Cuts target buildings, district workers

Nearly two-thirds of the proposed cuts will be from the teaching ranks.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The early permanent closing of two elementary schools and the elimination of about 140 jobs would help the Youngstown City Schools reduce spending by more than 9.6 million next school year.
That's the estimate presented to the state Financial Planning and Supervision Commission, and it follows some 6.3 million in salary and fringe-benefit cost cuts made by the district this year through the elimination of 97 jobs.
More than 80 teaching positions are targeted for elimination next year.
The state declared Youngstown to be in fiscal emergency in November 2006, prompting the formation of the fiscal recovery oversight commission to help restore the district to solvency.
The commission advised school administrators in January that they needed to put together a cost-reduction proposal for the 2007-08 school year as part of a recovery plan, and Carolyn Funk, district treasurer, presented that plan to the commission Thursday.
Earlier closings
The closings of Haddow Elementary and Southside Upper Elementary will be moved up to this fall, Funk said. Haddow, which houses children in K-4, was tentatively expected to close in 2008. Southside Upper, which houses fifth- and sixth-graders, wasn't expected to close until 2009 but will shut down this fall as well, Funk said.
The two buildings are being closed as part of a district rebuilding program.
North Elementary will move from its present location to the Haddow building as a new North is being built, and Haddow children will be attending North in the fall.
Seventh-graders coming out of Southside Upper will most likely go to the Alpha or Athena schools of excellence this fall, and the district will try to accommodate parents' choices on which elementary schools the sixth-graders will be attending.
Closing Haddow and Southside Upper will eliminate two principals, two secretaries, three educational support assistants, several custodial positions and more.
Funk said the plan also calls for the closing of Westside Upper Elementary, something that was to happen last year but got delayed. Volney Rogers Junior High School will be razed and Volney will move temporarily into the Westside building while a new Volney is built, Funk said.
Seventh-graders coming out of Westside will most likely attend Volney while the district again tries to accommodate parent choice on where sixth-graders should go to school.
Closing Westside Upper will eliminate one assistant principal, one teacher on special assignment and several other positions.
Closing the three elementary schools this fall will also eliminate 28 teacher positions, Funk said. That's on top of the 55 teaching jobs already targeted for elimination next year because of reductions in pupil population, bringing the total reduction of teachers to 83 out of a staff of 756, she said.
Funk reminded the commission that Wilson and Rayen high schools are closing permanently in June and a new East High School and a remodeled Chaney High School will open in the fall.
Personnel cuts
Those changes will allow the elimination of two deans, one teacher on special assignment, a secretary and several other positions.
In cuts elsewhere in the district, Youngstown will eliminate another assistant principal's spot, eight supervisors and about 10 other positions from various departments.
The bottom line is that general fund spending should be reduced to about 104 million next year, Funk said.
Roger Nehls, chairman of the oversight commission, noted that some of the numbers in the district's plan are estimates, and he advised that hard calculations will be required at some point.
He also noted that the projections don't yet show any district expense for unemployment compensation costs that will be incurred for people who get laid off. That will reduce the amount of savings, he said.
He said the district needs to start looking at what the impact of so many reductions will be on the educational process and identify the people who will lose their jobs to the spending cuts.
gwin@vindy.com