School marquee: Class supplies needed

  Since the Legislature's reduction of state aid to public schools of $133 million last month, some schools are coming up with appeals to cover the cost of school supplies.

  Carver Elementary School in Yuma Elementary School District 1 has posted a message on its marquee, 1341 W. 5th St., alerting the public it has no more money for supplies. Carver Principal Debra Drysdale said the message was not tongue-in-cheek, but a serious appeal.

  "We received quite a nice response - my superintendent thinks it's a little drastic, but it's working," Drysdale said.

  Drysdale estimates Carver has received $500 to $700 in donations from community members, parents and people just driving by. In the meantime, the Carver faculty are doing everything to conserve, from turning off lights and computers when not in use, to returning district-supplied cell phones. Some teachers have just been purchasing their own supplies.

  "It's the nature of a teacher to buy their own class supplies; they'll never let their kids do without," Drysdale said. "As a matter of course, whenever they go shopping they'll throw in a ream of paper or office supplies for school."

  Carver has essentially frozen its capital line with just a few thousand dollars left to replace equipment and furniture, Drysdale said. The school's maintenance and operating budget to furnish office supplies has been depleted.

  Drysdale also said the District 1 board will consider raising class sizes from 26 to 29 or 30, which may result in losing two or three teachers. The board has some "heartbreaking decisions" and it is a relief she is not in that position. District 1 has always been a "family kind" of district to work for and it always puts people before things, she said.

  "We want to continue what we do best: student achievement," Drysdale said. "Regardless of the supplies, we'll continue to achieve at grade level."

  District 1 Chief Financial Officer Kerry Jones said the district allocates $50 per student for supplies, for a total of $1 million.

  That amount is for what is called the District Site Fund and varies from year to year since it is based on enrollment.

  "Overall, our student count was down 275 so the $1 million was a slight
reduction from last year," Jones said.

  In addition to the Site Fund, there was nearly $3 million allocated for district level funds in fiscal 2007-08, he said. Figures for the current year, 2008-09, will not be known until June. Level funds cover maintenance supplies: plumbing, replacement parts and all necessary materials to keep the buildings operating.

  "We try to identify ways to reduce usage, but certain materials we can't do without," Jones said.

  District 1 recently placed a $20,000 order for air conditioning filters that, if not replaced, would result in even costlier breakdowns to the system, and so they cannot view purchases with a narrow focus, he explained.

  At a  District 1 work session recently, the governing board developed a plan to reduce their budget by $6.6 million for next year, Jones said. A proposal was made to cut the supplies budget for site and district level funds by 10 percent or $150,000.

  And in January, the state cut District 1's aid  by $1.25 million, he added.

  "Back in June when we developed a budget (for fiscal 2008-09), we thought there was a possibility of cuts for this scenario, so we've been able to weather the cuts without layoffs, furloughs or cutting site budgets," Jones said.

   Meanwhile, District 1 has maintained a contingency fund of $750,000 that was not obligated for any purchases, he said.

  The Crane School District is also feeling the pinch of the economic downturn, but they have not made any appeals for donations, said Mike Wicks, executive director of management services. Crane has an adequate budget to purchase any essential supplies for the remainder of the year.

  However, Crane implemented a hiring freeze that will leave seven or eight positions unfilled. And the district also limited travel for professional development, and he estimates that alone could save $15,000. Reductions in state aid cut $750,000 from Crane's current year budget, he said.

  Crane is also developing a list of potential budget reduction items for next year that will be discussed at the board meeting next month, Wicks said. He added he has seen a list of priorities for additional state cuts but he is not sure how accurate it may be.

  "There's lots of speculation in the state Legislature, but the district is waiting to see what proposals are made before taking any action locally," Wicks said. 

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William Roller can be reached at
wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858.