AUSTINTOWN SCHOOLS Suggestions abound for reducing costs

School officials must cut the district's nearly $38 million budget by at least $1 million.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Are general music and elementary physical education necessary?
Could music and art programs be offered less often rather instead of totally eliminated?
Would parents be willing to pay the cost of music directors, coaches and club advisers to keep those programs in place?
Why spend $22,000 for field trips when few are taken?
Parents could save the district $78,000 now spent for worksheets, workbooks and copied information. Even an annual $25 fee per each pupil in kindergarten through 12th grades -- around 5,000 pupils, would generate $125,000.
Those are some of the questions and suggestions from the parents, staff, students and teachers who attended a state-of-the-schools meeting Wednesday. They nearly packed the 600-seat Fitch High School cafeteria for a brief presentation by Superintendent Doug Heuer, then broke into 25 groups to decide what programs and services are most important to them.
Heuer said by law, any elimination of programs that results in a reduction in teachers or staff must be announced by April 30.
Program costs
School officials provided the crowd with a list of programs and services not required by state law, their cost, and comments from teachers and staff about the consequences of eliminating them.
Eliminating public access to buildings after school hours and weekends, for example, would save the district $175,000 but would also eliminate after-school tutoring and day care, and use of buildings by community groups. Eliminating hot breakfast and lunch programs would save $150,000, but pupils would have to bring their own lunches.
The district could save $700,000 by closing one of five elementary buildings. The result would be loss of a neighborhood school with 30 percent to 50 percent of elementary pupils assigned to a new school, fewer classrooms, fewer teachers and larger classes.
Heuer said school officials will compile the information provided at Wednesday's meeting and present it to the school board.
School officials will cut $1 million or $3.6 million from the budget for the 2006-07 school year, he said.
Even if voters approve two renewal levies in May, $1 million must be cut from the district's nearly $38 million budget because of inflation, increases in fuel costs, and increases in the general cost of doing business, Heuer said.
Heuer said, for example, the district paid natural gas heating costs of $34,000 in November, and $116,000 in December.