Posen board acts on drastic budget cuts
by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor
Posen Consolidated School District?s lean budget got even leaner Monday night with deep cuts by the board of education who voted to eliminate an elementary teaching position and a paraprofessional, as well as trim the hours of the school secretary and assistant cook. The cuts become effective at the end of the first semester in January. Other savings, to close a projected $94,000 gap brought on by the state?s fiscal crisis and declining enrollment, will come from the elimination of junior high track and cuts to the school attorney. The board is also looking at energy savings and for superintendent Dru Milliron to not accept mileage money for the rest of the school year.
?All the cuts were very difficult, nobody took any cut lightly,? said board president Ken Wozniak. THE TEACHER with the lowest seniority will be laid off. To cover the loss, one option is the board is looking at creating an additional split in the elementary. Kindergarteners have not been included in any possible splits. The student numbers are as follows: first-grade, 15; second-grade, 19; third-grade, 19; fourth-grade, 18; fifth-grade, 15; and sixth-grade, 17.
?The numbers can work out, if that?s something we follow through with,? said Wozniak. He added that cutting the teaching position ?is the toughest, because that?s the one that really effects the students the most, especially doing it midyear. It just makes it more difficult because everybody is in their routine.? Glenn Budnick, a member of the high school teaching staff, commented that any savings from eliminating the position could be lost if parents decide to remove their students. ?If two or three people take their kids elsewhere, you just lost money,? said Budnick. PARENT LINDA SHARPE said, ?Wouldn?t you want to consider that the last place you would want to cut is anything that would impact the education of our kids.?
?Absolutely, everything has been looked at,? said Randy Styma, a member of the finance committee who was attending his last meeting as a board member. ?We can?t even get close to balancing the budget without that. The majority of the budget is salary and benefits. I?ve been on here for eight and one-half years. The first meeting I went to, we were cutting staff and it?s been that way for eight and one-half years.? The board approved the motion 6-1 with Mitch Mulka turning in the lone ?no? vote. The cut is expected to save about $46,000.
Paraprofessional Laurie Zielaskowski will lose her full-time position at the start of the second semester. Special education teacher Denise Perrault said the decision would be difficult because the students will not be able to get that one-on-one attention they need, and progress has been made. ?I?m sorry, I?m really attached to these kids,? said Perrault. ?It is going to be too much. These are the ones that really need the help.? ASSISTANT COOK Rita Donajkowski will have her hours reduced to four hours a day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Head cook Mary Ann Zakshesky said the board?s decision will bring about changes in the kitchen and services, such as a switch to instant potatoes, disposable trays and the elimination of grilled cheese sandwiches because they take too long to make.
?You guys are going to get the flack from the parents,? said Zakshesky to board members. The vote was 7-0. Clerk/secretary Bernadette Shafto will have her hours reduced to 8 a.m. to noon. That vote was unanimous. Other measures not voted on, but will change are: sporting event cleanup handled by students/parents, or possibly National Honor Society members; no more lunches for opposing teams and Posen teams before games; no stopping after road games to save on driver time; reducing the amount of pop/juice machines in the building; board will not be paid for special meetings/w
Future cuts could come from the elimination of the Spanish teacher ($60,000), football program ($13,000), junior high basketball ($7,000) and trip clubs ($1,050 per advisor). There were other potential cuts on the committee?s list including consolidation or annexation, ?as a last resort. That has been discussed,? said Wozniak. Styma said the budget is balanced and includes the additional $127 per pupil reduction talked about in Lansing the last couple of months. Superintendent Dru Milliron said Gov. Jennifer Granholm has put that on hold until after the January revenue estimating conference.
The state already received a $165 per student cut, prompting the current round of tough decisions by districts across the state. ?There are other things in the works,? said Wozniak, ?but we need to make the cuts at this time, and hopefully get some of it back later on. At this point, we need to do it because our next meeting is after the second semester starts.? The next regular meeting is Jan. 21. Meetings with the faculty and support staff were planned for this week.