By J SWYGART, Decatur Daily Democrat
Faced with declining enrollment numbers and potential reductions in revenue, five more teaching positions were eliminated at North Adams Community Schools on Monday night, bringing to 13 the number of educators trimmed from the staff for the 2009-2010 school year.
Also approved by the school district's board of education during its regular meeting were the elimination of five instructional assistant jobs and the reduction of one teaching position from full-time to one-third time.
The latest round of cuts announced by Superintendent Wylie Sirk included high school Spanish teacher Emily Hall, high school business teacher Anita Miller, high school guidance staffer Jessica Miner, middle school teacher Nicole Liter, and middle school physical education teacher Sara Rhymer.
Staff assistants whose positions were eliminated included Annette Watkins, Erin Stinson, Saran Winkler, Susan Miller and Sandra Schultz.
Veteran speech and drama teacher Ray Casey's position was reduced by two-thirds. Sirk said Casey will continue to teach those two courses, but noted that student interest has declined and that only one class of each subject will be offered next year.
"We continue to look at budget restraints, and we are making reductions and cuts," Sirk said. "In the last 10 years our enrollment has dropped by 350 students, which is a significant factor in making these decisions."
No more cuts are planned for the remainder of this year, "but I don't know what next year will hold," the superintendent said. Certified staff members (teachers) must be notified by May 1 if their positions are to be eliminated, said Sirk.
The elimination of eight staff members had been previously announced by Sirk.
In February, the superintendent announced that seven teachers, all of whom teach in the lower grade levels and who were originally hired through Title I program funding, early literacy grants and other special funding provisions, would not be retained. Last month the board announced that Matt Lose would not be retained in a staff position in the district's ACCES/COPE school. On Monday, the board appointed Julie Luginbill to that position.
The superintendent said there will be no salary increases for administrators, and noted that classified staff members will receive only moderate pay increases, based only on their longevity. Negotiations with the union representing North Adams teachers begins this month, Sirk said.
Among the job cuts already implemented throughout the school district, Sirk said, are the elimination of a curriculum director position (which has been unfilled in recent years), two and a half instructional assistant positions, one custodial position, one nurse position, and one maintenance position.
Additional actions planned include the elimination of one secretarial position in the district's central office, the reduction of one secretarial position at the high school and middle school levels, a reduction in the number of paid assistant coaches, and a reduction in the summer work days for vocational education teachers.