Webster, Neely closing

Alonzo Weston

Apr. 10, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Before a standing-room-only crowd inside the district offices, St. Joseph public school officials presented a laundry list worth of cuts to the board of education for approval during a special Thursday night meeting.

Tops on the list were the possible loss of 132 certified positions and the closing of Neely and Webster elementary schools for the 2009-2010 school year.

School District Superintendent Dr. Melody Smith told the board that the cuts were being made to offset the loss of revenue from the defeat of the 63-cent operating levy Tuesday. She said the plan is to cut $3 million worth of positions and services, and spend down $4 million in reserves to make up for the loss.

"This affects the lives of many of our staff and touches the lives of the community at large," Dr. Smith told the board. "I'm not saying we're delivering to you good answers, because good is a value word. We must present some solutions to you tonight so we can, in a timely manner, ensure a smooth transition to the 2009-2010 school year."

The board approved the closing of the two schools and the loss of positions. It also voted to freeze salaries, eliminate longevity incentives and eliminate early child care. The board will decide on raising lunch and breakfast prices and outsourcing early child care to outside services at its meeting next Tuesday.

As far as where Neely and Webster students will attend school next year, the board plans to look at redistricting reports in May.

Job losses will be delivered by written notice no later than April 15. But the board recommended taking $145,000 from the library book budget to offset some of the possible job cuts.

"This is very difficult. This is like telling a member of your family that they can no longer come to the dinner table," said Diane Watson, board president.

Dr. Smith said the reasons for closing Neely and Webster were discussed during the campaign. Neely is in the worst shape of any facility in the district. And Webster has the smallest boundaries and is close to Noyes and Edison schools.

"When we talk about closing schools, we are not talking about the education of the children, we're not talking about staff," she said.

Janet Pullen, district chief financial officer, said the district lost 17 percent of its local property tax revenue for the next school year. And at $3.04 per $100 assessed valuation, the operating levy is now 39 cents below the state performance requirement. She also said the district faces the possibility of being placed on the state's financially distressed list.

"If we just continue as we are with our budget, next year we will spend approximately $7 million more than we take in revenue, and in three years our reserves will be less than 3 percent of our expenditures," she said.

District officials did not discuss the possibility of putting the levy back on the ballot in August or November before going into closed session. Steve Huff, assistant to the superintendent, said Wednesday there were no immediate plans to put the measure to a vote in the near future.

Kenneth Reeder, head of Citizens Against Forever Tax, an opposition group to the school bond/levy, said his mother received phone calls asking why her son hated children so much. He said the calls came from a Hall Elementary School parent.

Mr. Reeder also said the district is using the cuts as scare tactics to punish voters.

"They've got $35 million in reserves, $6.5 million out of a $114 million budget, the numbers do not add up," he said. "How does $6 million make this big an impact, and where is their plan that they can't even handle less than 5 percent of their budget changing?"

Alonzo Weston can be reached

at alonzow@npgco.com.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0283-34053287