Kyrene School District Budget
The following letter was issued by Superintendent David Schauer to the Kyrene Community on April 18.
04-18-09
Dear Kyrene Community,
Below is an update on two important issues going on in the school district. The first one is related to the development of the 2009-2010 budget. If you are following the news from the legislature, you know that no decisions have been made about the level of educational funding that will be provided for next year, although it is most certain that reductions will occur. This puts school districts like ours in a very difficult position because we have to plan for the unknown and make difficult decisions that provide the needed flexibility for whatever happens.
Recently the Governing Board approved a Reduction in Force process for continuing first year teachers. This action was unusual and unprecedented.
Decisions needed to be made at this time because law required that we notify continuing teachers if they will not be receiving a contract by a deadline of April 15.
We are looking at “across the board” salary reductions for all employee groups, which includes teachers, administrators and support staff. We are also considering changing the existing class size ranges.
In addition, a long list of other budget-saving ideas is posted at www.kyrene.org/aboutksd/budgetupdates/BudgetIntro.htm. Many of the ideas were received from staff and community members.
It is hoped that the stimulus money coming to Arizona could lessen the need to take these actions, but we have no clear information on what we can expect. I wanted to be sure you knew about this because changes could need to be made that will not be popular or welcome. A Kyrene Governing Board Study Session took place Tuesday, April 14 at which many of the options were discussed. Further Study Sessions will be scheduled by the Governing Board to continue budget discussions.
The other update is related to the safety of our school buildings across the district. After the roof collapse at Waggoner, I asked for inspections at all schools that are more in-depth than those required by our state. This work is being done by Gervasio and Associates, an independent structural engineering firm. These inspections are underway and outlined on our website at www.kyrene.org/ksdnews/inspections.
As of April 14, the following schools have had the initial inspection – Mirada, Paloma, Pueblo, Milenio, Lagos, KMS, Cielo, Aprende, Brisas, Sureño, Manitas, Mariposa, Niños, Norte, Cerritos, Altadeña, Sierra, Estrella, Monte Vista and the remainder of the Waggoner campus.
Any issue the inspectors discover is immediately addressed and the affected school community receives a letter to ensure that accurate information is provided. So far there are four schools that have required some preventative maintenance. However, in each case we have been assured the buildings are safe for occupancy. The letters to each school community are on the Kyrene structural inspection page at www.kyrene.org.
The safety of our students and staff members is a top priority and we will not knowingly allow anyone to be in an unsafe environment. We continue to anticipate the final structural engineering report about the Waggoner roof collapse and when we receive it will schedule a community meeting in the form of a Governing Board Study Session (similar to the last one about this topic). We will also post the report on www.kyrene.org.
I will continue to communicate about the latest information on both the budget and the structural inspections through school newsletters, community letters, e-mails and by updating the district website. It is most important that we work closely together as a community as we face these challenging times.
Sincerely,
David K. Schauer, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Kyrene School District
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