For schools, the question is: What to cut?

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Madysen Lesly, a third-grade student at Washington Elementary School, twirls in the foreground during a Girl Scout after-school activity led by Elizabeth Venditti, on the right. Venditti says she worries that cutting school days could cut many students off from meals and enrichment programs they rely on.Bob Pennell

February 05, 2009

By Anita Burke

Mail Tribune

An anticipated budget shortfall barrelling down on schools could leave districts with few options other than cutting days from this academic year, but some officials don't want to spring to such worse-case scenarios too soon.

"I don't want to cry wolf and not have it happen," said Vicki Robinson, Central Point School District's director of business services. "There are just too many 'ifs' in this case."

The Medford School District announced Tuesday that a predicted $5.6 million gap brought about by the state's lagging economy would equal 18 days of school in its budget. Principals and other managers met Wednesday to brainstorm savings options that could enable the district to "buy back" those potentially lost days, Superintendent Phil Long said.

"Having the concept of days cut was a useful way to work on the problem," he said.

Other Jackson County districts shied away from publicly announcing anticipated budget gaps and their potential effects — at least until more information is available.

"We are waiting for some leadership and solid information from the state," said Dan Zaklan, director of business services at the Eagle Point School District.

A state revenue forecast is expected Feb. 20 and no one thinks it will be good, school officials across the county said.

"It will be down, but how much is just speculation," Ashland Superintendent Juli Di Chiro said. "Nobody knows how bad it will be."

Everyone from legislative leaders to local school administrators, however, notes that the grim news could push the Legislature to tap an education-stability fund that has $400 million held in reserve for K-12 education.

Various federal stimulus proposals also contain money to help struggling states pay for education.

Ashland, which is expected to approve a five-day reduction to this year's calendar Monday based on a budget gap announced in December, won't announce any other potential cuts until after the next revenue forecast and response from legislators, Di Chiro said.

"We are advocating that they release money from the reserve fund," she said. "Otherwise every district in the state will have to make catastrophic cuts."

Di Chiro said the district hopes to limit further cuts because the elimination of more than five days would have too great an impact on students.

However, districts have few other options to save significant amounts of money this late in the year, Zaklan said.

Eagle Point already has worked toward about $2.1 million in savings by leaving empty positions unfilled and freezing spending on supplies, he said. If the next state revenue projection shows a shortfall of about $800 million — the number Medford officials based their plan on — Eagle Point would have to cut another $2.8 million, or about 9 percent of its total budget, in the final months of this school year.

"Things are looking bad all over the state and I think we will have to cut days," Zaklan said.

The district's board plans a study session on the issue Feb. 11.

Central Point schools likely will wait until March to make decisions on possible cuts, Robinson said.

"We assume the Legislature and governor will have to make tough decisions first," she said.

The district already has trimmed $350,000 from its budget this year by cutting spending on supplies and leaving vacant positions unfilled.

If the $800 million state shortfall projection is accurate, that would translate to an additional $2 million gap in Central Point's budget.

"We aren't going to say we will cut days, but it is about the only thing we could do," Robinson said.

Each day cut saves the district about $100,000, she said.

Phoenix-Talent School District could cut days, too, although officials are now focused on savings by leaving empty positions open and only buying emergency and safety supplies, said business manager Doug Spani.

"It's a very difficult time," he said, but he hoped more financial details would be apparent by next month.

Medford mother Elizabeth Venditti, whose daughters are in first and fourth grades at Washington Elementary, said she realized times were tough, but she was concerned about education taking further hits.

"I understand the need to cut budgets, but this is our kids' education," she said. "They should budget around that and cut somewhere else."

She worried that the school year is already too short to train students to compete in the world. She also noted that cutting school days could cut many students off from meals and enrichment programs they rely on.

"Education is the key to working these kids out of poverty," Washington Elementary Principal Joe Frazier said, noting that keeping kids in schools and teachers working could stimulate the economy both in the short term and in the future.

Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail aburke@mailtribune.com.

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