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Last Updated: Sep 10, 2009 - 12:28:52 PM |
Charged with closing a $52 million funding gap, Chesterfield Superintendent Dr. Marcus Newsome released his proposed budget for FY2010 on January 27, a proposal that includes the elimination of 525 positions in the school system, approximately 400 of which are currently occupied.
“To say this is the most difficult budget process I have overseen as a superintendent would be a dramatic understatement,” says Newsome. “This is painful. The budget cuts will affect every student and every staff member.”
In the latest Joint Board of Supervisors and School Board Liaison Committee meeting – held on February 2 – School Board members stressed why it was necessary to cut so many positions.
“We have tried our best in the past to run as lean a machine as possible, so we don’t have that big of a margin without eliminating jobs,” says Marshall Trammell, School Board chair and Bermuda District representative. “People have asked why we can’t just do a pay cut across the board to avoid layoffs. If we did that, we would have to reduce all salaries by eight to nine percent, and teachers would still have to do more with less. No matter how hard we try, we couldn’t avoid having a negative impact on the classroom.”
Working to minimize that impact, school officials are reaching out for help from the community.
“We have begun the process to try to galvanize the community to assist with these voids created by the budget,” says Newsome. “We want to target fundraising and attracting volunteers to the classroom.”
A full overview of the proposed school budget can be found at www.chesterfield.k12.va.us. A work session on the budget will be held at 5:30 p.m. on February 10 in the School Administration Building, followed by a public hearing later that night at 7 p.m. in the Public Meeting Room at 10001 Iron Bridge Rd.
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CUTS
Non-instructional staffing
$11,939,250 reduction
22.8% of total reduction
30 deans/Administrative Assistants
$1,902,200 • eliminate all deans at high schools and all administrative assistants at middle schools
35 integrators/Microcomputer Analysts
$2,478,800 • reduce integrators from 55 to 30 and eliminate 10 microcomputer analysts
11 math/literacy coaches
$806,000 • eliminate the 8 math coaches and 3 literacy coaches
7 support services
$490,900 • eliminate 2 social workers, 4 psychologists, and 1 educational diagnostician
38 elementary secretaries
$1,235,000 • eliminate an 11-month secretary from each elementary school
31 facilities positions
$1,955,350 • eliminate 31 positions and custodial/trades overtime
3 library clerks
$408,700 • convert all library clerks to library aides, providing 1 at each elementary
3 elementary Assistant Principals
$232,200 • eliminate additional assistant principal at schools with 900 students
5 special education coordinators
$323,600 • eliminate special education coordinators at 5 elementary schools
23.5 administration
$2,106,500 • eliminate 23.5 positions and cut $389,000 more from administrative departments
Instructional staffing
$15,724,600 reduction
30.1% of total reduction
111.4 teachers in grades K-12
$6,036,400 • an increase of 1 student per teacher in grades K-12
64 instructional aides
$1,233,700 • provide an average of 4 instructional aides per elementary school
58.5 reading teachers
$3,755,500 • eliminate additional reading teacher initiative begun in FY 2008
47 pool positions
$2,215,300 • eliminate 37 general education teachers, 5 special education teachers, and 5 special education aides from the vacancy pool
12.8 ESOL teachers
$646,400 • reduce ESOL staffing to required SOQ levels
28.1 instructional positions
$840,600 • eliminate differentiated funding at 5 schools (21.5 aides, 3.6 teachers, 3 other positions) and materials
17 instructional positions
$996,700 • eliminate some exceptions to staffing standards (3 assistant principals,
2 administrative assistants, 11.6 teachers, 0.4 librarian)
Non-classroom programs
$5,987,300 reduction
11.5% of total reduction
Support programs
$1,771,500 • reduce funding for safety net programs, eliminate central specialty center funds, eliminate grants to high schools for vending loss, eliminate playground equipment funding, reduce freshman transition funding, eliminate K-2 math workbooks, reduce secondary field trip allocations
Testing
$514,700 • eliminate AP tests funding and majority of funding for industry certification tests
Stipends
$511,100 • eliminate elementary lead teacher stipend and reduce summer secondary stipends
Department budgets
$2,340,000 • reduce by 20 percent, eliminate funding for policy support
Tuition reimbursement
$850,000 • eliminate tuition reimbursement
Classroom resources
$1,358,400 reduction
2.6% of total reduction
School allocations
$875,000 • reduce all budgets by 20%
Special education
$150,000 • reduce special education per teacher allocation
Specialty centers
$118,200 • reduce specialty center per student allocation
Program changes
$215,200 • eliminate elementary IB program, delay elementary world language expansion, reduce music equipment purchase and repair
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