Chelsea Schneider Kirk, Post-Tribune
Area school districts grappling with Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' decision to cut $300 million from K-12 education are beginning to identify options they'll undertake to trim budgets.
The School Town of Highland may cut instructional aides and eliminate two administrative positions.
East Porter County Schools is placing an emphasis on energy conservation requiring staff members to remove refrigerators and other personal appliances from classrooms.
And Portage Township Schools officials are looking into an early retirement option.
Those and other ideas are beginning to circulate at school board meetings across the region.
Some educators point to property tax caps, and the following changes to districts' general funds as a reason for cuts.
The funds used to heavily rely on local property taxes, but state officials removed that source.
In its place, general funds, which mainly go toward salaries, are now primarily supported by a 1-cent increase in state sales tax.
"It's not a good time for education in Indiana is the way I feel," said Luanne Jurczak, Highland School Board president.
Highland will need to cut about $1.8 million from its general fund, which already has been hit by the district's falling enrollment.
To shore up the district's finances, 12 teachers were given reduction-in-force notices, and Highland's teachers union has been asked to waive raises, among other concessions including forgoing instructional aides for grades 4-6.
To avoid deeper cuts, school officials are looking for a solution from the state legislature in Senate Bill 309.
The bill would allow school officials to transfer money among some of its funds to backfill the general fund.
A stipulation of the bill, which would require that no school corporation employee receive a compensation increase for next school year, concerns the Indiana State Teachers Association.
"Allowing school corporations the flexibility to use all funds to protect instructional programs, a lot of people agree on that, so hopefully that part of the bill moves forward," ISTA Deputy Executive Director Dan Clark said.
Clark contends raises have been minimal in the past two to three years and that portion of the bill wouldn't save school districts money.
The bill passed the Senate and now moves onto the Indiana House for consideration.
"Having that option and then studying the different funds to determine how to move dollars would help us," Portage Township Schools Superintendent Michael Berta said.
Portage will need to cut $2.3 million but plans to maintain its current staff. Berta said the district may switch to the state's medical insurance policy and offer an early retirement option.
"However, if a transfer to the state medical insurance policy doesn't save us those dollars, or early retirement, certainly there's always the possibility that a reduction in force could occur," Berta said.
Along with reducing energy costs, the East Porter County School Corp. may also freeze salaries to make $615,000 in cuts, said Superintendent Rod Gardin.
"The board has already pledged that everyone will continue to work throughout the remainder of the school year," Gardin said. "We're waiting out for March until the General Assembly concludes work. It's not out of the possibility that we'll have to let people go."
The School City of Hammond has a $4.5 million budget deficit, with the special education program down by $500,000, according to Connie Manous, director of special education.
Manous said some smaller-sized classes could be consolidated but teaching jobs aren't in jeopardy.
"We don't want to increase class size," Manous said. "So basically, we are in the same budget crunch as everyone else and are looking to consolidate certain programs."