School district must live within its means

The Mat-Su Borough School District will have to make some tough decisions about its budget for 2011.

The problem is simple: The school district isn’t bringing in as much money as it spends, according to Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Ken Forrest.

The solution is simple: The school district must spend less, he said.

What’s unknown at this point is how much less money the district will have for Fiscal Year 2011.

What’s certain is that class sizes will increase, Forrest said. But the district is hoping to accomplish the staff reductions without teacher layoffs.

The state Department of Education accepted $23.5 million — originally declined by then-governor Sarah Palin — recently to help avoid teacher layoffs in the state. And Mat-Su Borough School Board members have decided to use the district’s share — about $2.2 million — to create a retirement incentive.

Basically, teachers and other employees nearing retirement will be given extra money if they move their retirements up.

And Forrest said the district won’t necessarily be hiring people to fill its open positions either.

From teachers and administrators to support staff, Forrest said the district anticipates across-the-board reductions in staff for 2011.

We encourage the district to consider administrative positions when it’s looking for places to trim fat. We think the district can reduce the number of administrative positions it has without decreasing the quality of education offered in the classroom.

What’s the direct benefit to students of having two vice principals and a principal? Surely students gain more by having smaller math and English classes rather than from hiring more administrators.

The district also will use a new approach to trimming the budget, Forrest said. Since the district knows cuts will be required, he said it will take proposed cuts to the advisory groups and ask for their input instead of asking those groups to suggest cuts.

Part of the process also will look at staffing levels for support staff and compare that to the workload. For instance, how many square feet of hard floor can a custodian clean in a shift? Then divide that number by the total square feet of floor in the district to come up with the number of custodians needed, Forrest said.

However, there is no similar formula to calculate the correct number of administrators for the workload.

When the school district hired new superintendent Ken Burnley, he brought Forrest with him and made room in the finance office. While hiring Forrest may produce eventual savings for the district, the move may well have also increased the bottom line.

Especially in times of tight budgets, the district should not create new positions — administrative, support staff or teaching — unless the addition directly impacts student achievement.

Whether managing a business or personal budget, now more than ever, we have to learn to live within our means.