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4 teaching aide positions among reductions
Bellefontaine City Schools Board of Education members unanimously approved a total of $1,009,237 in budget cuts, both to salaries and fringe benefits and also for non-salary items to address an issue of deficit spending with the district’s budget that began in fiscal year 2017.
The budget reductions come ahead of a proposed 10-year operating levy that will appear on the May 7 ballot, which would raise $1,750,000 annually for operating expenses. Superintendent Brad Hall said at the Monday evening meeting the budget cuts passed are effective beginning with the 2019-20 school year, are permanent and will remain in place whether or not the levy passes.
Additional cuts will be necessary if the district’s levy does not meet voter approval.
While a number of the reductions to salaries and fringe benefits will occur through eliminating positions directly following staff retirements and resignations, four teacher’s aide positions were cut through a reduction in force, effective June 30. Those teacher’s aides affected are: Valerie Hensley, Bellefontaine Intermediate; April Jameson, Bellefontaine High School; Julie Lenhart, Bellefontaine Elementary; and Tina Norton, educational aide for preschool buses.
Hensley addressed the board Monday evening, along with supporter Valerie Davis, who said her grandson has received excellent help and mentoring through educational aides in special needs classrooms in the district.
“Our students deserve to have the support they need to improve. Taking away support is not going to help morale,” Hensley said. “Teachers need aides to provide that one-on-one help to the students.”
She said she was disappointed to lose a reliable position with good benefits that she has greatly enjoyed.
“I thank you for the last three years working here because they’ve been the best.”
The superintendent noted that with the reduction of the four educational aides, the district is looking at opportunities to offer the individuals positions to come back to the district, based upon upcoming retirements and resignations that the district could receive in the upcoming months.
“Right now, we’re not in the season where we have as many individuals announcing their retirements and resignation, as those come more toward the summer months. We’re hopeful that we can recall people from this list.”
Total cuts to salaries and fringe benefits are $823,179, and also include absorbing the position of retire/rehire employee Rick Abbott, Bellefontaine High School associate principal, at the end of the current contract year.
Hall related that two Title I teachers, Joni Siler and Susan Steffen, also volunteered to have their positions reduced to half-time, resulting in a savings of $83,034, which is included in the total figure for the cuts.
Also included in the total $1,009,237 figure is the retirement resignation of high school secretary Tamara Sheridan. Members accepted her resignation effective July 1, and she has worked in the district for 13 years.
Additional reductions include the following: absorb three retiring teachers, $234,394; absorb one middle school teaching position resignation, $52,214; absorb one intermediate school teaching position resignation, $65,762; absorb two instructional aides resignations, $56,321; absorb one retiring psychologist, $55,785; absorb one retiring secretary, $56,140; reduce extra teaching assignment high school, $10,041; reduce weight room coordinators high school, $4,597; cut high school summer school, $3,855; reduce gifted stipends, $6,267.
Non-salary items that are being reduced in the budget beginning next school year total $173,292 and include: cost savings from some College Credit Plus Courses and AP Courses, $37,500; reduce gifted contracted services, $20,389; reduce building budgets by 10 percent, $11,493; reduce IMPACT Program, $62,000; reduce Field Trips to $1,000 per building, $8,000; reduce Discovery Center Aides, $23,910; savings on paper copies, $10,000.
The board also approved a measure to freeze administrative salary schedules, a savings of $12,766 annually.
Bellefontaine Elementary School Principal Pat Martz and Associate Principal Denise Johnson discussed a plan for a new “Begindergarten,” a two-year kindergarten program beginning next school year to assist students with low academic scores entering into kindergarten and/or late birthdays prior to entering into their kindergarten year, such as those with summer birthdays.
To be eligible to begin kindergarten and the new Begindergarten, students must be 5 years old on or before Aug. 1. Martz commented this new program will provide students with one year of half-day kindergarten in either morning or afternoon sessions. Then they would begin their second kindergarten year in the more traditional full-day kindergarten.
The program will focus on mathematics, phonemic awareness, letter identification and sound fluency, fine motor development, along with social and emotional learning, and work to address the achievement gap the school is observing widening in the third-grade. Officials said the program would incur no additional costs for the district by utilizing current staff.
“We’ve talked starting a program like this for several years, and have visited other schools with a similar program recently,” the principal said. “We would look at serving between 12-15 students in the morning session and 12-15 students in the afternoon session.”
Also during the meeting, member Brenda Sanford was recognized for her 20 years of service to the Bellefontaine Schools Board of Education with the presentation of a certificate by Ohio School Board Association representatives Linda Jordan and Ron Diver. She also was honored at the OSBA Southwest Region’s spring banquet March 12.
Bellefontaine City Schools Board of Education member Brenda Sanford, right, is presented with a plaque recognizing her 20 years of service to the board by Ohio School Board Association representatives Ron Diver, left, and Linda Jordan. (EXAMINER PHOTO | MANDY LOEHR)
Members also heard a report regarding a proposed trip for the Bellefontaine High School robotics team 9185A members Ben Parsons, Zane Warren, Micah Woolf and Dustin VanBuskirk to attend the VEX Robotics World Competition April 24 through 28 in Louisville, Ky., with their adviser Sandi Chervenak. They earned the spot after their performance at the VEX State Robotics Tournament March 1 and 2 in Marion, as previously reported in the Examiner.
All costs associated with travel are being sponsored by Honda Transmission Mfg., and the board will vote on the trip at their next rescheduled meeting, 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 15.
In other student matters, the board approved a trip proposed by DECA adviser and business teacher Katie Rychener for DECA members to attend the International Career Developmental Conference in Orlando, Fla., from April 26 to May 1.
Members also convened in executive session for the purpose of the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion or compensation of public employees. No action was taken after the session.
In other action, the board:
• extended supplemental contracts for middle school assignments to Eric Fatzinger, head boys track; Steve Henry, head girls track; Nathan Arbogast, assistant boys track; Matthew Gallaway, assistant girls track;
• approved Janet Fulton and Chris Miller as Success Center graders;
• approved Brittany Younkman as a long-term substitute after serving 60 days in her current assignment;
• extended a one-year contract to Kathy Anderson, intermediate school cook, effective March 4;
• approved J. Steven Harman for summer maintenance at the rate of $10 per hour;
• recognized senior of the month Chalony Tolliver; and
• approved a resolution for participation in the Jefferson County Educational Service Center Virtual Learning Academy designed for grades 2-12 for a contract beginning July 1 through June 30, 2021.