Budget cuts on the table
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POLSON — A special school board meeting held on May 23 at the Polson High School Library saw trustees tussling with a $501,217 deficit in the elementary school budget.
Superintendent David Whitesell presented recommendations for cuts to the budget.
These included nonrenewal of five paraprofessionals and non-replacement of four paraprofessionals, not rehiring Title 1 teachers and academic coaches in the elementary school.
A proposal to reduce hours for the Cherry Valley school nurse from 27 to 20 hours per week for $5,149 was taken off the table.
Other proposals were shifting salaries for a half time Polson Middle School band teacher, .37 PMS choir teacher and half time Spanish teacher to Polson High School since the high school district is in better shape fiscally.
One recommendation also proposed moving funding for the Kootenai Language program out of the general fund and into Title VIII.
Non-replacement of retirees and resignations will save the district $210,524
If each grade level reduces their supplies by $2,000 per grade for K-8, that will reduce the budget by$18,000.
Other recommendations by the administrators and Whitesell included moving costs for secretarial staff and a third of Cherry Valley counselor’s salary to the special education department.
Cutting the board’s out-of-state travel will save an additional $7,500.
The Indian education specialist will return to the classroom, saving that salary.
The recommendations totaled $590,666, creating a surplus of $89,449.
Board Chair Caryl Cox said, “I think what the board wanted was the administrators and the superintendent to work together, look at every angle, every budget cut, then work together to figure out how to correograph this budget deficit so it was across the board, it was fair and we held onto to as many teachers as possible.”
“We have now a deficit reduction plan that saves as many teaching jobs as possible … they really had to go in with a scalpel,” Cox added.
