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| 4/11/2008 11:57:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Draft school budget has no staff salary rise
A draft budget has been presented to the Platte Canyon School District board of education by the superintendent for the 2008-2009 school year, and it recommends no staff salary increases.
Superintendent Jim Walpole said that there is not money in the budget to increase staff salaries without making significant cuts. If he gave the staff a cost of living increase, he will have to cut staff, he said.
Board president Ed Montgomery asked Walpole to confirm that a 1 percent increase in salaries would mean an $80,000 increase in the budget. Walpole said that, yes, each 1 percent increase in teacher salaries means an additional $80,000 in the budget.
Walpole gave the board four spreadsheets listing teacher salaries. One had this school year's salary schedule, one had a 1 percent increase, one had a 2 percent increase and the last had a 3 percent increase for teachers.
The budget proposal is still at a draft stage. The formal budget will be presented to the board at the May 5 board meeting, and a public hearing on the budget will be held on May 19. The board must adopt the budget by June 30.
Comparing districts
Walpole gave the board salary comparisons for a first-year teacher. At Platte Canyon, that salary is $30,982; in Jefferson County, it's $32,408; and in Englewood, it's $35,365. The difference is even larger for a teacher with a master's degree and 10 years of teaching experience. At Platte Canyon, that salary is $44,009; in Jefferson County it's $54,730; and in Englewood it's $55,512.
Walpole did not recommend any changes to the extra duty salary schedule, but he did make changes to the maximum salary for classified staff because that hasn't been changed for three years.
He also said he had adjusted the enrollment projections for 2008-2009 a little bit because of some increases in enrollment at Deer Creek Elementary.
The district can't afford to keep teachers for only a few years, but they can't afford not to move to another district, said Walpole. He added that the problem is going to get worse and the community is going to have to address the issue.
Mill levy rise discussed
The board discussed the possibility of asking voters for a mill levy increase to hike property taxes in November's election.
The last mill levy increase passed by the voters to support the schools was in 1989. There was a mill levy increase passed in 2006, but those funds are specifically for the pool.
Community members address the board
Bailey-area resident Ellen Stoddard-Keyes told the board she is concerned about the diminishing reserve budget. Last year's reserve was $1,185,000; next year's proposed reserve will be only $700,000.
Walpole explained that the fund balance is important because the district lives on delayed revenue because of when the money comes in from property taxes. From about July 1 through February, the money in the fund balance is used to cover expenses until money from property taxes comes in around March. If there is not enough money in the fund balance, the district could have to borrow money to operate in January and February.
Stoddard-Keyes felt that teacher retention needs to be the primary goal of the district. She said she would support a mill levy increase, but expressed that it's difficult to educate the public. She volunteered to help educate the community over the summer on the need for a mill levy increase.
Another resident, Richard Sause, expressed his concerns about the declining enrollment causing declining revenue. He said cuts in teaching staff would not be acceptable. He said he would also support a mill levy increase.
Derek Mullner, dean of students at Deer Creek, said that an informal poll of staff at Deer Creek showed support for a mill levy increase. He added that there needs to be training on communications with the public so that everyone can give the same answers when asked by the public.
Dean Arniotes, seventh- grade teacher at Fitzsimmons Middle School, said the majority of staff at the middle school and high school are in support of a mill levy rise.
Walpole told the board if they want to consider a mill levy increase, they would need to make that decision by the end of the school year and start fund-raising to campaign for the mill levy increase over the summer months.
Board vice president Mike Fraser said he learned in a class at the Colorado Association of School Boards conference that an election year is a good year to have an election because more people turn out to vote. Everyone is affected by the rising costs of gas, propane and electricity, he said, but he thinks the community would understand that the district needs to keep the lights on and needs diesel fuel if parents want their kids picked up by the bus. He added that it will be important to get education out there on the need for the mill levy increase "way in advance."
Montgomery felt there was a need for some leadership and asked Fraser and board member Bea Everest to take the lead on it, since they both have some marketing experience.
