State cuts not as sharp as could have been

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www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1680322,School-cuts-could-have-been-worse_na072209.article

State cuts not as sharp as could have been
Locals say they're better off than many

July 23, 2009

By TIM WALDORF [e-mail]
Cuts in education funding won't hurt Naperville schools as they will hurt districts that rely heavily on state funding, according to local officials.
But local districts still will feel the pinch, they said.

Acting in an emergency session, the State Board of Education on Tuesday approved a $7.26 billion budget for this coming school year, down $146 million, or 2 percent, from last year.

"We knew this could happen, but we didn't know exactly how this could happen," said Dave Holm, Indian Prairie School District 204's assistant superintendent for business.

Since Tuesday's announcement, they've attempted to sort out those details.

About $1.2 million in funding cuts for preschool instruction, bilingual education and reading improvement, as well as the 75 percent slashing of a state grant program based on average daily attendance, are expected to be offset by a $160 increase in general per-pupil funding that will generate $950,000 more than the district expected.

So, said, Holm, the net affect of the state's spending plan will likely leave District 204 with about $260,000 less than it expected.

Holm said programs are already in place for next year, and it will be difficult to change now, but the district will look for ways to save money in light of this recent news.

"It is difficult to reverse stream right now, at this late date," he said.

Like District 204, Naperville School District 203 expects to lose a little more than $1 million in categorical aide, but receive an additional $700,000 in general state funding, leaving it about $350,000 shy of its original estimates.

"I'm thinking we need to take a good, deliberate look at this," said Dave Zager, District 203's assistant superintendent for finance. "This could be a one-year thing, but it could be even worse next year."

Still, Zager noted that the district will still receive roughly 98 percent of the $22 million in state funding officials anticipated when they approved this year's budget earlier this summer.

"We're not too bad," said Zager, noting that the impact of the budget cuts "will not be as devastating (for Naperville) as it will be for some districts."

Nonetheless, Zager said the district will search for savings by perhaps delaying purchases or cutting back on supplies. He added that some of the shortfall may be absorbed by the district's accumulated surplus of roughly $25 million.

Last year, the board adopted a new policy providing for the maintenance of a 10 percent cash reserve.

"This is exactly why you have it," said Zager. "For when you run into instances like this."

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www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1681096,Education-funding-slashed_au072309.article

Millions slashed for schools
State’s deep budget cuts mean area districts will be forced to shoulder big

July 23, 2009

By ERIKA WURST [e-mail]
Local school districts are rushing to put together their budgets by late September after state education officials this week slashed millions of dollars from dozens of educational initiatives.

The cuts have been anticipated, but not welcomed, by district administrators.

Programs — ranging from preschool to after-school to gifted programs — have been put on the back burner in an attempt to fill gaping budget holes, and state officials warned of a "catastrophic" year ahead, when $2 billion in federal stimulus dollars will dry up.

Acting in emergency session, State Board of Education members approved a $7.26 billion budget for this coming school year, down $146 million, or 2 percent, from fiscal year 2009.

"The state budget crisis has been ongoing," Batavia School Superintendent Jack Barshinger said Wednesday. "This is nothing different than we've seen in the last few years; it just keeps getting worse and worse as the trend continues."

Officials said they were forced to make a painful choice among which programs to axe. Even the federal stimulus dollars were not enough to fill the yawning gap.

"I don't know why it took us being $11 billion in the hole before we realized we need to make cuts," said Sandwich School Superintendent Rick Schmitt, who has been with the district for 18 years. "It's definitely a 'Here we go again' situation. There is always a struggle when it's time to prepare our budget."

But at least now they know what they have to work with, Oswego Executive Director of Finance Tim Neubauer said optimistically. "Now that we have the news, we will start looking to accommodate our programs and discuss what kind of adjustments we need to make internally.

"We're a big district. We have just about every program listed (as being cut)."

Programs hit hard

Taking the biggest hit was early childhood education, which lost $123 million with the new cuts. Advocates have maintained the action "rolls back about five years of progress" and means an estimated 30,000 children will lose preschool services this fall.

Also affected by state cuts are gifted and after-school programs. All state money for gifted education was "zeroed out," along with dollars for two after-school programs — one of them started by the wife of Mayor Richard Daley.

Efforts to help the blind and dyslexic, to recruit teachers in hard-to-staff schools, and help high school students taking Advanced Placement classes have all taken whacks.

