Elkhart schools cut administrative, classified employee pay to pare budget

The board unanimously passed recommendations made by Superintendent Mark Mow that include pay reductions for administrative and classified employees and a transfer from the district's rainy day fund. ECS has now cut $3 million from general fund spending in less than two months and still needs to find at least another $900,000 in savings.

The cuts mean a 5 percent reduction in pay for Mow and a 4 percent reduction for all administrative employees. Classified employees -- essentially everyone except teachers and most administrators -- will also see a 2.3 percent cut in pay implemented through five unpaid furlough days to be taken before 2011.

Roughly $1 million is being pulled from the district's rainy day fund to offset the tuition shortfall. The board approved a transfer of $1.3 million from the district's transportation operating fund to supplement $400,000 currently in the rainy day fund. The transferred money was left over at the end of the 2009 budget year.

The district is also looking to sell roughly 60 acres of property it owns in Cleveland Township. ECS purchased the land several years ago with plans to build another school. The board approved a recommendation by the administration to have two appraisers assess the property.

In January ECS learned it needed to cut at least $3.9 million from its general fund after a December announcement that the state was cutting $300 million in K-12 spending. At the end of January the board approved $1.2 million in cuts that included implementing a hiring freeze, shifting all utility expenses to the district's capital projects fund and a 5 percent cut in compensation for school board members.

The board also authorized Mow to reopen negotiations with the district's employee groups to investigate potential savings through salaries and fringe benefits. So far no action has been taken impacting ECS teachers' salaries, benefits or employment, and Mow is working with the Elkhart Teachers Association to find a way to cut a large chunk of the remaining $900,000 deficit.

Mow said he's hopeful there won't be any additional general fund cuts needed in 2010, but he's worried about what could happen next year. Some economists, he said, are predicting that Indiana's state revenue won't recover until 2012 or 2013. If that happens he expects the state could announce more K-12 spending cuts in December, meaning 2011 could be another year of districts scrambling to find savings.

"We're down at the end of the things that we can do without affecting program," Mow said. "So I think that if the cuts become more severe or deeper we'll certainly have to begin the painful process of looking at other things in the budget. And certainly staffing will be an issue."