Board approves control plan

Some staff cuts are being made. Some fees are being increased.

It’s part of an effort for Jay School Corporation to gain financial stability while also keeping key programs in place.

Jay School Board on Monday adopted a resolution that affirms a budget control plan set forth by superintendent Jeremy Gulley that includes staff reductions, other cost reductions and increased fees.

It sets out goals of keeping preschool, elementary reading recovery, middle school instructional teaming and high school vocational and college prep programming in place while boosting the general fund balance from its projected 2017 year-end mark of less than $1.4 million to about $2.25 million (10 percent of annual general fund expenditures) by 2020.

“The headline is what it preserves, not what it reduces,” said Gulley. “These things, if we don’t get a handle on them, we’re putting at risk those programs our teachers, parents and administrators have said are important. … The consequences of inaction … are stark.

“For us, the plan is how much did we preserve and how few did we really have to lay off by virtue of attrition and the changes we’re making.”

The bulk of the cost savings laid out in Gulley’s plan would come from eliminating 28 staff positions for the 2017-18 school year and another nine for 2018-19.

For 2017-18, the bulk of those positions will come via retirements and resignations. However, there will be a need for six positions to be cut via a “reduction in force” (layoffs) with two of those being certified staff and four non-certified. Those notifications will go out no later than May 31.

Some of the positions are being eliminated via the closing of Pennville Elementary School at the end of this year, though Gulley noted that Pennville staffers who wanted to stay on with the corporation are being relocated to other buildings.

The plan calls for the elimination of five certified and four non-certified positions in 2018-19, assuming that it is found to be feasible to close Judge Haynes Elementary. A decision on that building is expected no later than December, and Gulley said he will have an update about the process at next month’s meeting.

If all are implemented, the staff reductions would bring Jay Schools down to a historic low of 458 employees. Currently at 495 employees, the previous low was 492 in 2003. Staff increases over the next few years saw the number spike at 548 in 2009. It has been reduced gradually since 2013.

Combined, the staffing cuts slated for the next two years are projected to save the school corporation $1.35 million annually.

Other sections of the budget control plan include:

•Removing some costs, such as travel for athletics, several staff positions and waste collection, from the general fund budget and paying it from other sources. Projected annual savings: $255,952.

•Reducing non-instructional costs, including cell phone packages, moving the Jay School Annex from John Jay Center for Jay County High School and reducing professional travel and building expenses for Pennville Elementary and potentially Judge Haynes. Projected annual savings: $105,710.

•Generating more revenue via increases in fees for driver’s education, preschool and LatchKey. Projected annual savings; $35,750.

“I’d like to thank Mr. Gulley,” said board member Phil Ford. “He’s provided us with a data-based vision in a very short period of time since he’s been hired (October) … I think we have come a long way.

“I guess what I like about what he has brought to us is it has minimal impact on students. I’m not saying it has no impact on them, but it has minimal impact.”

Ford, a longtime educator who last served as principal of Jay County High School, also cautioned the board to avoid shifting too many expenditures to the capital projects fund so as not to make future projects difficult to achieve.

As part of the implementation of the plan, the board approved increasing the yearly preschool fees to $250 from the previous $75 for two days per week, to $350 from the previous $100 for three days per week and to $450 from the previous $250 for five days per week. Those increases range from 180 percent for five days to 350 percent for three days, but estimates from preschool director Cliff DeRome indicate that similar programs in other areas of the state range in annual cost from $3,360 to $4,720.

Gulley also pointed out that as of 2016-17, preschool fees account for less than 8 percent of the program’s operational costs with the remaining funds coming from federal Title I dollars and special education funding. He said the money generated by the increases will be used to pay for a couple of preschool aides, thus freeing up that money to be spent on aides elsewhere in the corporation.

Board members Kristi Betts, Beth Krieg, Ron Laux, Mike Shannon, Cory Gundrum, Krista Muhlenkamp and Ford approved increasing the LatchKey fee to $3 per hour from the current $2.25 and bumping up the enrollment fee to $20 from the current $10. They also approved a $25 increase in the driver’s education fee to $335.

Additionally, the board approved replacing 8,500 light bulbs at the high school and another 72 lights in the JCHS auxiliary gym at a cost of $88,158.04. Jay Schools will receive $28,886.22 in rebates. Business manager Brad DeRome said the lights will pay for themselves through energy savings in 1.5 years.

Ford suggested looking into similar projects at the rest of the corporation buildings, and DeRome responded that he plans to do so.

The need to cut costs has come as Jay Schools has experienced deficit spending in four of the last five years, with additional deficit spending of $149,000 projected for 2017. That would take the year-end general fund balance, which was above $5 million in the mid-90s and hovered around $3 million from 2005 through 2012, down to less than $1.4 million by the end of this year.

Those financial difficulties have come as enrollment continues to decline. It is down about 43 percent from the time of high school consolidation in 1975-76 and has dropped by about 400 students in the last decade.