to give them a chance to find another job.  Mr. O’Hare stated that if all of the cuts were made this evening and the state gave school districts extra funding, the Board would then need to agree to recall the laid off personnel if necessary.

Mrs. Klida asked if the budget update included the $612,540 retirement and health insurance rates.  Mr. Andress said they were and should come off of another sheet.  Mrs. Klida wanted to caution everybody as they looked at the projection for 2005/06 that the fund balance was in the red, and that was true for 2006/07 as well.  The district would now be looking at a bigger deficit.  She assumed that nobody sitting there that evening would think they were not going to do anything.  In fairness to employees, decisions needed to be made on a gradual level. She felt that the way this was presented was confusing (referring to the revised reductions sheet that had been distributed earlier).  She said the Board was really talking about $314,000.  She also agreed she did not want to build up the fund equity on the backs of the students.  She would also not support pay-to-lay on the backs of the students.

Mr. Shaffer asked if Mr. Andress was able to say that if the Board made cuts to the tune of $1.0 million this year, that would reduce the deficit in 2006/07 by that amount?  Mr. Andress said that the Board would be sitting here next year and cutting another $800,000.

discussion and recommendations for budget reductions

High School Secretary Position

Mr. Andress stated that he was not totally in agreement about how to divide the work for this position three ways.  He personally saw this issue attached to the Athletic Director position if that was acted upon.  He felt someone needed to be there to do the work.  If the Athletic Director position was cut then they needed to keep the secretarial position.  The athletic secretary could not back up the workload.

Mrs. Smith said that it was a package.  A decision could not be made unless there was a plan.  This could impact the workload of the athletic secretary, as well as the efficiency level.

Mr. O’Hare said that part of the reason the school has succeeded is due to Schools of Choice students.  These students come in for the athletics and arts programs.  He felt this would hurt revenue if the Athletic Director position was cut.  His personal opinion was that it wouldn’t work.

Mrs. Klida disagreed to some degree saying that the district is supposed to be providing an education and that sports were important, but it is not bringing students into the district.  She refused to believe that sports and arts were the sole things that bring Schools of Choice students to the district.

Mr. O’Hare said that you don’t want to cut off the revenue that is aiding the education of the district’s students.  He disagreed with Mrs. Klida saying that it was a way to generate revenue and that he was not downgrading academics.  Mr. Kowalski stated that a lot of money goes into the athletic program.  He believed that when people looked for housing, they also look at getting the best education for their children. 

Mr. Loop asked what Mr. Andress’s recommendation was to cut.  The Board had a goal of another $300,000 to cut.  He asked if Mr. Andress was recommending the reduction of one secretary at the high school.  Mr. Andress said that he was not recommending anything himself.  The Level 2 $990,000 reduction was recommended by the administrative team.  As a team they agreed that this is the best to do for the school district.  The list that was just provided to the Board members totaled $330,000.  Mr. Kowalski asked that this be revisited again.

Custodial Positions

Mr. Balash distributed copies of various plans and reduction ideas.  Among items suggested was adjusting work times.  Mr. Kowalski asked if the job would get done with the recommendations presented.  Mr. Balash reviewed the adjustments and the work and schedule that would be in place for various jobs.  Mr. Andress said that the principals discussed this and would be willing to look at the rooms being vacuumed every other day.  There would be restroom cleaning changes as well. 

Mrs. Hurley announced that elementary teachers had stated concerns over cleaning.  She said that grievances would be filed if other people did association jobs. 

Ms. Scherzer questioned the North/Central position and whether part of her wages and utilities for that building were being charged against the grant program.  Mrs. Klida asked why this couldn’t be paid for from the grant funds.  Mr. Andress said that another option would be to out-source that work.  The district had done it in the past at that building.

Mr. Loop asked Mr. Matuszewski, director of that building, to explain the grant funding.  Mr. Matuszewski informed Board members that he received $3,300 for every student in the at-risk program and that, currently, the program was not subsidizing the district for custodial work or utilities.  Mr. Lenar informed him that he is in line with his program. The “Y”, as part of the usage of the building, required and did pay for someone to service and clean the building.  When the district came on board, it took care of the custodial services.

Mr. Kowalski asked, if that building was empty, how much time would be needed to take care of it.  Mr. Balash said, if the building was not used, it would be shut down.  Ms. Scherzer said that her position was not an eight-hour job at Bangor North.  She was split between North, Central, and South.

