March 1 - Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools

director said when asking the board for its approval to begin the regretful process.To make a bad situation even worse, board members saw the numbers of staff cuts necessary to meet a 6 anda 10 percent budget reduction. No numbers were presented for the 16 percent reduction.“We don’t believe it will be that extreme,” Lane said during her presentation. Lane presented what is called theGovernor’s Budget Amendment Plan A and Plan B which means reducing the budget even with the use ofstimulus monies. In Plan A, about 150 jobs face the ax; in Plan B, over 180. Shaking heads, frowns, downturnedeyes showed the boards disdain for the numbers.Gov. Kathleen Sebelius recently took some action to provide some stimulus monies to help school districts,knowing the grim forecast for schools. Those monies and allocations help districts navigate the tumultuouswaters facing all Kansas school districts. Administrators state- wide knew of the budget crisis so plans to savemoney and jobs percolated for months. Some districts explored longer days and shorter weeks to save a day ofutilities each week. Many options statewide may develop.Toward the end of the meeting, the board took action directing J.D. Rios, human resources director, to beginthe process of identifying and notifying workers whose jobs may be cut. While several members of the boarddid not like the situation or the motion, they face a deadline with contract negotiations looming and the fiscalyear ending. The new fiscal year begins in July, necessitating budget decisions now.To begin the budget-cutting process, a zero-based budget provided a starting point. From that, the districtlearned that health insurance costs increase by about 14 percent, which means an almost $3 million increase inexpenses. Areas expecting cuts include: business services, cabinet, public relations, human resources,alternative programs, assistant principals and others. These cuts reflect the 6 percent reduction. The bleedingworsens with Plan B.Lane explained cost-cutting measures like delaying purchase of new books and curriculum to minimize theoverall effect, using a contingency fund, using a workman’s compensation fund for one year, yet, still, reductionof staff looms as the only solution to the budget puzzle.