Everest said she would also like to identify those community members who would be willing to help on a committee; she had a sign-up sheet passed around to those attending the meeting.
Revised school calendar adopted
A revised school calendar was approved by the board. The new calendar removed the late-start days that had been adopted by the board at the March 3 meeting. Montgomery said that the board tries to give the principals what they need, but having the delayed starts was the most unpopular decision he'd seen as a board member. He felt that the community needed to see that the change was made.
Everest asked if those delayed starts for in-service days would be replaced; Walpole said no, that a couple of hours on grading days, as well as some time before and after school, to the extent feasible, will be used instead.
Audit report
Ron Schindler, board treasurer, went through the audit report that was completed by an independent auditor, and he said there were no abnormalities to report.
Montgomery explained that there were no "findings" in the audit, which means there were no weaknesses or anything wrong. He added that they have hired a new auditor for next year's audit.
Teacher appreciation week
The board passed a resolution to make May 4 through 10, 2008 Teacher Appreciation Week.
Schindler said that passing the resolution may seem hollow, but it's not.
"This is a heartfelt one," he said. "We have some extraordinary schools simply because of the efforts of teachers."
Full-day kindergarten
Paul Sandos, principal at Deer Creek Elementary, gave the board the preliminary numbers for kindergarten registration. So far, there have been appointments for kindergarten screenings for 60 students. Of those, 59 parents have requested full-day kindergarten. Sandos added that he will know more after registrations have been completed at the end of this week.
Deer Creek Preschool
Marilyn Sturek, early childhood coordinator and director of Deer Creek Preschool, gave an overview of the preschool program to the board. It is an integrated program, she said, with special education students, students enrolled in the Colorado Preschool and Kindergarten Program (children with environmental problems that affect learning, such as a child with a parent with a chronic illness), Head Start students (students that are economically disadvantaged), as well as tuition-based students. Sturek said that tuition is $1,000 per year for students in school two days a week, and $2,000 for students in school four days a week.
Next year, she has a waiting list for preschool slots and already has more kids on the waiting list than she has slots.
Fraser asked if there were any out-of-district kids; Sturek said this year she has three. The only comparable preschool in the area is the Little White School House, which is associated with West Jefferson Elementary, she said.
Platte Canyon Parks and Recreation
Christopher Hopkins and Art Hall with the Platte Canyon Parks and Recreation District requested permission from the board to use property on Rosalie Road, owned by the school district, for this year's disc golf tournament, which is put on by the Platte Canyon Area Chamber of Commerce. In the past, the tournament has been held on Duke Dozier's property, near U.S. 285 and County Road 43A, but they are now looking for a different site to be able to grow the event.
They took a tour of the Rosalie property and felt that they could possibly bring in a world tournament by holding the event on that property.
Currently, the property is leased to John Woodward for his cattle operations. Hopkins said they have had only casual conversations with Woodward about the use of the property, but Hall said they intend to have a more formal meeting with Woodward.
Fraser said that they will need to have a letter from Woodward to OK the use of the property for this event; Walpole said he would need to sit down with Woodward to discuss the details. It will be discussed at next month's meeting.
Rudy Gorke, a Bailey resident and disc golf player, gave the board a demonstration of disc golf. Hopkins said Gorke mentioned an interest in an informational session at the school to encourage people to participate in the tournament.
Pool committee
Fraser reported to the board that the pool is gearing up for the summer season and got some new fun floats for the kids to play on. An unfortunate mechanical failure last week has closed the pool until it can be fixed.
Upcoming events
Walpole told the board that there will be an "open mic" for students to perform in the auditorium on April 22.
The wastewater treatment plant hearing will be April 24 at 10 a.m. in the commissioners' room in Fairplay.
Colorado House Bill 07-1118
Walpole gave the board a copy of House Bill 07-1118, which deals with graduation requirements. The bill states that it is the duty of the school board to come up with graduation requirements that meet or exceed those developed by the state board.
One issue with increasing graduation requirements is the added cost, said Montgomery.
The district will also ask for community input for the requirements.
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