ISD166 school board poised to make administrative cuts decision

After nearly eight months of discussion and many hours of deliberation, the ISD166 school board could make a major administrative decision on Oct. 18. At that time one of seven proposals to cut costs is left standing.

That decision would be to reduce the superintendent’s hours to 75% for school year 2012-13 and then to 60% in 2013-14.

Superintendent Beth Schwarz told WTIP earlier that a reduction to 60% would equal what she currently spends on school budgetary and legal issues. Great Expectations School Administrator Peter James sees a problem with a reduction in leadership.

James: “I think it would have to have an effect because there are so many things that are fixed responsibilities, there is so much time that you have to give to those things that are required for a district to function. The financial oversight aspects, the reporting to the Department of Ed…those types of things take a big chunk of your time.

“Truly the amount of time you have – discretionary time you have to focus on leading new initiatives, enforcing or following up on things that are already in place; to do staff observations, quality control kinds of things. All those kinds of things happen only after those other things are done. So, to reduce a person to less than full time means those are the kind of things that aren’t going to get done. And I think that is a real struggle for all of us to do more of those things that are important but not mandated.”

The Oct. 18 meeting will be in Grand Portage. The ISD166 board has not met there for two years, since the District’s elementary school closed and Oshki Ogimaag charter school opened. According to board member Jeanne Anderson, the meeting date was set long ago.

Anderson: “I understand where people are concerned with that, but we decided in January what the schedule would be and Grand Portage had noted interest that they would like to have their once a year meeting up there and we’re also going to be meeting on the West End as well. So, this wasn’t anything intentional by any means this has been on the agenda this year.”

Board Chair Mary Sanders said the issue of reducing the Superintendent’s contract will be an agenda item.

Sanders: “Well, there’s going to be something on the agenda but I have a feeling it’s going to be tabled. It’ll be discussed because we don’t have to make a decision this month, and because we’re up in Grand Portage. I asked them to craft a motion so we could have a motion on the agenda, and the idea of making any kind of a decision like that so far away from the center of the community…you know, and then we don’t have to make the decision.”

One of the reasons why the decision does not have to be made this month is because the concern over the budget today is not as grave as it was earlier this spring. An unexpected Small Schools Revenue agreement was a part of the Special Legislative Session budget deal this summer. That means Cook County will receive $130,000 it had not expected. Jeanne Anderson:

Anderson: “It is not long-term help, but it will be helpful, yes, and we do need to talk about that. The finance committee feels very comfortable that we will be getting that for next year.”

Jeff Kern is a citizen member of the school’s Finance Committee. He said while state funding is always uncertain; the District is temporarily all right.

Kern: “I guess I’d want to make the point that school financing is constantly changing and shifting and it’s really difficult to pin down what to expect because the funding formula that the state puts out is so complex and there are so many variable within it and the state changes their mind so often it’s a real moving target for the administration and the school board to shoot at and it makes it difficult to plan.

“And the fund balance is there to essentially to give us a back-up in the case of some calamity – either enrollment drop of funding drop or some other piece of the formula that can’t be predicted. It’s important to have a fund balance but the finance committee I think has agreed that having a slightly lower fund balance right now is OK. And that means no further cuts would need to be necessary on the basis of the finance forecast.”

Anderson said she was leaning toward not making the proposed cuts to the superintendent contract. Board members Deb White and Leonard Sobanja said they were still undecided and wanted more discussion.