Deficits to force cuts at Parkway

ROCKFORD - Parkway administrators want to cut eight staff positions to balance the school district's budget, treasurer Debbie Pierce said on Thursday.

According to the five-year forecast Pierce presented in May, district expenses will exceed revenue by $240,000 in the next year, unless changes are made.

"This is why we are making these cuts," Pierce said.

School board members have eliminated four positions through attrition this school year. Pierce said the district will have two guidance counselors next year instead of three. A physical education teacher resigned after accepting a position in Coldwater. Two special education teachers have also resigned. Officials don't plan to fill those positions.

During the June school board meeting, members will consider eliminating four more positions.

"Various positions have been created over the years that are no longer needed," superintendent Jeanne Osterfeld said.

Possible cuts include a high school language arts and social studies position, a middle school math position, an elementary position and a media specialist position, Osterfeld said.

A new three-year teachers' contract begins next year and includes modest cost-of-living raises, Pierce noted. Administrators have been working with union officials to reach an agreement on the planned cuts.

"Cutting jobs is never our first option, but if we can reduce staff without affecting education, that is the right thing to do," Osterfeld added.
When making these decisions, officials factored in student enrollment, class sizes, qualifications for positions and whether other personnel could fill the positions, she said.
"The community has entrusted us with taxpayer money, and it is important that we do everything that we can to be fiscally responsible in all our decisions. Planned reductions will not affect student education," Osterfeld said.

Pierce said the district had 77 teachers this past school year. The reductions would cause the student-teacher ratio to increase by one student to 14-to-1, she noted.    "So, that is a slight difference but still significantly less than the state maximum of 25 students per teacher and the state average of 17 students per teacher," Pierce said.

The school's fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2017, showed expenses exceeding revenue by $143,711, according to district information. This fiscal year, Pierce expects the deficit to rise to $400,000.    Officials had anticipated deficit spending, but not to this extent. Revenue was down this year with reduced tax collections due to the change in Current Agricultural Use Value formulations and reduced state funding, Pierce said.

Expenditures rose 2.5 percent, Pierce said. She said this was due to the cost of bus repair, new basketball bleachers and higher health insurance costs.   

Another looming expense is the replacement of football stadium bleachers.

"We are to the point where it is no longer cost effective to repair them. The bleachers need to be replaced within the next couple of years for safety reasons," maintenance supervisor Mike Jones said.