The EMID School Board will hold a Community Forum at 6:30pm on March 14 at Harambee. The topic will be proposed budget reductions. They are asking for input from the community on the “Budget Adjustment Recommendations” shared last week. The board will take action on these recommendations at their regular meeting on 3/21.

The PDF adjustment recommendations are a bit hard to sort out, so here are some of the impacts described by that document.

Structure of Education

Harambee would see the elimination of the magnet foci specialists ($53,340) and their music specialist ($103,000).

Crosswinds would remove one of its four houses (no mention of which one or what this restructuring would look like). This would eliminate math, science, social studies, language arts, and AVID in that house ($264,000). Presumably this would increase class sizes as well, but again, no details about that.

Crosswinds would also move from a seven to a six period day, reducing language, technology, pays ed, music, visual arts, and theater budgets in the process ($253,215).

Special Education

The loss of a house at Crosswinds also results in the loss of one special ed position there ($60,860). Another three educational assistants for special ed are lost due to “restructuring” ($93,156).

Harambee reduces all educational assistants by one half hour a day and eliminates a media/clerical assistant ($31,130).

If the board approves “Tier 2” cuts then Crosswinds would eliminate another educational assistant in special education ($33,168) and Harambee would lose two intervention specialists ($49,130 each).

Intersession and After School

“Increase participations fees for intersession programming, $12,000.” If we assume 2/3 of the current roughly 800 students attend three intersessions, this works out to something on the order of a $10 increase per child per intersession.

“Restructuring of after school, $34,000.” It sounds like they suggest only having after school during quarters 2 and 3 (not 1 and 4) and only for five of the eight weeks of each term, plus increase the fees for that amount of time.

Administrative Cuts

“Elimination of Director of Teaching and Learning Position, $129,920.” That would be eliminating Greg Keith.

“Eliminate TOSA position” ($59,218 at Harambee, $54,000 at Crosswinds). These “teachers on special assignment” have served as almost an assistant principals at our schools and their elimination results in significant additional burden for our principals.

“Reduction of 10 percent in consumable supplies, $28,750.” More money out of teacher pockets and longer supply lists at the start of the school year.

Overall the cuts fall very heavily on Crosswinds, but then crosswinds has also had traditionally more expensive operations. If both tiers of cuts are approved by the board then Crosswinds would see an $868,000 cut, Harambee a $402,000 cut, district wide cuts would be $394,000, and member services would lose $90,000.

Please do look at the “Budget Adjustment Recommendations” for full details.

If you are unable to attend the forum you may email your comments to Mary Ojile who will pass them along to school school board members or send mail to board members directly.