Hammond teachers on emergency licenses could get ax

HAMMOND | The School City of Hammond has set aside its plans to build a new high school while it deals with $4.5 million in cuts to the general fund budget.

Superintendent Walter Watkins and Hammond Teachers Federation President Patrick O'Rourke said they will try not to eliminate teachers.

However, Watkins also said there are about 30 teachers who are on emergency licenses or temporary permits as of June 30 who could be eliminated. These teachers have been teaching one or two years and don't have their licenses.

"We're also looking at the extracurricular schedule and programs that have low enrollments as a way of addressing the budget reductions," Watkins said.

The school district began the process of looking at cuts Tuesday to comply with Gov. Mitch Daniels' call for schools across the state to cut $300 million in K-12 education. Administrators reviewed the Citizens' Checklist developed by the Indiana Department of Education with School Board members, and said there would be many more meetings before the cuts are approved.

"We have an excellent relationship with the School Board and administrators," O'Rourke said. "We have a living contract and committees which meet regularly on cash flow and cost containment. Five teachers and five administrators are on the cost containment committee and we're brainstorming ideas about the cuts, things that we think we can all live with."

O'Rourke said the main objective is to do no harm to children.

He said the district wanted to see what happens to some bills in the Legislature, particularly Senate Bill 309, which would allow school districts the ability to transfer money from one fund to another.

Late Thursday, the Senate passed Bill 309 with a 83-16 vote.

"If there is a way to take some of the pressure off of the general fund, we want to look at that," he said. "We've been prudent at the bargaining table because we anticipated problems down the road.

"I think we can weather this but the perfect storm could hit in three or four years. I think school systems like Hammond will be caught in the storm. We'll be dealing with a lower base, and there won't be any stimulus money around to help us."

O'Rourke said he's going to use his position on the governor's round table on education March 30 to talk about the cuts in K-12 education and how it is affecting school systems.

O'Rourke said he's in agreement with the district's plan to hold off on plans to build a new high school and he supports the idea of opening a performing arts school within Morton High School and a radio/TV broadcasting and digital media academy within the Hammond Area Career Center. Both new programs will open in the fall.

Administrators have allotted $2 million for renovation work at Morton and $2 million for work at the career center. The money for those two projects comes from a general obligation bond, which was approved by the School Board. The bids have been awarded, and the work will begin in March.

Watkins said the district intends to revamp its ideas on a new high school. He said it's still desperately needed because Hammond High School is old and archaic, and "technology has made the building a dinosaur."

The school district began the process of looking at cuts Tuesday to comply with Gov. Mitch Daniels' call for schools across the state to cut $300 million in K-12 education. Administrators reviewed the Citizens' Checklist developed by the Indiana Department of Education with School Board members, and said there would be many more meetings before the cuts are approved.