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Schools

Bayless Leaders Lay Out Financial Strategy

With taxy levy passed, incoming superintendent says next step is annual "right-sizing."

Although the passage of Proposition B has saved the Bayless School District from a worst-case scenario, further steps will need to be taken to shore up its finances in the face of declining enrollment and decreased state funding.

That was the message delivered from the district’s incoming superintendent Ron Tucker to the Bayless Board of Education at its meeting Tuesday night. He estimated that the approximately $1.2 million raised by the tax levy spared the schools “drastic cuts” that could have eliminated more than 30 positions.

The next step for the district is focusing on an annual strategy of what Tucker called “right-sizing” to ensure that the district is appropriately staffed and avoid the necessity of drastic cuts in the future.  

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“We are very happy with the passage of Prop B, but with it comes tremendous responsibility,” he said.

Striking a balance

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Tucker said he intends for right-sizing to be an annual process that will analyze what the district needs based on predicted enrollment data and other factors. One of the central goals will be to optimize student class size by cutting or adding positions based on changing student populations. With many district faculty certified to teach Kindergarten through 12th grade, Tucker said the district can be flexible.

As an example of the process, Tucker said 13 positions were eliminated this spring while four will be added. The cuts included teachers from fourth, fifth and sixth grade; communication arts, business and math teachers from the high school; and support and administrative positions. The new hires will mainly be used to add new sections of kindergarten and first grade.

“Right-sizing at times may mean cutting sections if we don’t have the enrollment,” Tucker said. “However, it is also doing the opposite. We have identified that in our kindergarten and first grade classes the last two years the enrollment has increased.”

On a positive note, Tucker said the re-organization resulted in only three people losing their jobs as the majority of the cuts came from retirements and resignations, along with some current employees serving in a different capacity.  

No time for celebration

Despite the passage of Prop B, school board president Jeff Preisack warned that cuts may still be necessary depending on how the state legislation decides to adjust its funding formula.

“The amount of erosion in state funding may be about equal to what we see from the tax levy,” Preisack said.

In preparation, Tucker explained that the district had created several budget reductions committees to study ways the board can reduced its spending without compromising its core missions. Unlike right-sizing, it’s something Tucker hopes will not have to be an annual process.

In three presentations made to the board, the committees suggested more than $800,000 in cuts including further staffing reductions, fee adjustments and cost containment measures. Most of the measures will not need to be implemented thanks to the passage of Prop B, but Tucker said it provides a framework for the district as it prepares the 2013 budget. 

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