A motion was made by Scott Sturm, supported by Patrick Shaffer, to eliminate two custodial positions.  Ayes:  Richard Kowalski, Terrence O’Hare, Barbara Skowronski, John Loop, Scott Sturm, Patrick Shaffer.  Nays:  Dawn Klida.  Motion carried.

Special Education Aides

Mr. Andress discussed the inclusion program and the need for aides to assist the general education teachers at that time because there were more students that had special needs.

Mr. Heinrich said that administrators, including him, had originally agreed to eliminate three special education aides.  Mr. Kowalski asked if the administrators had talked to teaching staff about this, what would happen with the staff, and if this is done, what will happen to deal with it.  Mr. Heinrich said that teachers would be asked to work with larger groups of students.  Teachers will be sharing a special education aide.  He did not want to talk about specific positions at this time. 

Mr.  Kowalski asked how this would affect AYP and NCLB.  Mr. Heinrich said that the district has provided good support for its teachers, but it was still well above what is mandated by special education laws.  They will decide which classroom could function best with less support.  The service would be spread thinner.

Mr. Loop asked if these positions were funded from the general fund.  Mr. Heinrich said that the general fund was reimbursed a portion of the money from the state.  Mr. Heinrich said the district may lose about 17% due to the reductions, so the actual savings may be a little less than shown. Mr. Loop asked if the offset would be $48,000 instead of $58,000.

Mrs. Klida asked if the impact had been discussed with the teachers.  Mr. Heinrich stated that a lot of meetings had taken place in all of the buildings.  This specific item had not been discussed with teachers.  Discussion took place about the impact this would have on AYP.  Mr. Heinrich said that as many as three cuts could be made in this area.  If two would be a better call, then that would be okay.  These positions were all at the elementary level.  Based on the students in the district, administrators felt that three could be cut.

Mrs. Klida then stated that 17% would also have to be taken off the first reduction as well.  Mr. Heinrich could not give a solid figure on the reimbursement, and said that this would be based on the total expenditures.

A motion was made by John Loop, supported by Scott Sturm, to eliminate two additional special education aide positions.  Ayes:  Dawn Klida, Terrence O’Hare, Barbara Skowronski, Scott Sturm, John Loop, Patrick Shaffer.  Nays:  Richard Kowalski.  Motion carried.

Librarian Position

Mr. Andress stated that this position did not directly affect instruction.  Mr. Kowalski asked how this would affect NCA if a position was eliminated.  He asked why the library aides were not considered instead of the librarian.  Mr. Andress stated that the aides delivered direct service to the students.  The librarian position was an over-seer position and did not work in the library each day.  Mr. Andress said that the district was still okay with NCA at the high school and elementary levels.  The middle school would not be in compliance due to other issues.

Mrs. Rybak, a district librarian, said that she was afraid that if this was cut now the position would be gone.  She was not sure about the NCA standing.  The whole district could not be serviced with one librarian and meet the needs of the people. 

Mr. Loop stated that none of the things they are doing was palatable, but the cuts still needed to be made.  Hopefully, they will be reversible.

Mr. Kowalski stated that some of these positions directly affected students and teachers.  He asked that consideration be given to reducing the Athletic Director position from full time.  Mr. Loop said that maybe this needed to be put on the list.  Mr. Kowalski said that cuts needed to be made to save money.  If they followed the list and, in fairness, cuts were made, they may not get to the Athletic Director position.

There was a suggestion that the Athletic Director position be moved to Level 2.  This was done with the consensus of the Board.

Mr.  Kowalski said that Mr. Andress had stated that if the Athletic Director position was put up and the high school secretary was kept and the last of the

reductions was taken out, the Board would be at a total of $1.17 million in reductions.

Mr. O’Hare asked that if the fund equity dropped, would the district be able to survive.  Mr. Shaffer stated that the district had over $3.0 million in fund equity when Jeanne Worthing was here.  Mr. Shaffer asked if any other funding would be lost if a librarian was cut.  Mr. Andress did not think that the district received any reimbursement for the librarians. 

Mr. Kowalski asked that the Family Services Coordinator and Athletic Director positions be discussed with the Board.  The Board will then come back  to make decisions to reach the $300,000 goal for this evening.  He asked that the librarian be left as it is now unless a motion was made to eliminate the position. It was the consensus of the Board to set the librarian position aside at this time.

