Hancock schools announce cuts
Hancock schools announce cuts
Seven positions eliminated for ‘06-’07
By JANE NORDBERG, DMG Writer
HANCOCK — Hancock Superintendent of Schools John Vaara announced Monday the elimination of seven positions as the bulk of a measure to balance the district’s budget.
Vaara said the district plans to cut $260,000 from its $7.6 million 2006-07 budget, of which $234,650 would come from faculty and staff eliminations.
“We’re living on the edge, to say the least,” he said at Monday’s regular meeting of the Hancock Schools Board of Education. “There’s just not that much left to cut.”
The district cut approximately $200,000 in 2005-06, and $200,000 in 2004-05, he said.
Affected positions for 2006-07 include a part-time elementary teacher, a part-time high/middle teacher, an elementary computer teacher, elementary special education teacher, a high school attendance/food service/computer aide position, and both a full-time and part-time Title I aide position.
“Title Ones took a major hit, because we’re now being paid in a different fashion,” Vaara said. Whereas before, the number of free and reduced lunches was used to calculate Title I, revenue is now based on the census poverty level.
Houghton, for instance, has more people on the poverty line because the census includes the part-time income of Michigan Tech University students, Vaara said.
“That student may be driving Daddy’s Lexus, but in the eyes of the state, they’re not making any money,” he said.
Hancock-based Finlandia University, in contrast, tends to have a more commuter-based student body, he said.
At one time, the district had two full-time Title I teachers and three full-time aides. That has been reduced to one full-time teacher and one aide.
“That change has hurt our Title I funding a great deal,” he said.
Other changes include the elimination of one section of first grade and the addition of one fifth-grade section, Vaara said.
With the elimination of the computer teacher at the elementary school, the district hopes to staff the lab in another manner, such as using an Americorps worker, he added.
“We’re continuing to see a decline in student numbers,” he said. The district lost 82 graduating seniors last year, with this year’s incoming kindergarten class hovering in the low 70s.
Cuts in professional development, office supplies, operations/maintenance and transportation make up another $30,000 in reductions.
“We’re trying to live within our means and reduce spending without cutting classes,” Vaara said.
Trustee Ron Blau asked how the “domino effect” of position bumping would affect the positions.
“We actually did that in a group meeting,” Vaara explained, where representatives of the unions and school administration came to those decisions as a group. The concept is not a new one, he said, and the outcome was better than expected.
“We all looked at the position hours and duties, and in the end it was a good meeting,” he said. “It’s never nice, and not pleasant because people are losing their jobs, but it did work out better than I could have expected.”
Vice-President Mark Peters asked if Vaara had identified a priority for position reinstatement in the unlikely event of increased revenues. Vaara said that while he hadn’t come up with a list, he would likely give Title I positions priority.
“I’d like to get those people back,” he said.
Vaara also warned the board that long-term neglect of the district’s facilities would come at a cost.
“For the last three years, we haven’t done any preventative maintenance on our buildings because we simply can’t afford it,” he said. “Over time, we are going to have to become concerned.”
Painting and cleaning will continue this summer, he added.
Jane Nordberg can be reached at jnordberg@mininggazette.com
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