Be prepared. Next year will be worse than this:
Duluth school district classroom sizes are again set to grow larger with teaching ranks expected to shrink next school year after a Tuesday School Board vote that tentatively approved about $4 million in cuts to its 2013 budget.
That could mean between 25 and 30 jobs, Superintendent Bill Gronseth said.
Reductions include:
Moving from seven class periods to six at Lincoln Park and Ordean East middle schools to save about $1.1 million, while maintaining the time spent at school
Increasing the student/teacher staffing ratio to save nearly $1 million
Cutting middle school music lesson teachers to save $180,000
Reducing special education service expenses to save $634,500
Eliminating courses to save $180,000
Realizing $126,000 in savings from the need for fewer intervention classes for at-risk students
A reduction in English as a second language staff for $45,000
Eliminating the teen parent program for $110,000, and a kindergarten program for $18,000
Limiting freshmen to six courses, with no zero-hour option, to save $90,000
Reduce administrative staff at schools to save $154,000
Cut out $82,000 from the technology budget
Maintain fewer buses to save $180,000 (school start times will remain the same)
Eliminate a business services position to save $64,200 (due to a retirement)
Eliminate legal counsel at board meetings to save $6,300
Revise an intervention program to save $90,000
This story suggests that the School Board has the authority to simply raise money through a levy increase.
Art Johnston asked the board to stop paying $4.5 million each year from the general fund to offset Red Plan debt. The move would raise taxes.
If it was this simple to raise money I’m amazed that Seliga-Punyko and Wasson haven’t gone ahead and bitten the bullet and the taxpayers and just done it.