Discussion Regarding Family Services Coordinator Positions

Mr.  Kowalski asked how these positions were funded.  Mr. Heinrich said that 31A money funded the at-risk aides which are four-hour positions.  That grant has remained fairly flat.  At this time, two-thirds of one position is being funded out of the general fund.  Mr. Kowalski asked how this cut would affect funding.  Mr. Heinrich stated that the district would still get the funding, but with constraints.  He believed that they could offset some general fund money that the district spends on Reading Recovery teachers.  The money needed to target at-risk, struggling students.

Mr. Loop asked what the direct impact would be on AYP and NCLB.  Mr. Heinrich felt that some impact would be felt.  Originally, the district had five Family Services Coordinators.  This was dropped to three, and then one was added at the middle school this year.  Carryover money was used for that. Mr. Kowalski asked if there was a compliance issue with this.  Mr. Shaffer asked if the remedy was to eliminate two positions and then spread the other two between the buildings equally.  Mr. Andress confirmed this.

Jennifer Reid stated that what Mr. Heinrich described as their job duties is fully encompassed by his statement. There are daily interactions with students, social emotional issues of students, etc.  She also felt that if these positions were cut, they would not see them coming back.

Mr.  Kowalski stated that the district, at one time, did not have these positions.  Mrs. Reid stated that issues are different today than in the past.  There are parents and teachers that would have no resources.  She was also concerned about splitting the time.  Mr. Loop agreed, especially in the elementary buildings that have no counselors.  Mr. Loop stated that the middle school had four people at this time.  He could see that building with one and the other three people pulling the slack.  He suggested reducing one position.  Mrs. Smith explained sharing of the Family Services Coordinators.

Mr. Matuszewski reiterated his concern for the need of the coordinators at the elementary buildings.  He said that Mrs. Moore had asked two weeks ago to look fairly across the Board, and that is why the administrators had discussed this.

Mr. Bishop stated that the administrative team had compiled the list with much discussion about what they thought would hurt the district the least regarding the reductions.  They discussed items they thought they could live without.  If the question was regarding whether they could take on extra responsibility here, the answer was “yes.”

Mrs. Klida suggested cutting this to one at this point.  There were other things that would not have a direct impact on students. 

Athletic Director Position

Mr. Kowalski asked what protocol would be put into place if this position would be eliminated.  Mr. Andress said that it is not going to be a total savings.  The work would be divided between the assistant principal and the secretary.  You could not ask someone to work sixteen hours per day every day.  The district would need to use faculty managers or game managers.  He could not answer how much that would cost, but certainly not the cost of an athletic director.  The other possibility would be to look at teaching staff who might be available three hours per day.  Obviously someone has to do the work.

Mr. Loop said that he had held the last split athletic director position.  At that time there was a full-time assistant athletic director.  He was the game manager, while Mr. Loop did all of the finances.  Mr. Loop had been paid head coach’s salary for each season.  There was not a full-time secretary at that time either.  There was a full-time front office secretary and no middle school sports.

Mr. Kowalski asked what Pinconning and Essexville had.  Mr. Loop said that they were in transition at this time due to cuts.  Mr. Ruhlig, Athletic Director, stated that Pinconning had not cut their athletic director, but had added duties to that position.  They did cut the assistant principal in both districts.  More money was given to the athletic director.

Mr. O’Hare said that he did not support this reduction.  The athletic program would suffer drastically, especially if the high school secretary was cut.

Mr. Ruhlig stated that a court case was involved due to the switch of seasons.  This added significantly to his duties.  Whoever that person is needed to have a significant amount of knowledge about this situation.  The Board has already cut $40,000 out of the athletic budget.  He stated that he has taken all of the responsibility for middle school sports and the transition had gone very well.  Something would have to give if you combine the assistant principal and athletic director positions.

Discussion had taken place about the cost, and it was not felt there would be a savings.  Mr. O’Hare said the district also had to factor in the students that would leave.  He said that he would have liked to see where each department could cut expenses by 10%, i.e., transportation.

Mr. Andress reviewed reductions in transportation that could include route changes and placing students in their home schools.  Mr. O’Hare stated that he supported the transportation personnel.  He felt they could tell the district where it could save some money.  Mr. Heinrich said there was the possibility to cut two runs.  Mr. O’Hare felt that transportation could be cut back a bit with the possibility of saving some of the other positions.

Mr. Loop said that the Board had been given a recommendation by the superintendent and administrative team who took time and dedication to put this list together.  He felt the list should be supported.  Mrs. Klida said that, over time, the district has reduced administrative staff by utilizing part-time personnel, i.e., the financial consultant.  She could not justify, in her mind, cutting the Family Services Coordinators, librarian, etc., without taking the Athletic Director position to the Board.  She did not know how to get the reductions done without directly impacting the students, i.e., Family Services Coordinators, teachers’ aides, librarians.  Every school district is faced with the same difficulty.  The district also has a very capable Athletic Secretary in place.  She also remarked that no administrators had been included in this round, except for this one position. 

