Cary School Board President Offers Advice on Budget Cutting

Cary Grade School Board President Scott Coffey offered this advice, which he posted as a comment under the Crystal Lake High School Board layoff article. It is worth giving a wider audience.

There is a direct correlation between enrollment and teacher staffing levels.

With enrollment declining every year for the better part of a decade now, with no end in sight, it would be financially irresponsible to not adjust headcount in response to declining enrollment.

As to administrative staffing levels, there is less correlation to changing enrollment, but that does not mean changes cannot occur there as well.

There are statutory notice requirements that the district has to meet when giving notice of a Reduction In Force.

That requirement does not exist for administrative staff.

Hence, teacher RIF notices are usually always first. And the union knows that. Administrators are typically on 1 year contracts.

If the Superintendent hasn’t already developed a reduction plan for his staff, the Board will have the ability to instruct him in the next month to realign his staff, with certain employees not offered a contract renewal.


Comments

Cary School Board President Offers Advice on Budget Cutting — 3 Comments

  1. Dist 26 alomst was taken over by the State a few years ago.

    Dist 26 has one of the lowest school tax rates in the county.

    Scott Coffey is close to hero status.

  2. Now it’s a training ground District.

    New teachers stay 1-3 years then move on to better paying Districts.

  3. If I were a taxpayer in Cary, I’d be fine with that.

    Besides, with declining enrollment in the area, there will not be as many opportunities to move to better paying districts.

    The local school boards are going to have a rare chance to play hardball in upcoming contract negotiations if the right people get elected.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *