Susquehanna Community cuts less with freeze

BY STACI WILSON

Management, teacher and non-professional labor groups at Susquehanna Community School District revealed Wednesday night they would take a one-year pay freeze to lessen the pain of proposed budget cuts.

The school district stands to lose $918,000 in state funding in the 2011-12 school year.

Superintendent Bronson Stone thanked the labor groups saying, “We have outstanding people here.”

Stone said the district decreased expenditures by $881,000 with the cuts that were put in place at Wednesday night’s meeting.

But cuts were made by the board.

“The cuts were deep – very deep,” Stone said.

The school board voted to eliminate the assistant high school principal position, held by Holly Warunek.

A four-year-old kindergarten teaching position was also eliminated.

The K-4 program will move from a full-day to a half-day program in 2011-12.

Stone said losing the full-day of K-4 instruction was “a tremendous hit.”

“I can’t think of a more worthwhile program,” Stone said.

Stone said he hoped to come back to the board in the future and ask for the program to be reinstated to full-day status.

“Quality early childhood educations has a greater impact (on students),” Stone said. “It is optional but it shouldn’t be.”

Three non-professional positions were also cut, an high school office aide; a K-4 instructional aide; and an elementary copier room aide.

“It’s a luxury we can’t afford to have,” Stone said of the copier room aide position.

Stone said the cuts resulted in about $170,000 worth of jobs lost from the district.

In addition to the labor groups, bus contractors have agreed to take a hit that amounts to an $80,000 savings.

Funds were also cut from principal budgets; the athletic budget; and the maintenance/technology budget.

Cost saving measures were implemented across the entire school district.

The two principals cut a combined $100,000 out of their operating budgets.

About $30,000 worth of cuts were made in athletics. The co-sponsored teams provided some of the savings but optional equipments and supplies were also cut.

Although marching band and high school theater performances were expected to receive cuts, the programs will remain for the upcoming school term.

The activity bus will be reduced to running two nights per week.

Behind-the-wheel driver’s training will be offered to students during the summer months for a fee.

In other cost-cutting measures, the district voted to not fill six department head positions. The job duties of the department heads will be assumed by the administrators.

A summer band position and three grade span leader positions will also not be filled in an effort to curtail district expenditures.

Additional savings to the district will come from a co-sponsorship with Blue Ridge for the wrestling and golf teams.