By Janie Southard
jsouthard@dailystandard.com Staff cuts have begun as Celina City Schools board of education chops at the necessary $776,000 in reductions announced in January.
At a Monday meeting, board members approved two resolutions, which enact provisions in the negotiated agreements with the district's two bargaining units to reduce the number of teachers and classified staff due to lack of funds, lack of work and abolishment of positions.
Owing to decreased enrollment and financial constraints, nine teaching positions will be eliminated throughout the system.
Effective Aug. 1, the following teaching contracts will be suspended: Manda Glaser, seventh-grade math; Christina Sutter, vocational business teacher; Jack Clouse, a retired/rehired teacher heading up the occupational work experience; Lori Murlin, physical education; Lindsay Simons, second grade; and Lori Davis, first grade.
The other three reductions involve retirements of two fourth-grade teachers, Carol Havill and Lana J. Lehman, and the resignation of middle school teacher Jayme Sudhoff. Of the classified staff, the high school custodian position presently filled by Robert Schwegman will be eliminated. Two cafeteria workers have notified the board of their upcoming retirements: Cinda Cook and Dorothy Hoyng.
"Primarily, these reductions are based on seniority and attrition. This is the first step in a process that was authorized in our negotiated agreement with CEA (the teachers' union), and it will probably not be complete until day one of next school year," Superintendent Fred Wiswell said following the meeting. "At the least, it will change many times as employees bump one another from jobs."
This process called bumping is a sort of musical-chairs job rotation. Displaced employees who have seniority and are qualified for a certain position may "bump" someone else from his/her job, putting that bumped person into the bumping line for another person's job and so on down the line.
These and other budget reductions will trim the $400,000-plus deficit projected for the end of fiscal year 2006 into a positive balance of $333,287. However, even with the cuts, the district faces another deficit of $1.1 million at the end of fiscal year 2007.
In other matters, the board:
´ Heard reports from Carol Davis on Head Start and Tim Buschur on Tri Star Career Compact.
´ Approved the auction date for the Tri Star house on June 23 at 7 p.m.
´ Heard Celina Mayor Sharon LaRue proclaim May 1-7 as Teacher Appreciation Week.
´ Learned Celebrate Education recognition is set for May 11 at 4:45 p.m.
´ Heard a report from teacher Bonnie Condry on the CEA Interaction Group.
´ Learned all bids for the new tennis courts exceeded the architects' estimate by more than 10 percent, and authorized another bid process. |
