By Tom Lange, Truth Staff
tlange@etruth.com
ELKHART -- The first of many changes for Elkhart Community Schools are in the works.
The ECS board of trustees voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve multiple recommendations made by Superintendent Mark Mow to cut spending. The board added several additional cost-cutting measures to Mow's recommendations, and the total savings could be as much as $1.2 million. But the district still has a long way to go to fill the $3.9 million gap left by the state.
Mow presented eight recommendations to the board. Three that he said will have the greatest impact include a hiring freeze, a search for ways to use staff more efficiently and a shift of all utility expenses to the district's capital projects fund.
Mow said the district will be looking at whether vacancies left by retirements or resignations can be filled by other staff members. The district is also examining whether there are any positions that can be consolidated, though Mow didn't name specific areas.
A small portion of the district's general fund has typically been used to supplement projects within the district as well as transportation. Mow said he thinks building and transportation costs can now be covered entirely by the capital projects and transportation funds respectively, saving the district a little more than $300,000.
Before approving Mow's recommendations the board added three of its own. Board members' compensation will be reduced by 5 percent, and no board members will attend the National School Conference in Chicago. The board also authorized Mow to reopen negotiations with all of the district's employee groups for the purpose of achieving savings through salaries and benefits.
In spite of the potential savings, ECS officials still have a lot of work to do. The district needs to find at least another $2.7 million in savings. Mow also received word from the state Monday that a drop in the number of special education students enrolled in ECS could raise the amount of tuition being cut by the state to $4 million total.
Mow told board members he is concerned about what 2011 will bring for the district as well. State revenue projections are expected to rise only slightly, he said. Low revenue coupled with a lack of federal stimulus, which was used to stabilize the state's 2010 budget, could mean real problems.
"I think the prognosis for the next several years is bleak at best," Mow told the board.
Planning for the next phase of changes is already underway. Next week residents and ECS staff can check www.elkhart.k12.in.us for an e-mail address where they can send in suggestions on how the district can cut costs. Officials will also post the Citizen's Checklist released by the Indiana Department of Education that contains tips for districts on saving money. So far, Mow said the checklist has been of little help as ECS already implements much of what it suggests.
Ninety percent of the district's general fund goes to employee wages, salaries and benefits. Mow told the board in a memo sent last week that it's hard to imagine future recommendations won't impact those areas in some form.
Tuesday Mow said he's unsure of what the ultimate impact on staff will be. He hopes the district will be able to generate savings in ways that minimally impact employees.