BY ELAINE STIEB
Lake Orion Review Editor
More than $3.5 million in proposed reductions/eliminations could give a boost to an unsettled 2004-05 school district budget.
According to Lake Orion School Superintendent Dr. Craig Younkman, Michigan school districts have lost $222 million in funding from the state over the last three years — and there’s no end in sight as the state’s economy continues to struggle.
School board members unveiled a proposed list of savings at their meeting on March 10.
Still undecided is a proposal by outside consultants to reduce bus stops. If it happens, it would reduce transportation costs by $500,000. LO Financial Director Jillynn Keppler said the school board is considering conducting public meetings before any action is taken on the proposal.
Dr. Younkman said pay to participate plans for athletics and other extra activities are being considered. Fees will be established, although no amounts have been determined yet.
The strings program will be phased out. No new 6th graders will be added to the program. If the phasing out didn’t take place, additional teachers would be needed.
Parents at the board meeting breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that there aren’t any plans for Lake Orion to pull out of the International Academy.
So far, the school district’s participation in the OSMETech program in Clarkston hasn’t been eliminated either. ‘Oakland Schools has given us a proposal. ‘We’ll reexamine this and give it due consideration,? Dr. Younkman said.
Savings will come from eliminating seven teachers, not buying any new textbooks and reducing each building’s budget by 20 percent, according to Keppler.
Other jobs that will be eliminated include some varsity assistant coaches and the high school’s theater assistant and part-time help.
Over $76,000 has been eliminated from the intramural program. Keppler said the goal is to make this highly successful program self-funded that will depend on grants.
‘Our goals was to cut as little as we could and keep as much as we possibly could,? school board president Leeann Bartley said. ‘We have good people; we’ll make it work.?
‘We looked a lot at this budget,? school board member Mary Jo Burchart said. ‘Layoffs aren’t something we do lightly.
‘They’re (federal laws) making us do more and more things with less money. I don’t see it getting any better.?