Springfield Board of Education’s Community Budget Review Committee Recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget Consolidate Middle Schools Franklin, Grant, Washington and Jefferson have the capacity to absorb the 6th – 8th grade students at Iles, Ball Charter and Capital College Preparatory Academy

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget Consolidate Middle Schools Combine the two middle school gifted programs into Franklin Middle School generating a potential savings of $50,000 to $100,000. Test scores show similar levels of success between the two programs so we are confident that the Iles students will get an excellent education at Franklin. Only 1/3 or less of the students matriculating from 5th grade at Iles can remain at Iles for middle school There are currently 63 students enrolled in the middle school No plans to develop an IB program in the middle school While the committee understands there could be students who prefer a small school environment for middle school, we don’t feel that is reason enough for keeping the program open Parents expressed concern that Franklin does not provide differentiated instruction and teaching, inquiry based learning strategies and problem based learning, but it does Iles middle school has only existed for 3 years, the prior 11 years that Iles was in existence, its students transferred to other middle schools after completing 5th grade. The faculty of Franklin are confident that the transition could be handled seamlessly and are willing to meet with the Iles parents to address their concerns.

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget Consolidate Middle Schools Eliminate the middle school at Ball Charter generating a potential savings of up to $273,000 for FY14 The curriculum is not unique enough to maintain a separate middle school Eliminate 6th grade in FY14, allow current 7th and 8th grade students to complete the program because of the split-level teaching style Recommendation impacts 42 students in the 2013-14 school year This will generate cost savings for the district as long as Ball Charter is not allowed to increase the number of students they admit into the K-5 program The ultimate savings is unknown due to the current contract negotiations in place

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget Close the Capital College Preparatory Academy ($1.7 million) The program as initially designed is not sustainable The model was based on small class sizes, which will go away under the Superintendent’s proposal. When the committee suggested increasing class size early in our discussions with administration about possible ways to save money, we were told the CCPA model would not work with larger class sizes The program is not being expanded into high school as originally planned, nor will the students be mentored while in college The program has become more expensive to maintain than originally projected, and the private donations that were to fund the program have not developed The other middle schools are already incorporating some of the things into their programs that have proved successful at CCPA, so the transition can be easily managed. Administration has indicated that programs like AVID are in place to help CCPA students with the transition to other schools

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget Consolidate 2 elementary schools into Feitshans ($435,000) Survey results indicate the community is in support of consolidation as a way to reduce expenses, especially at the elementary school level. If CCPA is closed it gives the District an excellent opportunity to consolidate 2 elementary schools next year. Our committee did not discuss which schools should be consolidated. We strongly suggest the District look into further consolidation in future years as well

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget Pay staff at the proper pay grade ($77,000)

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget Reduction of certificated support staff ($790,000) Go back to a “school based” support system for teacher in need of help These cuts, along with a reduction of non-certificated support staff will allow for more teachers to remain in the classroom. The community is very opposed to increasing class sizes Eliminate the remaining 3 math coaches Eliminate the 3 remaining Teacher Instructional Leaders Eliminate the 3 remaining Technology Facilitators Eliminate the Elementary Curriculum Specialist

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget Reduction of non-certificated support staff ($1 million) Eliminate 1-2 positions in the Communications and Community Relations Department as well as the Human Resources Department from the following titles: Resource Support 1 of 3 Administrative Assistants 1 Secretary/Receptionist Eliminate 1 Secretary in School Support Do not fill the vacancy in Accounting Eliminate 1 Edulog Operator in Transportation Eliminate 1 Computer Repair Technician and 1 Programmer from Computer Services Operation and Maintenance 2 Bricklayers 1 Laborer 1 Carpenter 2 Electricians 1 Maintenance Mechanic 1 Painter 1 Utility Worker

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget Reduce Training/Professional Development The committee has received numerous comments about the amount of time spent in training, professional development and conferences. Some staff felt it was important, but many felt the amount of training was unnecessary. We are not able to fully look into this but recommended that the Board receive a report that shows the amount of training being done versus the amount required under state law or contract to determine whether a reduction in expenses can be realized in this area until the District’s financial condition improves. Some training expenses are paid from the Education Fund and some with Title II funds; the District could possibly limit all training to that which can be paid with Title II funds. The committee suggests that the Board adopt a policy that they approve all conferences not funded by grants or required by grants that require travel based on justification of the benefit of the conference versus the cost

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget Fee Increases (over $100,000 in new revenue) Based on the comments we received from the community, the fee increases could be larger than proposed by the Superintendent. We suggest the following increases: Driver’s Ed fee increased to $150 High School Athletic Fees for Free and Reduced: $50 for unlimited participation with a family cap of $100 High School Athletic fee non-Free and reduced: $100 per sport, a family cap of $300 Middle School Athletic Fees for Free and Reduced: $25 for unlimited participation with a family cap of $50 Middle School Athletic Fees for non-Free and Reduced: $50 per sport with a family cap of $150 We also suggest the district look into an athletic fee schedule based on the cost of the sport.

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget Special Education (unknown savings) It was mentioned to the committee by District staff that District #186 has a higher than average percentage of Special Education students, and that the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) had questions regarding the procedures being used to identify those students. To insure that the District is accurately evaluating children for special education placement, we suggest that ISBE be asked to comprehensively evaluate District #186 screening procedures.

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget Salaries and Benefits We recommend that during the upcoming collective bargaining process that the following items be considered in order to reduce the overall salary and benefit expense to the District: An across the board pay cut of 1-2% for every District #186 employee, this could reduce our salary expense by $800,000-$1.6 million Shift a portion or all of the pension obligation back to the employees ($7.2 million from the ED Fund is spent by the District in pension contributions) Increase the cost of health insurance to the employees Negotiate a reduced number of sick and vacation days Negotiate more flexibility in terms of what is provided at IRC Negotiate required professional development to the minimum required by law until the financial situation improves

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget The Superintendent’s Proposal We agree with many of Dr. Milton’s suggestions, but in general feel there are too many classroom teachers being eliminated. Here are the specific line items we have removed from his projected list of cost savings: High School - The security guards are not paid from the Ed. Fund Middle School - We do not agree with the reduction of the teaching positions in Line 15 or the reduction in staff at Lincoln Magnet in Line 17. The security guards are not paid from the Ed. Fund Elementary School - We do not agree with the reduction of the teaching positions in Line 20 or the reduction in staff at Iles Elementary School on Line 21 We recommend keeping the Librarians in place The security guards are not paid from the Ed. Fund Programs - We do not agree with eliminating the IMSA program on Line 29 Other - We agree with all of his proposed reductions in this section Revenue - We agree with an increase in Driver’s Education and Athletic fees, but recommend they increase higher than Dr. Milton is proposing.

Recommendations for the FY14 Budget Additional Revenue We have not identified any significant sources of revenue for the FY2014 Budget. However, after our review of the District’s finances we believe strongly that additional income is needed in order to maintain a high level of education for our students. There appears to be a certain level of support for additional property or sales tax increases among the people We also feel the District has to build a level of trust and confidence within the Springfield community that it is currently using its fiscal resources wisely before any effort is made to increase revenues through a tax increase. We suggest the District consider issuing additional Working Cash Fund bonds to help its short-term cash flow. Based on the survey results and our own discussions, we do not support the continued use of the Fund Balance to cover the deficit spending in the Ed Fund.