NEWARK – Outdoor graduation ceremonies, after-school programs and the annual kick-off event for teachers are among numerous items cut from the school system budget.
Late last Friday afternoon, Worcester County Public Schools officials announced a series of budget cuts made to eliminate the $4.5 million funding shortfall the school system is facing. The Worcester County Board of Education met Friday to approve the reductions, which total $1.7 million, and plan further salary negotiations.
“To balance our budget and close this multimillion-dollar shortfall we have tough decisions ahead of us,” said Todd Ferrante, president of the school board.
Last week, the Worcester County Commissioners voted 5-2 to fund the school system at the maintenance of effort level. Education officials expressed their frustration with the decrease in funding as teachers wore black to school last Friday in a show of solidarity and disappointment. At Buckingham Elementary, teachers even walked in just before the bell rang in a display of “work to rule,” or meeting just the minimum required by their contracts.
“We are disappointed that the county commissioners did not fund the education budget,” Buckingham teacher Michael Booth said. “We’re concerned the services we’re providing are being shortchanged. We’re not sure if anything will change this cycle but we’re hoping to get the word out to the community so maybe things will change next year. The entire school is upset.”
The same day as that display of unity, the school board met to talk about how to balance the budget with the less-than-requested allocation.
Ferrante opened the meeting by explaining that the maintenance of effort level budget approved for the school system by the Worcester County Commissioners was $280,000 less than the current year’s budget. As a result, he said the school system faced a $4.5 million budget shortfall.
“Obviously this means we do not have enough money to meet salary increases outlined in the negotiated agreements that were signed back in April,” he said.
Ferrante said the school board would be renegotiating with both the Worcester County Teachers Association and the Worcester County Education Support Personnel Association.
Following a closed portion of the meeting, the board reconvened to review changes to various spending categories recommended by school system administration. Funding cuts include the elimination of locally funded student tutoring programs, outdoor graduation ceremonies and the opening kickoff for faculty. Afterschool and summer school programs for the next school year have also been eliminated at Ocean City Elementary School, Showell Elementary School, Berlin Intermediate School, Stephen Decatur Middle School and Stephen Decatur High School.
Numerous reductions in funding were also approved. All schools’ instructional supply and materials of instruction allotments were reduced by 50% and local funding for special education materials of instruction were reduced by 50%. Field trip funding has been cut in half, as have transportation costs for afterschool and summer academies. At the central office, instructional support supplies and administration supplies and travel have been reduced by 25%.
School board member Jon Andes was quick to question the status of the Haven House afterschool program. Officials said that program would continue but would have to be grant funded. Schools where afterschool academies are not funded by grants—Ocean City Elementary, Showell Elementary, Berlin Intermediate, Stephen Decatur Middle and Stephen Decatur High—will not offer those programs in the coming school year. Summer programs will also not be funded at those schools in the next school year, though officials confirmed that the summer academies set to start later this month would run as planned.
Andes said the school system needed to do everything it could to maintain afterschool and summer programs.
“The afterschool programs are essential to the success of our students,” he said. “I take this very personally because I spent a lot of my life trying to get afterschool programs at these schools.”
School board member Donald Smack agreed.
“We’ve got to find some funds for these afterschool programs,” he said.
School board member Bill Gordy said maybe the school system should find a different vehicle for Superintendent Lou Taylor. The school system’s array of take-home vehicles has been a source of concern among some community members in recent months.
“If adequate transportation for that man can be found, and I don’t mean a roller skate, I mean reasonable transportation for a superintendent of his caliber, I feel like we should look that direction…,” Gordy said. “Let’s see if we can’t find reasonable transportation for our superintendent other than what he might have.”
Ferrante said it was unfortunate the school system’s requested budget had not been funded.
“It’s unfortunate we’re in this position where we have to cut programs for such a successful school system,” he said.
School board member Elena McComas expressed her frustration regarding the lack of time county officials had given the school system to provide the detailed budget documentation requested.
“I’m perturbed over how this has all unfolded more than anything…,” she said, adding that the board had provided the same level of documentation to the county for a decade or so. “To throw this on us with two weeks notice and then having to redesign how we’re giving them the information was just a little… it was over the top.”
She said she was upset that outdoor graduations and the opening kickoff for teachers were being cut.
“That’s heartbreaking to me. Those are the things that give your school system the spirit,” she said.
School board member Katie Addis said she’d been asking since March for the same budget detail the commissioners requested.
“That is our right as elected officials to receive that information,” she said. “It shouldn’t have happened today, it should have happened in February.”
She added that she was starting to lose faith in administration, which she believes is aligning itself with the Worcester County Teachers Association. When schools opened Friday morning, teachers wore black to show solidarity and disappointment in the county’s budget decision.
“The commissioners are doing their job,” she said. “It’s about time you ask your elected board to do their job, which is to scrutinize a detailed budget.”
Addis said the maintenance of effort level funding being provided to the school system was down $280,000 over what was provided this past year because enrollment had decreased.
“Maybe we need to start asking why we are losing students,” she said.
Addis advocated for starting funding cuts at the top and reviewing the salaries of the school system’s leadership team. She said vehicles should be sold and the school system’s contract with Apple should be ended.
Ferrante pointed out that the vehicles and the Apple computers were leased. He added that as far as the computers pricing had been evaluated before the school system made the agreement with Apple.
“We went through a process and we made sure we got the best possible deal we could for our school system,” he said.
Addis said if that was the case those figures should have been included in the budget information provided to the board.
“Our budget has always been presented to us in categories,” Ferrante responded, adding that it was not typically presented as the 1,700 pages of information most recently provided to the county and the school board.
School board member Bill Buchanan said the focus of the budget was the 6,800 students enrolled in Worcester County’s public schools. He said officials all wanted the best for students, whether it was teachers, materials or technology.
“To do this requires a positive attitude not a fault finding attitude,” he said. “We should be giving the system multivitamins and not placebos.”
When Ferrante asked for a motion to approve the cuts, Gordy said he was still concerned about afterschool programs.
“Afterschool programs are still being thrown under the bus,” he said.
Ferrante indicated they could still be looked at going forward.
Annette Wallace, the school system’s chief safety and academic officer grades 9-12, said the items being reduced and eliminated Friday were done “rather than cut staffing.” She said 40 positions were eliminated when Jerry Wilson was superintendent and had not been restored. She added that as far as afterschool programs, officials would continue to look for grants that could help fund them.
“This will be a priority to be infused back should any funds become available,” she said.
The board voted unanimously to approve the proposed changes. Renegotiations with the Worcester County Teachers Association and the Worcester County Education Support Personnel Association are supposed to begin this week.