The Citizen asked Goodrich Area Schools Superintendent Kim Hart to answer questions on the school budget, which is currently undergoing cuts.
School budget and teachers
Citizen: How are teachers paid?
Hart: Teachers are paid an annual salary for 184 working days. Their contract includes under ‘Supplemental Pay? the provision that any days beyond 184 be paid per day. There are two salary schedules in their contract each year’one for 184 days and one for 198 days. They are being paid for 198 days in the 2004-2005 school year.
Citizen: If the extended school year is shortened, how do you expect teachers? salaries to change?
Hart: Our extensive teacher-by-teacher analysis compared the 2004-2005 year’s actual salary, based on 198 teacher days, to next year’s actual salary with an 184-day year for teachers. With their 1-percent raise, any ‘step? on the salary schedule, and any other raises, 73 of 110 teachers would see a decrease of 1.12 percent salary; 13 would get a raise; seven teachers would lose between 3.7 percent and 5.18 percent; and 30 teachers would lose 6.14 percent of their pay.
Citizen: Would pay changes resulting from a shorter calendar year continue into subsequent years?
Hart: There isn’t any plan right now to reintroduce the extra 14 days back into the calendar. We also don’t know what will happen with state funding in the next few years. At this time we haven’t been able to find any district that had an extended year grant 10 years ago that’s been able to keep those days.
Citizen: The board offered early retirement incentives last year to find out early if teachers were leaving’will that happen this year? How many teachers do you expect to lose by attrition?
Hart: The board offered early retirement notification of $5,000 in the past. We’ve not been able to offer that, nor expect early retirement packages now due to budget cuts. One teacher plans retirement this year; it’s unknown how many others we may lose by attrition.
Other budget items
Citizen: What do administrators receive in clothing and vehicle allowances?
Hart: There’s no clothing allowances for any administrator’bus drivers and custodians receive a small clothing allowance. My vehicle allowance is $500 annually to cover gas and my car, which is less than Dr. Green received, his car and gas was paid. It’s low compared to other superintendents in the county. Other administrators get $75 a month reimbursement for out-of-county gas expenses, based on the average of all administrators four years ago. It hasn’t fluctuated to keep up with gas prices.
Citizen: How does the number of administrators compare with other districts?
Hart: We have very few administrators compared to other districts this size. Dr. Green did a study last year because he was trying for years to get the board to add an assistant superintendent. We’re all wearing a lot of hats.
Citizen: Do administrators plan to ‘lead by example? with salary cuts?
Hart: Administrators are certainly willing and we are negotiating with those whose contracts are up this year. Those percentages and amounts haven’t been finalized yet.
Citizen: Will support staff, such as secretaries, be cut?
Hart: We’re expecting those working a shorter year to see some type of cut, but are currently negotiating with many of those groups. Those already working 52 weeks yearly never saw a pay increase since they were year-round employees. Due to the nature of negotiations, it’s not possible to comment further regarding their salaries at this time.
Possible revenues
Citizen: If a sinking fund is allowable under Proposal A, what would that mean for taxpayers and the district?
Hart: It is allowable. As a voted millage, it means added tax for homeowners, working within state guidelines as to how much could be levied, as it’s based on district debt with the school bond loan program used to pay for new buildings in the district.
Sinking funds are very restrictive, and must be used for remodeling and improving buildings, not general upkeep or salaries. With new buildings we have a high debt level, and our financial advisers say we could probably levy only a half-mill sinking fund. If passed, homeowners pay $25 for $50,000 of assessed value, half of resale value, netting the district about $180,000 per year.
Citizen: How much additional state aid do you expect the district will take in through accepting Schools of Choice students?
Hart: Since the amount of students coming in is unknown, we don’t know if the revenue would be enough to keep a teacher.
Other options
Citizen: What’s planned for the Coolidge Road property the district owns?
Hart: If we were down to the bottom straw and had nothing left, we’d probably sell it, but we need to preserve the land for the future of the district. The cost of the property goes up significantly each year, and the district won’t necessarily have the funds available to buy property in the future. The last bond issue included the purchase of property for a future building. The board hasn’t discussed it at this point.
Citizen: Can money donated to the Goodrich Education Foundation be donated to help the school budget?
Hart: The Goodrich Education Foundation is separate from the board of education. Three foundation members serve as its board of directors, and would have to vote to determine where donations would go, but they are willing to work with the district wherever possible.
Citizen: Could some programs be shared with the community instead of coming out of the school budget?
Hart: From the community surveys we’ve conducted the past two months, we’ve found the 300-plus respondents appear to support approaching the township about the possibility of a parks and recreation program, lessening the burden on the school district general fund. Respondents appear to feel there should be a balance between what the school and township offers in community programs. The township can ask voters to approve funds for such a program, while the school can’t. Everything we do’from toilet paper to textbooks to field development and maintenance’all comes out of the same pot. If we spend more in one area, we have to cut from somewhere else.