S-GI board hears public opinion on budget cuts, institutes new college scholarship

Tempers ran high at the Jan. 31 Springville-Griffith Board of Education meeting, as Superintendent Paul Connelly presented budget plan A for the board’s consideration. This plan includes a property tax levy of 4.91 percent, but will also include the fewest cuts to staff, programs and supplies.

Under plan A, the district will still need to make up an approximate $259,540 budget shortfall and some deep cuts will have to be made in order to do that.

Speaking to a standing room only crowd, several community members presented their cases for or against the superintendent’s proposals.

Tara Felser, an 11th grader at Springville-GI, was first to the microphone.

“I’ve been on the bowling team since seventh grade. We’re going to have six seniors next year,” she said. “Taking away the bowling team would be a huge disappointment; we look forward to the season every year.”

The girls’ bowling team coach, Kevin Farner, followed Felser, calling himself the “bean counter” for the team.

“I appreciate the difficulty of your decision, but I don’t understand why bowling is even on the radar when making cuts,

Farner said. “Bowling is less than .03 percent of the budget. About 78 percent of our members are on either the honor or merit roll. Cutting bowling would be taking away the sporting opportunity from some of our brightest kids in school.”

Next up, art teacher Charles Houseman spoke on behalf of the art department. Calling himself the “embodiment of 21st century skills,” he referenced his extensive artistic career in the realms of gallery exhibits, design, architecture and education.

“I have [the art classes I took in high school] to thank for that. [The S-GI school district has] long been known for our support of the arts. Who are we if not a community that supports the arts? The unfortunate term ‘elective’ should not imply a lesser degree of learning,” Houseman said. “If our mission is to make students college-ready, the best way to meet that obligation to our students is to give them the skills they will need in the future. You need to try hard again to find a way to fund these classes and give the opportunity to maintain a viable and valuable program.”

Class of 2006 S-GI alumna Rebecca Runge came forward to present a statement from a group of alumni who have signed an online petition protesting the proposed cuts, specifically those to the arts and Advanced Placement courses. At press time, more than 200 students, former students and community members have signed the petition, which has been circulating via Facebook® and email to S-GI supporters.

Runge said the petitioners wanted to “question how these cuts will affect not only the current students but the viability of the community, state and country.” She compelled the board to look at both local and national trends to discern how the cuts would affect the quality of education not only at S-GI, but throughout the region.

Runge followed up her prepared statement with a personal account of how her S-GI education has served her.

“I’m about to leave the area and I’m so glad to have had the teachers who put me where I am today,” Runge said, choking up. “Without the arts program here at S-GI, I would not have had the confidence and the gumption to go to New York and say, ‘I am good enough to be here.’ I’m proud to say that I come from Springville. You’ve got a tough job ahead of you. Please do your best not to cut these programs; they’re very important.”

Springville resident Holly Nachbar also spoke on behalf of the arts program, citing two parallel orchestral experiences that she said demonstrated the quality of the S-GI music program.

“I attended a Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concert directed by JoAnn Falletta and she and the orchestra were like one unit. The following night, I attended an S-GI concert and the concert band played first. Their performance was equal to that of the philharmonic. I was astonished at the similarity of the two directors. Excellent leaders in music are hard to find. We must try very hard to keep these teachers and must look at the quality of people we have at hand,” Nachbar urged the board.

She added that some individuals have been citing their concerns for the taxpayer as a reason to implement cuts, but said she believes that now is the time for the taxpayer to pay for education in order to “pay back” the people who paid for their education in the past.

“People paid those taxes to allow us to have a good education as children,” she said. “Now it is our turn to pay them back and for our children going forward.”

After the formal budget presentation, Julie Francisco offered her perspective as a parent of a student who is involved in extracurriculars both at S-GI and in community organizations such as Springville Youth Inc.

“I’m having a hard time with this because of the loss of teachers, the decrease in music. Art and music also contributes to math and literacy,” Francisco said. “Again, we’re losing teachers and music and art and haven’t touched sports. I’m saying, have them share some of the pain as well, or have everybody reduce a little bit. I have a kid in the soccer league at SYI and he doesn’t need that duplicated or triplicated at the middle school.”

Francisco added that she hoped for equity as the board implemented cuts, asking that the board try to “trim a little bit” from everything, rather than cut one or two programs entirely.

She also suggested utilizing a booster club system, in which a group of interested community members would help fund sports for the students.

Board Member Jon Einarsson responded in opposition to the idea.

“My duty up here is to assist the district in finding solutions. Help me find a solution to those big numbers,” he said. “With a booster club, all we’re doing is what the state does to us: shifting money from pocket A to pocket B. Have we saved any money? No, not really.”

Board President Mel William thanked the community members who spoke at meetings, wrote letters and emails and otherwise contacted the board for their input.

“When we’re looking at these things, it can get very emotional. We’ve received a number of letters and emails and, for the most part, they’ve been well-written and well-meant, and I thank you for that,” Williams said.

As the board discussed the audit report, Einarsson pointed out that a policy on full disclosure was necessary not only for audit committee members, but in general.

“I think it’s important to have a separate policy on full disclosure. If a board member has a family member or a business that would be affected, that’s an important thing that everybody should know. If we vote to keep a certain program, we may have a vested interest in it,” he said.

Connelly reported that AIMSweb testing continues at the elementary level, emphasizing the necessity to test student achievement not only at the end of a marking period, but as the year goes on, in order to catch problems early.

“Why wait five, 10 weeks, end of the marking period, to find out if a kid is not doing well? We’ve got to get tighter and tighter, need to be data-driven all the time,” Connelly said.

The board also approved the institution of the I. James Oatman Community Service Scholarship, sponsored by Michael A. Benson for a student who demonstrates a commitment to the service of the community and the school but does not seek recognition for his or her actions.

“[Benson is] very passionate about the scholarship to honor the unselfish service Mr. Oatman gave for years and continues to give. This scholarship will go to one of our unsung heroes, someone who steps up, works hard and does the right thing quietly to propel S-GI in a special way to a better place,” said Connelly. “This is a wonderful expression of respect for this gentleman and the things he’s done over the years for S-GI. We thank Mr. Benson for his generous endowment [to help] an S-GI student who is an unsung hero to move on to school.”

The board also rescinded the retirement of Susan Lembke, after some discussion.

Board Member Stephen Schunk voiced his opposition. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to rescind a retirement we’ve already accepted,” he said. “If this individual wants to apply for a position again, that would be fine.”

Board Member Joan Kelly said she is in favor of keeping Lembke, given Lembke’s record of service to the district.

In other board news:

- The board approved the high school “February Spirit Week Dance” with proceeds’ going toward funding future activities.

- A donation of fitness equipment from the Pioneer Central School District was accepted.

- The superintendent’s entering into an agreement between the district and the Springville Administration Association to accept a wage freeze for the 2012-2013 school year was approved. The wage freeze is anticipated to create a budget savings of an estimated $24,000.

- The board affirmed the enaction of budget plan A.

The next S-GI Board of Education meeting will be held on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. at the high school library and media center.