Springville-GI District school superintendent submits budget plan A to mixed reviews

During its Jan. 31 meeting, the Springville-Griffith Board of Education took a closer look at budget plan A, one of four plans presented to the board at the previous meeting by Superintendent of Schools Paul Connelly.

Plan A includes a property tax levy of 4.91 percent, which will require a 60 percent approval from voters, but will also include the fewest cuts to staff, programs and supplies.

“At our last meeting, as requested, our administrative team put in over 120 hours of hard work to figure out how we’re going to sort this out,” Connelly explained. “I will request the board again that we proceed with A, which still leaves us $259,000 short. By and large, we’re keeping the core programming [Advanced Placement courses] and meeting mandates from New York state for music and art. When the students aren’t in music and art, they’ll be in math, reading and literacy. And I’m not all that sad about that, folks. It’s not easy to do, focusing on math, reading and literacy.”

Connelly, assisted by Business Administrator Ted Welch, explained to the board and a packed library full of staff and community members that the largest portion of the budget is made up of personnel, at 69 percent.

“That percentage is actually pretty low. [Personnel] is where the money is. If we cut out everything else, we wouldn’t exist,” said Welch. “We’re in the people business. We rely on people and our costs are outstripping the ability to fund them.”

Connelly and Welch also explained the disparity in state aid, showing that out of $805 million in available aid, $250 million is in competitive grants, many of which are not able to be disbursed because of a lack of application procedures. In addition, $265 million is expense-driven and $290 million is new state aid.

Connelly said that the current state administration “does not show the commitment to education that the previous administration has done,” and Welch added that state aid is projected to remain flat for the upcoming budget year.

The administration team at S-GI agreed to accept a pay freeze for the 2012-2013 year in order to help make up the deficit.

“I thank you for your leadership. It speaks volumes,” Connelly said, as he accepted the resolution. He added that he would be exploring a retirement incentive program in order to help make up some of the gap, and that he would “greatly enjoy any concessions the unions might give.”

Connelly showed the board a presentation that broke down plan A according to school building, fundamentals and athletics, emphasizing what would be kept in place at each site.

Board Member Stephen Schunk voiced his agreement with the plan. “I think we’re finally moving toward state recommendations. I don’t see why community money should be used for anything beyond what is required by the state,” he said.

Board Member Jon Einarsson responded that he was concerned for S-GI’s viability as a competitive district if too many extracurriculars are cut. “Without a great school district, who’s going to come back to live here?” he asked. “How is that good for the community? It’s not just a school district we’re talking about here, that has a profound effect on the community.”

Schunk replied, “It’s been my understanding that the school district is not really a driving force in relocating to an area. People are going to gravitate toward where the jobs are, not where the best school districts are.”

At Colden Elementary, class sizes would be kept at fewer than 25 students up to grade four. Band and orchestra would remain in grades four and five, the library would remain open as a resource center and kindergarten and first grade small-group instruction for reading and math would remain in place.

Art and music offerings would be reduced, although not eliminated.

Einarsson said, “If the curriculums are aligned and everyone’s part of a team, they learn more things. I don’t know if I can accept cutting that in half.”

The same changes will occur at Springville Elementary School in an effort to equalize the education in both elementary school buildings.

Principal Michael Retzlaff explained that, at Springville Middle School, some schedule changes will mean more instruction in English language arts and math; “teaming” will remain in place and exploratory, languages other than English and music offerings, will also see no change.

He said that a longer block will be created to leave more time for ELA and math and, although the details have not yet been worked out, “we want to do what’s best for our students and maximize our staff’s time.”

“I was very surprised when we looked closely at the middle school. It’s already very, very tight,” said Connelly. “Most class sizes are already 25-26.”

Retzlaff said that “looping” will also be implemented, allowing a student to stay with the same teacher for more than one year, which can increase classroom instruction time by up to five weeks, since teachers do not have to spend that time getting to know new students each year.

“We’ll be focusing on what teaming looks like. Coming down the pike, we’re seriously looking at data to move in and out of [Academic Intervention Services], to make everything more structured,” Retzlaff said.

He added that the administration would like to reinstate an activity period to allow more time for the students who need AIS to take advantage of those services and for the rest of the students to get themselves organized without taking up class time.

“When you come down and watch the sixth grade hallway at dismissal, you see that they’re still very much elementary school students. They can’t get organized and the teachers end up pulling them out of their last class early to put them together and anchor them,” said Retzlaff.

At the high school, the schedule will see many of the same electives, but on a cyclical basis. “A lot of the things at the high school are still going to be there; it’s just going to be a little more difficult to schedule,” Connelly explained. “This is happening all over Western New York.”

High School Principal Vince Vanderlip explained that the focus was on creating equity throughout the subjects offered, and when the administration looked at what to cut and what to keep, factors such as enrollment and which classes were newest were also considered.

“We’re going to be reverting back to applying for AP courses,” he said. “Students will have to be accepted into an AP [class] much like they’re going to be accepted into college. The number of seats available will mean students will have to meet certain guidelines to be there.”

He added that an effort will be made to provide more courses through community colleges and distance learning, in order to offer the greatest range possible.

“Electives is an unfortunate term. Really, these are enrichment courses. We’re going to be rotating them in so students can get the full range of what we offer,” Vanderlip said.

Connelly said that, in athletics, every effort will be made to retain the 38 different teams, promote safety, conditioning, skill development and the fundamentals through modified sports.

Wrapping up the formal budget presentation, Connelly said, “I support the movement toward plan A. In order to do the work I need to do to get this rolling, I need some decisions.”

After the budget numbers were presented, Connelly asked for feedback from the board.

Board Member Janine Caimano said she saw that the loss of staff was “very skewed toward the elementary schools” and asked if that was because of overstaffing in those buildings.

“The assistance we have in the elementary school is extremely rich,” confirmed Connelly. “Without stepping on anyone’s toes, I don’t care which skill you’re practicing. Be it woodworking, ice skating or teaching, the more you do it yourself, the better you’re going to be at it.”

Caimano added that she wanted the administrative team to look amongst its own ranks for potential staffing cuts. “I’m all for right-sizing classrooms, but in my opinion, teachers have the most contact with the students and they’re our best hope for getting those grades up,” she said. “If you didn’t look amongst yourselves, I would like to know why.”

Board Vice President Delia Bonenberger said that she supported plan A because it did not include the “devastating” cuts in arts and music that some of the other plans may have.

Einarsson said he supported plan A 95 percent of the way. “I want to be sure we’re offering a good, rounded education,” he said. “What’s required is a C. If I got a C when I was in school, I got a whoopin’. Being a C-quality district is not my will.”

Board President Mel Williams also offered his affirmation of plan A.

The board agreed to proceed with plan A as a basis, looking more closely at what can be kept and what must be cut in order to make up the $259,000 shortfall.

This presentation can be found in full, including a numerical breakdown and a list of classes to be retained, at the Springville-GI District’s website, www.springvillegi.org, under the board of directors tab.