Manatee County Schools Budget Cuts - Sarasota Herald Tribune

By Kate Spinner
Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.

School Board members signed off on eliminating about 140 positions to save almost $9 million Tuesday, while also saying that more cuts are almost certain to come.

Tuesday´s move, which may lead to layoffs, includes cutting some guidance counselors, all of the elementary school media center specialists and a home school liaison who serves two of the poorest schools.

Some positions for high school behavior specialists who work with troubled students were also cut, and middle schools were put on a seven-period schedule, a move that will mean cutting 12 teaching positions.

The cuts at the district level largely involve positions in the transportation and maintenance departments, which do not directly work with students. But the positions of several administrators who provide extra support to schools in reading, math and the arts were also eliminated.

The board also eliminated the associate superintendent position that has been unfilled since current Superintendent Lori White vacated it last year. That position alone is expected to save the district $202,000.

Late last year, the district set a goal to cut its budget by $40 million, a 10 percent reduction. After chipping away at the budget little by little, School Board members and staff on Tuesday reached that goal.

But $40 million likely would still fall short of balancing next year´s school budget, White told board members Tuesday.

“Unfortunately this will not be the end of our conversation,” she said.

Another shortfall in state tax revenues is likely to force an additional $6 million in cuts to Sarasota County schools this year, White said.

She said the district can cover the cost with savings now, but must plan for the reduced revenue next year, likely bringing next year´s total budget reduction $46 million.

The budget cuts, resulting from decreased enrollment and slashed state funding, are the worst the county has seen in more than 20 years, said Al Weidner, deputy chief financial officer for the school district. They also come on the heels of cuts last year totaling about $32 million.

“The last time we had major reductions were in ´90 and ´91 and these are larger than those,” Weidner said.

One of the more difficult aspects of the reductions is the shifting financial picture.

The school district already endured a sudden $6 million drop in state funding in December, which the district covered by tapping into its remaining $28 million in savings. The district drew about $17 million from savings last year to meet its budget.

Those reductions would directly affect students, giving some a longer walk to school and less access to career counseling, school resource officers and math and reading specialists.

School Board members, who will give final approval to the budget cuts in July, expressed concern Tuesday that some of the district´s neediest students are going to suffer.

Proposals to eliminate five career counselors but keep athletic trainers “speaks volumes of who we´re serving as a district,” said board member Frank Kovach.

The decision, however, came down to protecting the school from liability should an athletic injury occur on school grounds, White said.

“We are getting so bare-bones it´s what is legal and what you would do to avoid a lawsuit and lose millions,” White said.

Parents from Bay Haven Elementary School expressed concern this week that the cuts will also hit media specialists, who help children in the library. Bay Haven´s media specialist, Jeanette Schwaed, was voted elementary school teacher of the year last year.

School officials have said it is too early to tell whether the cuts will lead to layoffs. The district typically gets a 10 percent turnover in its teaching force over the summer, however administrators do not know whether they can count on that because the economy is bad and employees have few other options.

Any layoffs would be based on seniority and availability of jobs in a teacher´s area of certification.

And while the cut positions are not all traditional classroom teaching jobs, many of the employees in those spots -- district positions, reading coaches and media specialists -- are certified teachers and members of the union who could bump less senior teachers.

The school district has already distributed its staff seniority list so teachers know their standing.

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