Layoffs authorized to help ease $5.3 mil in Kyrene budget cuts

Chief Financial Officer Karin Smith and Kyrene Superintendent Dr. David Schauer explain budget crunch to members of district’s governing board at April 26 session. — Wrangler News photo by Mark Crudup

After four hours of detailed budget presentations, community comment and debate, the Kyrene School District Governing Board approved 40 lay-offs of teachers as part of a tentative budget plan that now waits a final decision in July.

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Audience members, the majority of whom were Kyrene teachers, attended the April 26 board meeting to express concern over budget reductions proposed for the 2011-12 school year.

The board’s approval was given under the stipulation that flexibility would be allowed in reissuing contracts to all staff members receiving reduction-in-force notices, if the final budget plan allows such an action.

The board gave its final OK for contracts to be issued for returning teachers and staff members who won’t be affected by the RIFs.

Last year, more than half of the teachers who received RIFs were reissued contracts to continue working in the district, said Nancy Dudenhoefer, community relations manager for the Kyrene district. Most of the concern over approving the reduction in force was aimed at having the ability to tweak contracts and furloughs after the budget plan is accepted.

“We are really relying on this flexibility assurance,” said Ross Robb, governing board member. “In approving this, we have a strong reliance on what we heard here tonight (from district financial administrators).”

The reduction in force was made in preparation for projected budget cuts totaling $5.3 million, said Karin Smith, chief financial and operations officer for the district. She told board members that timing was the force driving the need to decide who will work and who won’t in the coming year.

“These are people we love, and it’s very personal and emotional,” said Superintendent Dr. David Schauer.

Mark Knight, human resources director for the Kyrene district, said RIFs and contracts need to be issued early in order to provide the most transparency with teachers and staff members, giving them time to adjust to changes. Kyrene teachers attending the meeting cheered Knight for his statement.

The first three hours of the meeting focused on budget strategies to implement necessary cuts district-wide for the next school year.

“I believe we can still serve students adequately with this reduction,” said Schauer.

Proposed budget-reduction strategies include changes in class sizes and alteration of schedules in elementary schools for such subjects as art, music, PE and library services. Changes also have been proposed to school bus schedules that would coincide with changes in middle school start and end times.

More than a dozen teachers addressed the board and administrative staff on the proposed changes, most of whom felt students would suffer severe setbacks if the changes were to be adopted.

Some teachers expressed their concerns over cutting art and music programs to one day a week, as is proposed, with one parent insisting her child already is being shortchanged by the current class schedule, which is two days a week.

From the district’s standpoint, Schauer stressed his concern for keeping special programs that have made Kyrene into what many consider the highly valued district it is today, including the need to maintain adequate social-worker staff, within which cuts are also recommended.

Governing board members agreed to further analyze budget strategies, consisting of a list of approximately 100 reduction items, at a public study session scheduled 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 3 at district offices.

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