HCCSC passes budget reduction plan

The Huntington County Community School Board passed a general fund budget reduction plan Monday evening after months of discussion. Shown from left are Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Chuck Grable, Superintendent Tracey Shafer, School Board President Kevin Patrick, Vice President Rick Brubaker and Board Member Tom King.

After months of deliberation, the Huntington County Community School Board passed a general fund budget reduction plan by a vote of 4-3 at the meeting Monday evening.

School Board President Kevin Patrick, Secretary Rex Baxter and Board Member Scott Hoffman all voted no, with Vice President Richard Brubaker and Board Members Tom King, Troy Smart and Dr. Jennifer Goff voting in favor of the plan.

Resulting from a $297 million slash in state funding for K-12 education, HCCSC determined in January it was necessary to cut $1.7 million from the 2010 general fund budget and $2 million from the general fund in 2011.

Although Superintendent Tracey Shafer initially said the corporation hoped to avoid employee reductions in the budget-cutting process, the approved reduction includes the removal of 1.5 administrative positions, a classified staff position and twenty teaching positions through both attrition and an active reduction in force.

Earlier in the meeting the School Board voted in favor of removing 12 teachers – 10 because of declining enrollment and two for financial reasons, Shafer said.

Other employee reductions include fewer contracted days for teachers and administrators and a removal of one workday with holiday pay for classified staff, an employee wage freeze, a 10 percent travel account reduction for administrators and an increased classified staff health insurance contribution of up to 5 percent.

School Board members also took cuts, accepting a 10 percent salary reduction, a 10 percent reduction in their travel accounts and $12 less per special meeting stipend.

The corporation also plans on saving about $1.3 million in 2010 and $700,000 in 2011 through methods of cost shifting, non-employee reductions and new revenue, including charging facility rental fees, selling excess property, 10 percent reductions to travel, supplies and contracted services and cutting back on energy usage.

“The only authority the Board has with teacher reduction is to make a reduction in force. That will (be) most of the teacher obligation,” Shafer said, explaining the Corporation made an effort to make proportionately equal cuts to administrators, teachers and classified workers. “Will there be other expenses out there that will go up? Will the state cut funding again? If that happens, we may need to cut a little deeper. I don’t care which employee area we’re talking about, we’re not overstaffed. There is a ton of work to do.”

Patrick said he voted against the budget cuts because he felt that the Board should continue to discuss and tweak the plan.

“I didn’t want to vote for this tonight without being able to talk about this at a later date,” he said.
Hoffman and Baxter, who have both been vocal in the past about what they believed to be poor compensation for classified workers, said they could not approve of the plan because it took scheduled raises away from classified staff.

“For several years we’ve been trying to give classified decent pay. I don’t even agree on the share of the reduction across the board,” Hoffman said. “We’ve worked way too long to bring them up to where they should be, so I don’t agree with the idea to share the reduction costs.”

Baxter said the Board has worked hard to get the classified salary schedule up to par.

“We’re not talking about a lot of money with their wage increases,” he said. “That money can be found elsewhere.”

Goff, who voted in favor of the plan, also expressed concern about removing a day of holiday pay for classified workers.

“Is there a way to do this without taking away as much from classified staff?” she asked Shafer. “I feel like that is going to hurt that group more than anybody else.”

Shafer said all employee wage freezes and other reductions in benefits were factored into the plan to keep from handing out more pink slips than absolutely necessary.

“Through a couple of different meetings, (employees) determined that was one of the least painful ways. They would rather everybody give a little bit than have to actively reduce persons,” Shafer said. “Administrators felt the same way. We need people to do the work. The fewer of us there are, the tougher the job, whether you are a janitor or a high school principal.”