The Pratt school district will operate within its reduced budget next year — at least until the other shoe drops. USD 382 Superintendent Glen Davis expects that action — or lack of action — by the Kansas Legislature will result in more reductions in funding next year and that K-12 education will be impacted.
Topping the list of savings measures are contract reductions of 20 percent for Davis and 25 percent for Assistant Superintendent Suzan Patton. The two will share administrative duties for the Cunningham district, which shopped around for services to replace their superintendent who is leaving at the end of the year. A likely scenario is that either Davis or Patton will be in Cunningham for part of each day of their 4-day school week.
“It’s a win-win for both, saving each district $40,000,” Davis said.
“Any time you reduce, something has to give,” he continued. “What happens is you have to get more done in a shorter amount of time. We’re asking everyone else in the district to work harder for less pay for shorter time; we feel like it’s only fair for the administrators to do the same.”
Other personnel action taken at the Board of Education meeting Monday included:
• non-renewing contracts for a middle school science teacher, one high school secretary, a nurse for Liberty Middle School and Pratt High, a building aide at Haskins and library aide at Haskins Elementary School and LMS. The counselor position at Haskins will be eliminated and Misti Kuhn will transfer to a .6 social studies position at LMS.
• reducing secretarial contracts at LMS and PHS from 12 to 10 months.
• reducing or eliminating extended contracts for coaches, teachers and other staff.
• accepting the application for early retirement from foreign language teacher Martha Wade. Depending on pre-enrollment this spring, she could be replaced by a part-time Spanish teacher.
The transition to a single elementary school, closing Haskins at the end of the 2010-11 year, will begin next fall. Preschool classes will be moved to the administrative center, where renovations will be made to accommodate the children. All third and fourth graders will attend school at Southwest and fifth graders will move to LMS. The intention will be to close a wing at Haskins in order to save money, Davis said.
Projected class sizes are about 19 in each of four kindergarten classes and up to 23 in fourth grade, unless another teacher is hired internally, dropping the size to 18.6. Three fifth grade sections are projected at nearly 22 students per class.
Plans are underway to offer a fee-based preschool next fall. This has been announced to parents during kindergarten roundup and formal advertisement of the program will begin in the summer, Davis said.
On a one-time basis, employees who lose their jobs because of budget cuts will be paid $20 for each day of unused sick leave. This is a usual policy for teachers who are retiring.
The board approved a bid for landscaping the Pratt High courtyard from Younie Landscapes, Inc., for shrubs and buffalo grass at a cost of $8,473.50. A second bid from Younie called for all plants and no grass, at a price of $13,344.50. More than $6,000 has been donated for landscaping. Work will begin this spring.
A group of teachers, led by Susan Pixler, presented an impassioned plea to renew the 1-on-1 laptop program at Pratt High for next year. Noting the necessity to cut expenses, Pixler asked the board to consider “what’s good for students” and presented figures indicating that renewing the lease agreement and selling old computers would be cheaper than buying out the lease, paying for repairs to the four-year-old units and purchasing textbooks. She reported that students raised $585 in support of saving the program, indicating that it is something they value.
Davis promised to have a recommendation for the Board’s consideration in April.
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The Pratt school district will operate within its reduced budget next year — at least until the other shoe drops. USD 382 Superintendent Glen Davis expects that action — or lack of action — by the Kansas Legislature will result in more reductions in funding next year and that K-12 education will be impacted.
Topping the list of savings measures are contract reductions of 20 percent for Davis and 25 percent for Assistant Superintendent Suzan Patton. The two will share administrative duties for the Cunningham district, which shopped around for services to replace their superintendent who is leaving at the end of the year. A likely scenario is that either Davis or Patton will be in Cunningham for part of each day of their 4-day school week.
“It’s a win-win for both, saving each district $40,000,” Davis said.
“Any time you reduce, something has to give,” he continued. “What happens is you have to get more done in a shorter amount of time. We’re asking everyone else in the district to work harder for less pay for shorter time; we feel like it’s only fair for the administrators to do the same.”
Other personnel action taken at the Board of Education meeting Monday included:
• non-renewing contracts for a middle school science teacher, one high school secretary, a nurse for Liberty Middle School and Pratt High, a building aide at Haskins and library aide at Haskins Elementary School and LMS. The counselor position at Haskins will be eliminated and Misti Kuhn will transfer to a .6 social studies position at LMS.
• reducing secretarial contracts at LMS and PHS from 12 to 10 months.
• reducing or eliminating extended contracts for coaches, teachers and other staff.
• accepting the application for early retirement from foreign language teacher Martha Wade. Depending on pre-enrollment this spring, she could be replaced by a part-time Spanish teacher.
The transition to a single elementary school, closing Haskins at the end of the 2010-11 year, will begin next fall. Preschool classes will be moved to the administrative center, where renovations will be made to accommodate the children. All third and fourth graders will attend school at Southwest and fifth graders will move to LMS. The intention will be to close a wing at Haskins in order to save money, Davis said.
Projected class sizes are about 19 in each of four kindergarten classes and up to 23 in fourth grade, unless another teacher is hired internally, dropping the size to 18.6. Three fifth grade sections are projected at nearly 22 students per class.
Plans are underway to offer a fee-based preschool next fall. This has been announced to parents during kindergarten roundup and formal advertisement of the program will begin in the summer, Davis said.
On a one-time basis, employees who lose their jobs because of budget cuts will be paid $20 for each day of unused sick leave. This is a usual policy for teachers who are retiring.
The board approved a bid for landscaping the Pratt High courtyard from Younie Landscapes, Inc., for shrubs and buffalo grass at a cost of $8,473.50. A second bid from Younie called for all plants and no grass, at a price of $13,344.50. More than $6,000 has been donated for landscaping. Work will begin this spring.
A group of teachers, led by Susan Pixler, presented an impassioned plea to renew the 1-on-1 laptop program at Pratt High for next year. Noting the necessity to cut expenses, Pixler asked the board to consider “what’s good for students” and presented figures indicating that renewing the lease agreement and selling old computers would be cheaper than buying out the lease, paying for repairs to the four-year-old units and purchasing textbooks. She reported that students raised $585 in support of saving the program, indicating that it is something they value.
Davis promised to have a recommendation for the Board’s consideration in April.
