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Fayette to lay off 175 teachers?Tue, 02/10/2009 - 4:55pm
By: Ben Nelms
The weight of the Fayette County School System’s $14.5 million budget deficit will fall on teachers and instructional personnel — between 150 and 175 of them. The Fayette County Board of Education is getting closer to inevitable personnel-related cuts for the coming school year needed to offset the projected deficit. Facing the chopping block are 150-175 staff positions, reductions in employer-paid insurance premiums, charging out-of-county tuition for the children of school system employees and, potentially, an across the board pay cut for all employees. Nearly all the staff reductions will come from the instructional areas, while just over a dozen come from the central office. A vote on some or all of the measures could come Feb. 23. The 11-member Budget/Allotment Committee — the group that drew up the reduction list — is made up entirely of administrative staff and no teachers. Director of Human Resources Reanee Ellis reported Monday on the committee recommendations, telling board members the committee understood the need to adequately address the $14.5 million projected shortfall. Indicating the committee’s recommendation to eliminate 150-175 staff positions for FY 2010, Ellis said the recommendation targeted 157 in-school positions. Of those, the committee called for a reduction of 100 staff in elementary schools, 22 staff in middle schools and 36 staff in high schools, for a savings of $7.787 million. Nearly all the proposed reductions were for certified staff, those who have a contract such as teachers, psychologists, counselors, media specialists and art, music, band and physical education instructors. Ellis said the reductions assume that Rivers Elementary will not be opened. Up for consideration is the reduction of 15 central office positions for a savings of $170,000, for an average of $11,333 per position. Those positions include 2 positions in deputy superintendents‘ offices, 1 in finance, .5 in human resources, 1 in school operations, .5 in education, 1 in school nutrition, 1.5 at Lafayette Education Center, 3 in the After School Program, 4 in school improvement and .5 in purchasing. Other reductions being considered by the board are a reduced work day to 6.5 hours for kindergarten, middle school, high school and media parapros totaling $512,200. The committee said they preferred no reductions in benefits but could support reductions to the employer-paid portion of the health insurance premium from $71.14 to $35, a savings of $1.096 million, and similar reductions in dental from $22 to $11, a savings of $312,400, in life insurance with savings of $169,000 and long-term disability to save $300,000. Those reductions, if approved, would amount to $781,400. All totaled, the committee’s recommendations for reductions in staff positions, reduced work days and staff paid benefit premiums totaled $10,346,900, leaving $4,173,000 in other cuts needed to cancel out the $14.5 million deficit. Another committee recommendation called for school system employees not residing in the county to pay $1,000 per child to attend Fayette schools. Ellis said the system currently serves approximately 300 children living outside the county. If approved, the school system would save $300,000. The other large ticket item recommended by the committee, but with a caveat, was an across the board pay cut of 2.5 percent, with the understanding that a 3.5 percent cut might be necessary. Comptroller Laura Brock told the board that each 1 percent across the board pay cut totals $1.2 million, indicating that to reach the $14.5 million threshold the board would have to impose a 3.5 percent cut if other committee recommendations were approved. In her comments on the cuts, Ellis said the committee did not support two or more negative financial adjustments on pay for employees. Based on earlier statements by Superintendent John DeCotis that much of the upcoming budget numbers would have to be addressed no later than March, board members will likely begin deciding on areas to be cut at the Feb. 23 meeting. login to post comments
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