Yuma County's outlying districts tighten their belts

  Like their counterparts in Yuma, outlying Yuma County school districts are faced with tightening their belts in anticipation of cuts in state aid for education, say administrators.

  Somerton Elementary School District will mail out reduction in force (RIF) notices to three counselors, but no highly qualified (HQ) or probationary teachers face layoffs.

  "The only RIFs we'll take to the board next Tuesday are three counselors we don't know if we'll have the funding for,"  Superintendent Frank Reed said. "I have to send those notices by April 15 and I've already informed them."

  State law sets April 15 as the deadline for districts to notify teachers and other employees whether they have contracts for the next year. Although the districts don't yet know the extent of the cuts in state aid to their budgets, they have been eliminating some jobs in anticipation money won't be available to fund them. In the event cuts aren't as big as expected, the districts can recall the laid-off employees.

  Yuma districts have also eliminated positions in anticipation of cuts in state education funding.

  The reductions in force occurring in the school districts for budgetary reasons are separate from the nonrenewal of contracts of emergency certified teachers. The U.S. Department of Education has ordered that Arizona districts stop using emergency certified teachers - teachers who have bachelor's degrees but not an education degree.

  Other cuts have also been implemented in Somerton besides layoffs of three counselors. Reed has declined to fill the assistant superintendent's job as well as the directors of business services, curriculum of instruction or maintenance and operations. Other employees will fill those functions, and savings of up to $400,000 are estimated.

  They also combined some bus routes and shut down idle buildings during summer break that anticipates $30,000 savings. And they eliminated all administrative performance pay and reduced administrative vacations from six to four weeks for another $50,000 savings.

  "We're doing our own best-guess estimates as what next year's budget will be," Reed said. "We're going by what we're hearing out of the Legislature and that's a 5 to 7 percent cut but that could be different next week."

  The outlook is brighter in Gadsden Elementary School District, where there is no reduction in force of HQ teachers.

  "As a matter of fact, we'll probably be hiring," Ray Aguilera, superintendent, said. "The state has asked us to reduce administrative costs, things like transportation, grants, cafeteria expense and we're being much more vigilant."

  For the next year, Gadsden anticipates it will increase its expenditures in the classroom significantly, he noted.

  "My direction to my people is cut administrative costs and increase instructional expense - we don't want any negative impacts on the classroom," Aguilera said.

  In the Mohawk Valley School District, three highly qualified teachers did not have their contracts renewed last month, and the district laid off six classified employees - custodians, librarian and instructional aides, Alfredo Luna, superintendent, said.

  Out of a total maintenance and operating budget of $1.2 million, Mohawk Valley has trimmed a third. The employees remaining have a salary freeze for next year.  Mohawk is also reducing contracted maintenance services for a savings of $8,000 and supplies for savings of $26,000.

  "You have to  plan for the worst-case scenario and not overcommit the district," Luna said. "And you still must be responsible to taxpayers. Like it or not, it's a business and you have to live within your means."

  The Sun was unable to contact the Antelope or Hyder school districts for comment.

  Meanwhile, the Wellton Elementary School District has a plan to leave two instructional aide positions unfilled, Laura Noel, superintendent, said.

  But Wellton has drawn up a list of cuts starting with reducing supplies and closing the facilities on weekends and in the summer, she noted.

  Another action would be to move a small percentage of CORL - Capital Outlay Revenue Limits - funds, typically used for buildings, over to the maintenance and operation budget that could infuse as much as $50,000. Also, an increase in employee health insurance deductible may save $16,000, she noted.

  Wellton also examined dropping music programs for a savings of $20,000 and possibly intermural sports, "but that's a negative thing because it's the one hook into school for some students," Noel said.

  She added there are two other choices that would be last resorts: eliminating preschool programs and reducing full-day kindergarten to a half-day.

  "The Legislature has not given us any numbers and we don't even know if we have money for summer school," Noel said. "It's heartbreaking to make decisions on people's lives based on rumors. Everything is based on estimates."

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