In several districts, including West Aurora, textbooks costing more than $300,000 have already been purchased with the promise of reimbursement by the Illinois Textbook Loan Program. These expenses will now become the burden of the district.

And while budget cuts are decisions no superintendent, board member or student wants to see made, the slashes have become crucial, Schmitt said.

"All elected officials have obligations to provide programs and services," he noted. "But they also have an obligation to spend within their means, and that does require making some tough decisions."

Bilingual education, which is crucial in the East and West Aurora school districts, was trimmed 25 percent, or $19 million. However, Board of Education Chairman Jesse Ruiz warned the cut doesn't mean districts are "off the hook" for providing the state-mandated program.

"We're kind of late in the game trying to figure out what our programs will look like for the next school year, which starts in just a couple weeks," West Aurora Chief Financial Officer Christi Tyler said. The district has already put off adopting its budget, which normally happens in June. Tyler said West will take a $1.5 million hit, due to the new cuts, and expects the decrease in revenue to impact everything from supplies to teacher training.

East Aurora School Superintendent Jerome Roberts said he wasn't sure what the cuts will mean to his district.

"There are other factors that need to be considered that also have an impact on our budget," he said in a statement Wednesday. "Although the state budget was slashed, both the foundation level was increased (by $160) and the number of students who qualify in the category of low-income also increased. These two areas have the potential of bringing additional revenue to our school district."

Searching for solutions

Batavia's Barshinger said a do-it-yourself local approach to funding issues is the way to go.

"We've said all along that the funding issues would not be solved at the state level," Barshinger said. "No solutions will come from the state. We need to look at this from a local level and be proactive about taking care of our kids. ... I think overall in Batavia we'll make due."

Other districts, however, don't see this as feasible.

"There's nothing better than local control," Schmitt said. "But when you're told you'll receive a certain amount of funding and it doesn't come, or it's late, it creates problems."

Chicago Sun-Times staff writer Rosalind Rossi contributed to this report.

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www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=308999&src=76

School funding cuts affect local districts differently
By James Fuller | Daily Herald 7/24/09


Disabled and minority students, and efforts to improve reading will be hurt most in area school districts after budget cuts imposed by the Illinois State Board of Education this week.

St. Charles Unit District 303, Batavia Unit District 101, Geneva Unit District 304 and West Aurora Unit District 129 all expected some cuts, but they didn't know where the biggest hits would come.

Worse, teacher staffing levels have been locked in for the coming school year, officials said, including for programs that will now lack some state funding. Plus, the state still owes local districts grant money from last school year.

The state owes District 129 about $3.5 million in late payments. And now it will lose about $1.5 million more because of the latest state cuts.

That is leaving the district with the difficult decision of whether to accept reduced state funding for its early childhood program this year, Chief Financial Officer Christy Tyler said.

There's a chance the reduced funding will force the district to put early childhood efforts on hold for a year if enough supplemental local funding isn't found. But not taking any money this year jeopardizes the district's chances of receiving any early childhood funding from the state in future years.

Money to help bilingual students and disabled learners is also slashed, reducing the district's ability to purchase materials and train teachers who work with those children.

"Obviously it doesn't help," Tyler said of the financial losses. "It greatly impacts our ability to help those students."

District 304, which has received about $4.4 million from the state each year, stands to lose only about $420,000. Assistant Superintendent Donna Oberg said the district is in good shape to fill in the gap because the district has about $34 million in its rainy-day fund.

District 101 is also not overly concerned about the impact of the cuts, Superintendent Jack Barshinger said.

"We had taken the attitude that there would be no help from Springfield," Barshinger said. "We decided we were going to solve the budget crisis locally."

The big blow to the district is the cut to reading improvement programs. Barshinger said the district will likely make up for the funding loss with more cuts to supplies and materials.

"The budget is going to be very close, but we're going to put the new numbers in and go from there," he said.

District 303 Superintendent Don Schlomann said the district may have to delay buying new textbooks. The district relies heavily on the state's textbook loan program, but now it will have about $100,000 less for books.

Overall, the district will probably lose about $500,000. That may mean cuts in teacher training.

The district may have to delay having teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards while it looks to balance its budget without spending down savings.

"The point of fund balances are for emergency situations," Schlomann said. "Is this really an emergency? For me, it's not."

Cuts: Dist. 304 official says state funding gap can be bridged with help of $34 million rainy-day fund