At 8:00 p.m. a ten minute recess was taken.

The meeting reconvened at 8:10 p.m.

Laura Schwerin, high school attendance secretary, stated that she had informed Mr. Andress that the savings depicted for her position needed to be adjusted because she did not have Board-paid health benefits. 

Mr. Shaffer said that if the high school secretary’s position was eliminated, the savings noted would not be realized due to the bumping process.  The bumping of that person may not affect the savings the same way.  If someone were eliminated as the bumping goes through, the lower seniority people would fall out, and maybe even part-time people eventually.  He just tried to point out that the savings may still not be there.

Mr. Andress addressed the benefit issue by taking out twenty-two percent as suggested, which would make the savings approximately $28,100.

Mr. Sturm asked if the district could live with the cuts that have been made.  He said that there would be additional decisions to be discussed again next year with maybe twice as many cuts and twice as much money to reduce.  He said that the administrative teams and the people involved in these cuts have spent time on this.  He said that the Board should approve Level 2 cuts and revisit it at the end of the year.

High School Secretary – Action

Mr. O’Hare suggested that no action be taken on the high school secretary position.  It was the consensus of the Board that no action be taken.

Librarian Position – Action

A motion was made by John Loop, supported by Barbara Skowronski, to eliminate one position.  Ayes:  Richard Kowalski, Dawn Klida, Barbara Skowronski, John Loop, Scott Sturm, Patrick Shaffer.  Nays:  Terrence O’Hare.  Motion carried.

Family Services Coordinator – Action

A motion was made by Dawn Klida, supported by Barbara Skowronski, to eliminate one position.  Mr. Shaffer asked if this motion could be amended to ask that the position be eliminated at the middle school.  Mr. Kowalski said that this would be up to the staff to make the decision about which position would be eliminated.  Motion carried unanimously.

Athletic Director Position

Mr. O’Hare asked that no action be taken on this position.

A motion was then made by Mrs. Klida to reduce this position to part-time status.  Mr. Sturm asked that a plan be put into place regarding this suggestion.  Due to lack of support the motion failed.

Mr.  Loop said that this was now on the table and that a plan was needed.  A recommendation was made to get more information with a decision being made on Monday, March 21, 2005, based on the request to have a plan in place about how this would be done.  The plan should include two or three scenarios.  Mrs. Klida requested that this not be handed to them on Monday, but this be provided in Friday’s packet.  Mr. Shaffer also asked that this be done for the secretarial position that had been requested at an earlier meeting that had not been done. 

Mr. Shaffer asked, if the secretarial job was eliminated, how would the responsibilities be absorbed.  He asked for a best-case scenario.  He asked for scenarios about making the Athletic Director’s position half-time and how the responsibilities would be distributed.

Mr. O’Hare said that he had a problem with what is being said right now.  His feeling was to take no action at this time.  He felt this should be governed by majority rules.  He asked for no action. 

Mrs. Klida said that she was fine with waiting until a plan was presented. Mrs. KIida said that the Board had rehashed other issues more than once, but did not want to cross this off the list tonight.  She was okay with waiting for additional information.

Mr. Kowalski recommended that she make a motion to this effect. 

A motion was made by Dawn Klida, supported by Patrick Shaffer, to table this position until more information is provided on the Athletic Director position and what might happen with the resulting changes.  This information is to be provided in Friday’s packet.

Ayes:  Richard Kowalski, Dawn Klida, Barbara Skowronski, John Loop, Scott Sturm, Patrick Shaffer.  Nays:  Terrence O’Hare.  Motion carried.

A motion was then made by Patrick Shaffer, supported by Dawn Klida, to have a second plan presented to the Board regarding the secretarial position.  Ayes:  Richard Kowalski, Dawn Klida, Barbara Skowronski, Scott Sturm, John Loop, Patrick Shaffer.  Nays:  Terrence O’Hare.  Motion carried.

other items for discussion

Approval of February 28, 2005 (Executive Minutes)  A motion was made by Dawn Klida, supported by Patrick Shaffer to approve the executive minutes from February 28, 2005.  Motion carried unanimously.

adjournment

At 8:25 p.m. a motion was made by Terrence O’Hare, supported by Patrick Shaffer, to adjourn the meeting.