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Overcast Baldwin school board expects to save late buses, class sizes in next year's budget
New plan hinges on shuffling teaching positions, leaving some vacancies
Though raising elementary school class sizes and eliminating late high school buses seemed likely at the March 16 budget workshop session, the Baldwin school board announced that, due to some last-minute amendments to the district's proposed spending plan, it would not be taking either action.
Instead, district officials said they would trim $1.5 million from next year's budget by not filling some vacant district positions and by eliminating elementary class sections that have seen lower enrollment in recent years. Superintendent Dr. James Mapes added that some high school elective classes have not been filling recently, and that some shuffling of teachers could take place there as well.
After releasing this new information to the public at a March 24 budget workshop session, the board voted to postpone adoption of the proposed budget until April 14.
Mapes said that the district plans to shift some teachers to areas where instruction is needed, but he does not foresee any problems arising from not filling the vacant positions in 2010-11. At the April 14 board meeting, he said, he will present specific details of the savings expected from cutting elementary school sections and leaving the vacancies unfilled. He said that the savings would be about the same as if the district were to increase class sizes and cut buses. According to Mapes, the board has requested a budget-to-budget increase of less than 3 percent, which he said was workable.
"It gives me a lot of room to work," he said.
At the March 16 session, board trustees proposed increasing elementary class sizes and cutting late high school buses to cut costs without compromising students' quality of education. This was done in part to offset an anticipated $1.5 million decline in Baldwin's state aid next year, according to the governor's executive budget proposal. This is the first time in nearly a decade that the district's state aid will decrease.
Trustees have said they do not want to put any additional burden on Baldwin taxpayers, who already foot nearly 72 percent of the district budget.
