Budget Update: February 19, 2010

Superintendent Bill Fishbough

On Tuesday, I will bring three pieces of our 2010-2011 budget planning to the Board of Trustees: Reductions in certificated staff; reductions in administration; and a revised Early Retirement Incentive program.

TEACHERS & COUNSELORS

As I said in my last message, we will be eliminating 14 9th through 12th grade teaching positions for the coming year by ensuring all classes are filled to the contracted maximums.

New on the Board agenda next week will be the proposed elimination of 3 counseling positions and a reduction of 5 Adult School teaching positions. The Board will be considering approval of the resolution affirming the reduction of services this week.

If the certificated positions (excluding Adult School) are eliminated, the cuts total approximately $1.2 million dollars, or 7 percent, compared to the current year.

ADMINISTRATION

I will also be proposing the following administrative changes to the Board.

Earl F. Johnson Continuation High School Principal Clinton Williamson has requested to return to teaching. Hanford Adult School Principal Gary Marr will serve as Principal of both the Adult School and EFJ.

Director of Curriculum and Student Services Leslie Steffen and Director of Transportation Jim Black will both retire at the end of the school year. Assistant Superintendent Tim Smith will retire in December. To save money, these positions will not be replaced. Additionally, Maintenance Director Bruce Pickering will become Maintenance, Operations and Transportation Director.

Ward Whaley, who is currently an Assistant Principal at Hanford West High, will take over a new Director position at the District Office to oversee Human Resources and other services.

Dorothy Crass will oversee Special Education, EL and Migrant Services and serve as Hanford Night Continuation Principal.

The other central services that were managed by Mr. Smith and Ms. Steffen will be absorbed into the duties of the Superintendent’s Office and Assistant Superintendent of Business Services.

At the comprehensive high schools, Learning Director Janice Ede will move from Hanford West High School to Sierra Pacific High School. Learning Director Darin Parsons will move from Hanford High School to Hanford West High School. That will leave an Assistant Principal and a Learning Director at Hanford West and two Assistant Principals at Hanford High, with the understanding that if/when an Assistant Principal position is vacated, it will be replaced with a Learning Director.

All of these administrative cuts and changes total $581,471, or 22 percent, compared to the current year.

EARLY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE

We have received word from our attorneys that the Early Retirement Incentive approved by the Board earlier this month is not in compliance with the current mandates of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) because it offers different levels of compensation to retiring employees based upon age.

To comply with changes to the law, I will be recommending to the Board the deletion of the current out-of-compliance Board Policy, rescind the original Early Retirement Incentive offer it made last month, and approve a revised Early Retirement Incentive offer. The timeline for qualified staff to take advantage of the incentive would be unchanged.

Again, I want to remind staff that these are the first phase of cuts – those that need to be approved by the board before March 15.

I will be meeting with the District Budget Committee March 2 to discuss additional proposals for changes and savings and I will continue to keep you posted as decisions are made.

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Budget Update: February 11, 2010

Superintendent Bill Fishbough

This week, the HJUHSD Board approved an Early Retirement Incentive Program for certificated staff for this year.

This Board has not advocated such programs in the past because it felt the financial savings did not outweigh the loss of experienced teachers. However, the Trustees said they were willing to consider this option because of the extreme financial challenges facing our schools this year.

Unfortunately, the ongoing funding cuts from the State are so massive that an Early Retirement program is only the tip of the iceberg.

I am currently working with school and district administration to create a plan to cut our spending by at least $2.5 million to bring our budget into balance.

The State has suggested some “flexibility” in spending designed to help schools absorb cuts to the General Fund, and we are looking at ways to take advantage of that flexibility.

It is my goal to make the necessary cuts in a way that impacts teaching and learning as little as possible. But, there is no doubt that cuts this large will be felt district-wide. There is just no way around that.

On February 23, I will make my first budget recommendations to the Board. I will be recommending a reduction of 14 teaching positions for 2010-2011. We will make these cuts by ensuring that all classes are filled to the contracted class sizes.

Staffing reductions are not the only step we need to take to balance the budget. But staffing changes have to be one of our first steps because, by State law, we have to give notice to certificated staff by March 15 if their positions will be cut in the next school year.

I will be meeting with affected staff members personally in the coming weeks. It is my hope that we may not have to follow through on every “pink slip” we issue. But, at this time, we have to act conservatively and plan for the facts as we know them.

Following that first round of staffing decisions, I will be bringing to the Board more detailed plans affecting classified and administrative staffing and other changes to school and district spending.

I appreciate your patience during this difficult time. And I appreciate the input that I’ve received from staff, parents and others about budget planning. I’ve received several good suggestions about ways to save money and cut spending through our online Budget Feedback Form.

I’ve also received some questions about last year’s budget cuts. You can find a summary of last year’s budget cuts can be found below.

Again, as we make decisions affecting next year’s budget, I will continue to keep you updated. If you have a specific suggestion or question, please use our Budget Feedback Form to share it.

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