Post by title1parent on Apr 24, 2009 5:18:52 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1542268,2_1_AU24_OSSKL_S2.article
Oswego schools to freeze salaries
• Administrative pay affected: Staff nervous as additional budget cuts are looming
April 24, 2009
By DAVID GARBE For The Beacon News
OSWEGO -- The Oswego School Board has voted to freeze administration salaries for the next year.
The decision was the first and probably the easiest cut that the district will have to make to bring next year's spending in line with a multimillion-dollar drop in expected revenue.
The administrative salary freeze should save the district about $250,000. It will affect 78 people, including assistant superintendents, principals, deans and other management personnel. The freeze was recommended by the administration.
School Board members said they were thankful for the administration's willingness to trim its own cost. Board Vice President Dave Behrens said Oswego already pays its management-level employees less than many neighboring districts, "so this is a big step for them to take, and I appreciate it."
Future cuts are not likely to come so easy.
The district is now in contract negotiations with the three unions that represent its teachers, bus drivers and custodians. Depending on the contracts those negotiations produce, the district will could be facing a shortfall of $1 million or more, said Kris Monn, the assistant superintendent for finance.
In recent weeks, a rumor swept through Oswego's schools that the district was considering eliminating teacher assistant positions. Dozens of parents and staff have attended recent School Board meetings to advocate against any cuts of teaching assistants.
"Teacher assistants have a crucial role in our day-to-day operations," said longtime elementary teacher Cindy Niles, describing the large role her assistants play inside her classroom and also in helping kids on the playground, on the way in or out of school and other settings.
Having extra adults in the classroom allows the students to get the extra attention they might need, which is a major factor in whether students meet and exceed academic benchmarks.
It's not known why the rumor held that the district was looking specifically at teaching assistants. School Board members told the concerned parents and employees that they had made no decisions on staff reductions.
Which is not to say that cuts may not be coming.
So far, Oswego has been able to avoid painful budget-trimming that many Fox Valley districts have already begun. Although the Oswego district relies less on state funds than others, delinquent and shrunken payments from the state remain an issue.
Meanwhile, the shrinking property tax base and negligible inflation will make it almost impossible for the district to expand its tax revenue to meet the ever-growing costs of salaries, benefits and federal requirements.
Oswego schools to freeze salaries
• Administrative pay affected: Staff nervous as additional budget cuts are looming
April 24, 2009
By DAVID GARBE For The Beacon News
OSWEGO -- The Oswego School Board has voted to freeze administration salaries for the next year.
The decision was the first and probably the easiest cut that the district will have to make to bring next year's spending in line with a multimillion-dollar drop in expected revenue.
The administrative salary freeze should save the district about $250,000. It will affect 78 people, including assistant superintendents, principals, deans and other management personnel. The freeze was recommended by the administration.
School Board members said they were thankful for the administration's willingness to trim its own cost. Board Vice President Dave Behrens said Oswego already pays its management-level employees less than many neighboring districts, "so this is a big step for them to take, and I appreciate it."
Future cuts are not likely to come so easy.
The district is now in contract negotiations with the three unions that represent its teachers, bus drivers and custodians. Depending on the contracts those negotiations produce, the district will could be facing a shortfall of $1 million or more, said Kris Monn, the assistant superintendent for finance.
In recent weeks, a rumor swept through Oswego's schools that the district was considering eliminating teacher assistant positions. Dozens of parents and staff have attended recent School Board meetings to advocate against any cuts of teaching assistants.
"Teacher assistants have a crucial role in our day-to-day operations," said longtime elementary teacher Cindy Niles, describing the large role her assistants play inside her classroom and also in helping kids on the playground, on the way in or out of school and other settings.
Having extra adults in the classroom allows the students to get the extra attention they might need, which is a major factor in whether students meet and exceed academic benchmarks.
It's not known why the rumor held that the district was looking specifically at teaching assistants. School Board members told the concerned parents and employees that they had made no decisions on staff reductions.
Which is not to say that cuts may not be coming.
So far, Oswego has been able to avoid painful budget-trimming that many Fox Valley districts have already begun. Although the Oswego district relies less on state funds than others, delinquent and shrunken payments from the state remain an issue.
Meanwhile, the shrinking property tax base and negligible inflation will make it almost impossible for the district to expand its tax revenue to meet the ever-growing costs of salaries, benefits and federal requirements.