Eugene budget panel OKs plan for 2011-12

The Eugene School District’s budget committee on Monday night unanimously approved outgoing Superintendent George Russell’s proposed budget for the 2011-12 school year, which includes a record $21.7 million in cost-saving measures for the financially strapped district.

It was the culmination of months of agonizing conversations that began last fall over how to begin creating a three-year sustainable budget for a district that now has endured four straight years of budget shortfalls because of decreased enrollment, reduced state funding and climbing costs.

Final approval of the budget, which totals $309 million, will come June 15 when the school board votes on it. The $309 million figure includes $35 million in bonds to be issued this summer — representing half of the $70 million facilities bond measure approved last week by voters.

The bond measure will allow the district to funnel $1 million annually into the district’s general fund, for teacher pay and classroom expenses, by covering maintenance and repair costs that now come out of the operating budget.

As part of its approval of the 2011-12 budget, the panel decreed exactly how that $1 million should be spent. It includes $500,000 for the equivalent of 5.5 full-time teachers and other licensed staff in schools that have higher populations of students in need of extra support because of academic, economic and social challenges; and $300,000 for the equivalent of six full-time instructional assistants.

Another $200,000 will go for operational support — half for what the district says are the severely understaffed finance and human resources departments.

The $21.7 million in cost-saving measures will come from an increase of three in the student-to-teacher ratio at each school. That will result in the equivalent of 64 full-time teachers and other licensed staff being laid off; further staffing reductions among all employees and/or concessions from employee groups; cuts to central office and administration staff; dipping into reserves; the closure of four elementary schools; and other cuts.

Much of the panel’s discussion on Monday concerned what, on paper, are relatively minuscule dollar amounts — but which have drawn big concerns from some in the district.

Michael Stasack, a Churchill High School speech and French teacher, implored the panel for the second time in two weeks not to cut speech and debate, which has been targeted to be slashed at a cost savings of $38,000 — part of $439,000 in cuts to athletics and extracurricular activities. The $38,000 goes to pay stipends to teachers who advise speech and debate, an Oregon School Activities Association activity, at the district’s four high schools.

After much talk centering on whether too much emphasis is placed on sports, and pleas from some panel members to find a way to save speech and debate, the panel approved the budget without the activity, but asked staff to explore ways to find the money within the athletics/extracurricular activity budget before the school board considers final budget approval in three weeks.

Several directors told the budget panel what the cuts will mean for their departments.

“Programs are going to be drastically cut,” said Larry Sullivan, director of Educational Support Services, which will take a hit of about $1.1 million as it loses special education teachers and administrators, nurses, mental health therapists, psychologists and other staff.