At the Board meeting on Wednesday, the South Euclid-Lyndhurst School District continued to outline its Budget Recovery Plan. Board President, Stefanie Rhine, presented further details on the plan. The PowerPoint presentation from the Board Meeting is available below.
Last year, the South Euclid-Lyndhurst School District faced a $4.3 million reduction in state funding. The Governor’s budget included a $550,000 reduction in basic aid beginning in 2012. The district also saw its tangible personal property tax reimbursement cut in half in 2011 (a loss of $1.1 million) and will see it completely eliminated in 2012 (a $2.2 million loss).
The district responded last spring by reducing 26 teaching positions for the current school year, negotiating a two-year wage freeze with non-teaching support staff and district administrators, and reducing departmental and school building budgets. These steps saved the school district about $2.6 million this school year and beyond.
This 20 percent reduction in state funding, in addition to declining tax collections and the current economic climate, has contributed to a $1.3 million deficit facing the SE-L School District in the 2012-2013 school year. This deficit will increase to about $10.5 million in 2013-2014 and $22 million for 2014-2015. This situation has led the Board of Education to approve $2.3 million in reductions for the 2012-2013 school year.
These reductions, in addition to the cost saving actions taken last spring, however, are not enough to overcome the looming deficit. The current financial situation will result in the Board of Education asking voters to approve an additional operating levy in November 2012. A millage size has not yet been determined.
The $2.3 million in cuts includes reducing teaching, administrative, special education services and support staff. This will result in increased class sizes of 26:1, reduced intervention programming, staff reductions and curtailments in overtime, seasonal employees and student employees. In total, these reductions are expected to save the district about $2 million annually.
In addition, there will be cutbacks to supplies and materials budgets, contract services, equipment replacement, professional development and software programs, including Compass Learning and Study Island. The reduction plan also includes trimming extra-curricular activities and coaching positions. These reductions are expected to save the district another $218,000 each year.
Increases to student fees, building use fees and pay-to-participate fees for extra-curricular activities, as well as reallocating city-county funds, are expected to provide the district an additional $135,000 in revenue.
Voters last approved a 5.4-mill continuing operating levy in 2008, which was expected to last two years. A number of cost-saving initiatives, including staff reductions and wage freezes, along with the use of federal stimulus dollars and grant dollars, allowed the district to extend those levy dollars for an additional two years.
“Without the passage of a levy in November, the district will need to reduce approximately $5 million from the budget for school year 2013-2014,” said SE-L Treasurer Paul J. Pestello said.
“The reductions put in place this year – and the reductions that will be put in place next year – will have a serious and significant impact on our children, our school district and our community,” said SE-L Board of Education President Stefanie Rhine. “We understand times are difficult and we continue to explore every avenue for reducing our costs. We appreciate the support of the community in the past. We hope that they will recognize our efforts to balance our responsibility to be good stewards of their tax dollars while providing our students with the best educational program possible, and that they will support our students in November.”