Written by Andrew Melin, Superintendent
Over the past three years, the Valparaiso Community Schools has experienced nearly a $5 million reduction in state general fund revenue. As a result, over the past five months, VCS has been addressing a serious budget deficit that necessitated the district reducing expenditures by at least $3.2 million to achieve a balanced budget by the end of 2013.
At its March board meeting, to address the significant loss of state revenue, the School Board approved a comprehensive expenditure reduction plan that approached reductions with certain core values in mind: 1) Minimize the impact on the classroom; 2) Maintain quality programs; 3) Continue to focus on excellence while understanding the continuous need to do things differently as a result of our financial reality; and 4) Take a fair approach to possible expenditure reductions.
After considering extensive stakeholder input, the final approved plan resulted in the following reductions: Non-Personnel, $658,000; Building Secretaries, $57,295; Maintenance/Custodians, $64,254; Social Workers, $30,300; Aides, $800,000; Administrators, $217,089; Central Office Support, $46,000; Extra-Curricular, $108,696; Summer School, $23,000; 2012 teacher savings from a 2011 early retirement incentive, $500,000; and teacher position reductions, $1,050,000. To minimize disruption, the board made the decision to not implement the reductions until the end of the current school year.
In terms of the reduction of teacher positions, at the April board meeting, the School Board approved an administrative recommendation to reduce 12.5 teaching positions. The administrative team made every effort to reduce positions through attrition as much as possible and, in fact, 9.5 of the positions will be reduced through attrition, while three positions will be reductions in force. The specific reductions are as equitable as possible across content areas: English 2.5; Math, 2; Social Studies, 1; Science, 1; Athletics, 1; Music, 2; Art, 1, and Elementary, 2. The three positions reduced in force were determined based upon a staffing analysis that evaluated student to teacher ratios in specific grade levels or academic programs. Average class sizes in middle school and high school will increase approximately 1 to 2 students, with a primary range of 25 to 29 students per section, while the average class sizes in elementary will not change with current maximum class sizes maintained.
The teacher reduction meets our financial objective, spreads the impact of teacher reductions across most disciplines in an equitable manner, does not eliminate programs, minimizes class size increases, and minimizes movement of staff. During these very difficult and challenging times, every effort was made to be sensitive to our teaching staff while being fiscally responsible.
Throughout the expenditure reduction process, our district's main objective has been maintaining quality and excellence for our students, while having to address our financial challenges. Through the collaborative efforts of teachers, support staff, administrative team, school board and community members over the past five months, every effort has been made to accomplish that objective.