D-11 board slashes $6.7 million in first round of budget cuts

The Colorado Springs School District 11 board on Wednesday approved about $6.7 million in budget cuts that included eliminating summer programs for elementary and middle school students.

The unanimous vote came after the board worked through and adjusted a list of 139 items the administration had considered for reductions. Not all the items were recommended for cuts, and the board restored money for school counselors and a vehicle mechanic position, and increased the cut to a school supply carryover fund.

The action was round one of cuts as the district prepare a preliminary budget that may have to be cut by as much as $16 million because of state budget cuts. It won't have solid state funding figures until the legislature approve the School Finance Act later this spring.

Late Wednesday, the board discussed another list of so-called "global cuts" that would impact the entire district. A vote on another $2 million to $3 million in preliminary cuts is scheduled for March 17.

The board voted 5-2 Wednesday to cut $834,706 that pays for literacy and math programs for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Board members Al Loma and Bob Null opposed the cut.

Last week, the board had pulled that item from a list of recommended cuts, along with $84,000 for high school summer credit recovery programs. The high school programs were not cut.

Superintendent Nicholas Gledich said the district will add about $200,000 to fourth-quarter tutoring, which it has found to be more effective than summer programs. He also told the board the district has received a grant to offer a Read to Achieve summer program at three schools – Monroe, Queen Palmer and Twain elementary schools. A grant for a fourth school is pending, he said.

Loma questioned why the district’s summer programs weren’t getting results.

“If we have kids in the seat, and there’s no improvement … something is wrong,” Loma said. “That tells me whoever has been teaching has not been teaching. Something’s up. Why aren’t they learning?”

District analysts said studies showed that students showed some academic gains while in summer school, but they weren’t sustained when the students were tested in the fall. The students were compared with a similar group of students who did not attend summer school.

Board member Jan Tanner said she was pleased that some of the summer school money would go toward tutoring, which has shown results, and that the district would have some new grant-funded summer programs.

The board also agreed to cut about $750,000 cut from an instructional materials carryover fund that principals can bank from year to year for larger purchases. That was an increase from the $500,000 recommended by the administration, but Gledich didn't object.

Several board members were concerned about how that spending occurred and suggested the administration of that fund should be revamped in the future. It also left open the possibility of cutting more from that fund if needed.

The board agreed with revised recommendations on cuts to assistant principal positions. The administration initially had suggested cutting as many as nine positions but reduced that to four and said the principals at various levels would collaborate to see how those cuts should best be made.

Instead, the administration recommended consolidating administrative positions at the alternative schools and cutting money from non-instructional supplies.

Gledich reiterated at the outset of Wednesday’s discussion that he was not recommending across-the-board furloughs or pay cuts for any employee group at this time. Numerous employees spoke during the public comment period, asking that the board do whatever possible to avoid reducing salaries or layoffs.

Earlier at Wednesday’s meeting, the board unanimously approved a four-year contract with a new charter school that included providing space at Pike Elementary School.

The Academy for Advanced & Creative Learning, a K-8 school aimed at gifted children and those who excel in one area but struggle in others, is expected to open in the fall with about 150 students.

Pike Elementary closed in May 2009 in a massive realignment of D-11 facilities. The Colorado Springs Youth Symphony has rented space in the building this year, and the district is looking for other space the group can use.

The board also unanimously approved the renewal of five-year contracts with Life Skills and Community Prep charter schools.