Superintendent's $2.7M plan calls for larger classes, staff reductions.

By JERMAINE PIGEE

jpigee@thehawkeye.com

"The sky has fallen on our district."

That is what school board member Tom Greene said when asked to give his input on Burlington School District Superintendent Lee Morrison's recommended budget cuts.

Morrison gave his recommendations to the school board Monday night in front of roughly 100 students, teachers and concerned taxpayers.

Morrison's budget-cutting measures total more than $2.7 million. The potential cuts were made to offset an anticipated budget deficit ranging from $2.8 million to $3.3 million.

"We haven't received any updated information from the Iowa Legislature," Morrison told the board. "This isn't a Burlington-only situation. ... This is something that the Legislature and the state of Iowa have done to schools as far as our funding because of what the economy has done to them."

Under Morrison's recommendations is a $1 million increase in property taxes.

"If we raise a million dollars of taxes, the tax rate goes up $1.24," Business Manager Chris Van Meter told the board. "We have already approved a 42-cent increase between drop-out prevention, the early retirement program and the management levy, so we are looking at $1.66 increase for next year."

One budget-cutting proposal Morrison pitched was to increase class sizes at the elementary level. Morrison is recommending class sizes rise by two students.

"We have class size limits at the kindergarten level at 20 students, and it can go up by two," Morrison said. "We have class size limits at the upper elementary of 23, and it can go up by two."

The increased class sizes would save the school district $270,000.

Other cuts Morrison discussed were having a one-year delay in textbook purchases, which would save the district $300,000; eliminating an assistant principal position at the middle school level, which would save the district $80,000; cutting an alternative high school social worker position, which would save $40,000; and eliminating the truancy officer, which would save $29,500.

"There are things on this list that pain me terribly," Morrison said. "Do I want to see larger class sizes and older textbooks? No. The truancy officer positions and all the positions on this list are very important to our district. But the national economy is in the worst shape since the Great Depression, and it is impacting our state budget, and it is trickling down to our local budgets."

"These are daunting cuts," Greene said. "These are huge cuts, and we are talking about increasing in class sizes and eliminating programs. Positions are being eliminated, and people are going to be losing their job.

"I'm totally frustrated with the way our state government has mandated some of these funding cuts and then six to eight months later, we learn there are strings attached. I hate being left on the string by Des Moines. I'm terribly frustrated by that."

The board's next step is to approve a budget estimate.

"You have to approve for publication at the second meeting in March," Van Meter said. "I have to publish the budget estimate not less than 10 and no more than 20 days before we have our budget hearing. Our board meeting is April 12, so in order to certify our budget before April 15, I've got to publish it the last week of March."