The local economy has caused uncertainty among superintendents in the area, and Seminole County is no exception.
With the state continuing to cut expenses to combat less and less revenues, schools in the county are also feeling the effects.
Jeff Pritchard, Seminole superintendent, said each district is facing this and no one knows for sure what’s going to happen.
“The dilemma all superintendents are faced with is the uncertainty of the situation,” he said. “In past budget crunches, there were fewer questions. We don’t know how much of the Rainy Day fund the legislature will be willing to tap. We don’t know how much of the stimulus money they will allocate.”
Districts also are worried about funding that is guaranteed, Pritchard said.
“Do the assurances, signed by the state, guaranteeing education funding will not fall below the 2009 level carry any weight,” he asked? “Therefore, most superintendents are in a holding pattern, until these questions are answered.”
As far as Seminole, Pritchard said the district has done things to protect itself from funding lapses.
“We are watching our expenditures in every area and hoping the legislature abides by the law and has the budget passed by the deadline,” he said. “If they do, we will have time to make the proper moves in our districts.”
Don Sjoberg, Konawa superintendent, said the district’s finances will be impacted by the budget cuts.
“For us, those figures, it’s going to represent a reduction in carryover money,” he said.
And while Sjoberg did not see teachers being let go or eliminating academic programs, he said it is possible if the state doesn’t begin to pull out of the recession.
“We’re not in that situation, not yet,” Sjoberg said. “Through attrition, we started off lean anyway. We’re not feeling the impact, at least not yet.”
That impact may be felt if things don’t get better soon, he said.
“We’re looking at a reduction in our carryover,” Sjoberg said.
The district may need to significantly look at next year with reductions in programs, he said.
“We’re all kind of hoping the legislature can look at it now, so we don’t have to be concerned with next year,” Sjoberg said.
Before the legislative session begins next month, schools likes Pleasant Grove in Seminole County have already made some adjustments.
Superintendent Pamela Chesser said the district is turning off excess lights, lowering the temperatures in buildings overnight and watching what the district purchases, all in an attempt to save money.
“No extra spending,” she said. “As far as budget, it’ll be tight, but I think we can make it fine through the rest of this year.”
With those cuts, it’s still difficult to say what will happen next year, Chesser said.
“It’s kind of hard to say, for next year, it’s kind of hard to say,” she said. “We don’t know yet about staffing. It’s kind of hard to predict any of that right now. If it stays like this, the budget will be very tight.”
Still, students and teachers should not be impacted, Chesser said.
“We just have the bare staff,” she said. “The programs that we have shouldn’t be affected.”
The district may have one less teacher assistant position on staff, Chesser added.
“We’re at the minimum staff anyway,” she said.
Back in Seminole, the story may be a little more bleak.
If the reductions enacted remain and additional cuts are made for fiscal year 2011, many schools will be forced to look at cutting programs, reductions in force and possibly not be able to pay out, Pritchard said, adding it may cause problems down the road.
“This would mean friendly lawsuits against the district resulting in assessments against the taxpayers of the district,” he said.
“Ultimately, the losers in this scenario are the students,” Pritchard said. “When drastic measures must be taken for an individual or an institution, to survive it becomes difficult to remain focused on any mission beyond survival. For this reason, every effort must be made to ‘hold harmless’ our most precious commodity, our children.”
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Josh Burton may be reached by calling 214-3926.
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The local economy has caused uncertainty among superintendents in the area, and Seminole County is no exception.
With the state continuing to cut expenses to combat less and less revenues, schools in the county are also feeling the effects.
Jeff Pritchard, Seminole superintendent, said each district is facing this and no one knows for sure what’s going to happen.
“The dilemma all superintendents are faced with is the uncertainty of the situation,” he said. “In past budget crunches, there were fewer questions. We don’t know how much of the Rainy Day fund the legislature will be willing to tap. We don’t know how much of the stimulus money they will allocate.”
Districts also are worried about funding that is guaranteed, Pritchard said.
“Do the assurances, signed by the state, guaranteeing education funding will not fall below the 2009 level carry any weight,” he asked? “Therefore, most superintendents are in a holding pattern, until these questions are answered.”
As far as Seminole, Pritchard said the district has done things to protect itself from funding lapses.
“We are watching our expenditures in every area and hoping the legislature abides by the law and has the budget passed by the deadline,” he said. “If they do, we will have time to make the proper moves in our districts.”
Don Sjoberg, Konawa superintendent, said the district’s finances will be impacted by the budget cuts.
“For us, those figures, it’s going to represent a reduction in carryover money,” he said.
And while Sjoberg did not see teachers being let go or eliminating academic programs, he said it is possible if the state doesn’t begin to pull out of the recession.
“We’re not in that situation, not yet,” Sjoberg said. “Through attrition, we started off lean anyway. We’re not feeling the impact, at least not yet.”
That impact may be felt if things don’t get better soon, he said.
“We’re looking at a reduction in our carryover,” Sjoberg said.
The district may need to significantly look at next year with reductions in programs, he said.
“We’re all kind of hoping the legislature can look at it now, so we don’t have to be concerned with next year,” Sjoberg said.
Before the legislative session begins next month, schools likes Pleasant Grove in Seminole County have already made some adjustments.
Superintendent Pamela Chesser said the district is turning off excess lights, lowering the temperatures in buildings overnight and watching what the district purchases, all in an attempt to save money.
“No extra spending,” she said. “As far as budget, it’ll be tight, but I think we can make it fine through the rest of this year.”
With those cuts, it’s still difficult to say what will happen next year, Chesser said.
“It’s kind of hard to say, for next year, it’s kind of hard to say,” she said. “We don’t know yet about staffing. It’s kind of hard to predict any of that right now. If it stays like this, the budget will be very tight.”
Still, students and teachers should not be impacted, Chesser said.
“We just have the bare staff,” she said. “The programs that we have shouldn’t be affected.”
The district may have one less teacher assistant position on staff, Chesser added.
“We’re at the minimum staff anyway,” she said.
Back in Seminole, the story may be a little more bleak.
If the reductions enacted remain and additional cuts are made for fiscal year 2011, many schools will be forced to look at cutting programs, reductions in force and possibly not be able to pay out, Pritchard said, adding it may cause problems down the road.
“This would mean friendly lawsuits against the district resulting in assessments against the taxpayers of the district,” he said.
“Ultimately, the losers in this scenario are the students,” Pritchard said. “When drastic measures must be taken for an individual or an institution, to survive it becomes difficult to remain focused on any mission beyond survival. For this reason, every effort must be made to ‘hold harmless’ our most precious commodity, our children.”
———
Josh Burton may be reached by calling 214-3926.
