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School Board Wrestles With Budget: Waukesha District Faces $3 Million Shortfall for Next Year

Posted on: Wednesday, 1 March 2006, 03:03 CST

By Amy Hetzner, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Mar. 1--Waukesha -- Larger class sizes, less technology, later elementary band and orchestra instruction and fewer gifted and talented teachers are in the mix for the 2006-'07 school year after a School Board session Tuesday.

In the last of three work sessions aimed at identifying $3 million worth of program reductions in next school year's budget, the School Board revisited some seemingly settled issues.

In particular, a slim majority was able to minimize class-size increases identified for elementary school students.

After initially approving at the beginning of the month a move to increase class sizes in grades one through six to an average of 27.5 students, as is on tap for the middle and high schools, board members decided Tuesday to reduce that to 26 students.

Another vote at the end of Tuesday's three-hour meeting, however, directed administrators to find another $180,000 in savings from elementary classroom teaching positions.

School Board member Daniel Warren acknowledged board members were changing their positions.

"I think that's indicative of what kind of struggle we have on behalf of our kids and our parents," Warren said. "We're managing a school district in decline. That's what's happening here. And it's extremely unfortunate."

The School District is facing a $3 million shortfall unless it reduces programs and services in 2006-'07. The board is slated to finalize program cuts for the next school year at its March 8 meeting.

After three work sessions, the board is on track to arrive at its target by:

-- Increasing class sizes in grades one through 12.

-- Eliminating gifted and talented staff in its middle and high schools.

-- Reducing its technology budget $450,000.

-- Reducing its busing costs $100,000.

-- And cutting three full-time elementary music positions, delaying the start of orchestra and band instruction one year.

The board also could raise $170,000 charging students a fee to participate in its environmental education program and increasing the cost of admission to athletic events.

District administrators have blamed the school system's shortfalls on conflicts between state laws that restrict revenue while also mandating certain expenses.

While the district's revenue has risen about 2% under the state-imposed revenue caps, the state's qualified economic offer law essentially guarantees teacher compensation will increase 3.8%, district officials say. Because of the difference, the district projects it will face budget shortfalls of $2.4 million in 2007-'08 and $2.1 million in 2008-'09.

It is because of possible future cuts that board member Frank Finman questioned some of Tuesday's tinkering.

The district might not be able to keep a 26-to-1 student-teacher ratio in its elementary schools for more than a couple of years, something that also could interfere with efforts to utilize school space more effectively, he said.

"I think it's poor planning, and I think it is not responsible," Finman said in speaking against the lower elementary classes.

But board member Joseph Como argued that students in the lower grades need more specialized attention than those in middle and high school.

Board member Ellen Langill also said she believed lower class sizes were more important in the primary grades.

"I think if we don't succeed in elementary school, we won't succeed in anything," she said.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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