By Robert Herrington, Times of Noblesville Managing Editor

In reaction to Gov. Mitch Daniels announcement of an impending 3 percent cut to public education funds, Westfield Washington Schools Superintendent Mark Keen informed the school board of potential ways the district can save monies.

"First, let me say that there was not 'fluff' in the budget," said Keen. "However, when faced with adverse financial conditions, the budget has to be looked at and priorities set for maintaining the quality that has been established over the past decade."

Keen said three factors have come together to create the perfect storm: the loss of the new facility appeal, property tax caps, and the reduction in state aid.

"We felt we were in a position to handle the tax caps and the new facility appeal, but the recently announced reduction has created a difficult situation resulting in a loss of approximately $2 million. This is primarily from the general fund," he said.

So what has the district done so far? Looking ahead from last year, Keen said the district has:

1. Reduced grounds and maintenance budgets

2. Implemented energy conservation programs

3. Reduced the amount of new staffing

4. Reduced administration and some support staff benefits

5. Reduced a technology position shared with the city.

"These reductions will amount to over $600,000 annually," Keen said.

On Tuesday evening, Keen announced the following actions to further reduce the district's budget:

  • Salary freezes for all administrative and support staff for the 2010-2011 budget year. This includes any step increase, but does not apply to any increase tied to educational attainment. Keen said his salary is also frozen for the next three years.

  • No new professional development tied to travel for the remainder of the 2009-10 school year. Professional development will be reduced in 2010-11.

  • Overtime will only be authorized in extremely time critical situations or for safety/security reasons. Keen said overtime costs are not currently a problem, but a proactive measure the district can take to save money.

    "Five thousand dollars here, $10,000 there - that makes up a teacher at some point," he said.

  • Memberships will be reduced and this has already occurred in some areas. Keen said this was not a high dollar amount and the memberships are ones the district can live without.

  • Certain district supply accounts will be frozen for this budget year.

  • District paid field trips will be frozen for the remainder of the 2009-2010 school year. This does not mean that all field trips are cancelled but the district will not fund any future trips with the exception of providing school buses.

    These reductions will amount to savings of around $250,000.

    "It's good to be proactive on this - bite the bullet now," School Board Vice President Jane Catlin said.

    "Everything you're seeing now just shows there's room to find that extra dime," added Secretary Dennis Ells. "Every month the governor seems to come back and say it's worse than we thought."

    With current and future budget cost savings, Westfield looks to save $850,000.

    "We still have a long way to go, but have time to continue to react. We also face possible additional problems as we have planned for the state to reimburse us $1.4 million for the excess loss in the tax caps and if that does not occur, we have to deal with that," Keen said.

    Additionally, the state could order further budget cuts if the economy does not improve.

    "We could be facing another budget cut down the road," said Keen. "No instruction positions have been touched. We've reduced the budget with every other possibility."
    • © 2011 The Times