District 1 school board to reconsider budget cuts

  The Yuma Elementary School District 1 governing board will meet March 24 to reconsider the budget cuts after postponing reductions at its meeting Tuesday, a board member says.

  Board member Gary Wright said a vote on cuts is possible at that meeting. Until then, board members are making specific recommendations to the superintendent's office on which programs should be saved.

  Superintendent Darwin Stiffler said the board directed staff to bring them more options and "alternatives to the cuts that were proposed," especially in regard to district librarians and nurses.

  District officials' previous list of prioritized budget cuts included eliminating school librarian and nursing positions and suspending middle school sports programs, but the board on Tuesday postponed a decision on personnel reductions.

  Stiffler said he believes the budget cuts will become much clearer in the coming weeks.

  "It's my hope that we would be able to resolve these difficult issues before spring break."

  A proposal to reduce the number of teachers by increasing the student-teacher ratio to 30-to-1 was bumped down on the list, but the plan to suspend sports remains high on the list as a likely cut. The cuts in sports programs would save the district $168,000.

  Stiffler said the board is considering pay cuts that could include higher health care costs and further reductions in staff.

  He said the district has accepted all recommendations, and district employees have had the opportunity to make suggestions via e-mail. Some suggestions included closing Alice Byrne Elementary, James D. Price Elementary and Ron Watson Middle School, he said.

  Stiffler said "some day that might happen, but not today."

  "I don't believe it's likely that the governing board would choose to close a school," Stiffler said.

  The district is looking at the cuts to its fiscal 2009-2010 budget to offset an anticipated $6.6 million loss in state revenue resulting from an enrollment drop and the state's own budget cuts.

  Wright said when he attends the next board meeting March 24, he'll vote with an "open mind and an open heart," but the district is going to have to find a "balance" between the cuts and keeping the students a priority.

  Stiffler said "the district is absolutely committed to living within its resources and providing the quality education to its students."

  The district must decide the proposed budget cuts soon because it faces an April 15 deadline to notify employees whether they will have a contract for next year.

  "We don't have much time left," Wright said. "I believe that the people in our district will make it happen."

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Stephanie A. Wilken can be reached at swilken@yumasun.com or 539-6857.