Current Poll
| State cuts school budgets |
 |
 |
 |
| News | |||
| Written by Aaron Cedeño | |||
| Wednesday, 02 December 2009 09:00 | |||
Since the 2009-2010 school year kicked off in August, school officials across the state have been looking toward Topeka with a wary eye, as the possibility of further cuts in state funding loomed on the horizon.  Last week, that possibility became a reality, as revenue shortfalls pressed Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson to announce a further cut of $259 million in spending at the state level. Going by the numbers, the impact will be most significantly felt by the Kansas Department of Transportation – which saw a $50 million reduction in their maintenance budget – and Kansas schools – where an additional $36 million will be cut for K-12 education during the current academic year. Like everyone else, Louisburg USD 416 was expecting a reduction in funding to some degree, though their estimates fell a little shy of the mark. District projections estimated the cuts in the area of $150 in base state aid per student, said Superintendent Sharon Zoellner, but the $36 million reduction places the per-student cut at $206. Zoellner began meeting with staff from each building in late October, early November to let them know what the district was expecting and to help brainstorm for potential cost-saving measures. “There’s a lot of pieces that we still don’t know, to help us make the decisions we need to make,” Zoellner said. “We’re looking at everything we can do to relieve pressure from the general fund.” The issue will be addressed in greater detail at the regular school board meeting Dec. 14, but Zoellner felt confident that much of the potential impact on this year’s operations and services could be diverted through various means. For example, Louisburg USD 416 typically pays its workman’s compensation insurance premiums a year in advance. By delaying that payment and putting it on next year’s budget, some of the pressure is alleviated for 2009-2010. The obvious problem with that, she said, is that it puts additional stress on the 2011 fiscal year. Another immediate solution would be to dip into the district’s reserve fund, which currently sits at $743,000 – though that presents its own complications. “Good fiscal management would have you keep some money in reserve for emergencies,” Zoellner said. “Once we use it, it’s gone. So if we choose to use it right away, it’s not available for the future.” Last year, in an effort to address a budget shortfall of nearly $170,000, the district chose to implement a “pay to ride” school bus program. In the program, families living within 2.5 miles of the school were charged a fee if they wished to maintain bus service. Such creative funding opportunities will need to be continually explored, Zoellner explained, and no area is off limits. As things stand right now, she added, unless the Kansas Legislature finds a way to mitigate this economic crisis for schools, the cuts are inevitably going to start hurting school programs. “I think what our public needs to understand is we’re going to have to explore every expenditure that we make,” Zoellner said. “And see if indeed it’s one that we can continue to make, given the budget cuts that we’re receiving.”
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email This
Hits: 426 Trackback(0)
Comments (0)
 Write comment
You must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
|
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
