Schools look for ways to cut budget

‘Smaller workforce' in plan for next year, but actual staff cuts not likely

Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008

The Calvert County school budget has decreased significantly, and according to Superintendent of Schools Jack Smith, there is a good chance that the school system will receive no new money at all this year.

As a result of this, Smith said at last Thursday's school board meeting that "we will have a smaller workforce next year."

Though Smith said he was not ready to say which departments would be downsized, he later said that fewer teachers will be needed as a result of the 300-student decrease in enrollment.

"I hope we can take care of that [downsize] through attrition; not filling jobs when people retire or resign," Smith said in an interview after the meeting, adding that he wanted to be "as frank as possible. We're no different than anyone else in the country [in terms of the recession]."

To explain the budget problem in more detail, Smith said Calvert County will likely be receiving the same amount of money per pupil from the state as last year, and there are fewer students. Despite having fewer funds, Smith said the schools will have to spend more money on resources like technology and materials.

"So you can see, there's a math problem there," Smith said.

When asked why enrollment has decreased, Smith said there could be multiple explanations. The most tangible theory is that large classes are graduating and being replaced by smaller ones. These smaller classes could have to do with families leaving the county due to employment and the rising cost of living, Smith said.

Despite this apparent turn-for-the-worst, Smith said he does not want the community to feel hope is lost. "We are going to do the best we can, with the resources we have," he said.

At this point, the administrative staff said it is trying to prioritize and determine what steps should be taken.

"We are developing the items we absolutely have to have and looking at those first," said Deputy Superintendent Robin Welsh, who identified special education programs as being one of those necessities.

Welsh also said she and the other administrators are looking at "overlap" within the system because, "there are so many people in so many areas."

Another initiative to save money is being taken with the school system's department of transportation to ensure that bus routes are as efficient as possible.

"We have no idea where gas prices are going to go … hopefully we can save some money in that department," said Executive Director of School Operations Deborah Pulley.

When asked whether the recent resolution legalizing slot machines in the state of Maryland could help the school system, Smith said he felt that due to the time it will take to implement the machines, he does not expect to see major results until 2011.

In order to more resourcefully track the budget electronically, new software is being put in place. Pulley also said her department is collecting information from school principals "to get a clear rationale for what's happening."

After these steps have been completed, Smith said he plans to have numbers in front of the new board members in January. He said he intends to have a clearer picture by February or March.

"This is not trimming the fat … We are going to look at every service we offer through the lens of student learning," Smith said. "We have to stay in pretty close communication through winter and spring."

The three board member-elects, Bill Chambers, Tracy McGuire and Rose Crunkleton, were present at the meeting.

They were all welcomed by the current members, a few of whom joked that their new colleagues might want to demand a recount after hearing about the budget.

"It's baptism by fire," Crunkleton later said of her first meeting.

"Historically speaking, this board will be dealing with something that no recent education board has ever had to deal with. Listening to the news and all the talk shows, we could be headed toward a recession not seen since the Great Depression," Crunkleton said.

In other business, the Calvert County Board of Education:

ï Discussed new forms of information and instructional technology;

ï Discussed energy, construction and cafeteria funds;

ï Approved policies on copyrighted material, student transportation, financial operations for school-related organizations and special education procedures.

lbuck@somdnews.com