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Hernando Today

Board To Mull Cost-Saving Plans

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By LINNEA BROWN

Published: May 31, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Local parents may be scrambling for childcare on Fridays next year, if the Hernando County School Board decides implementing a four-day school week is an appropriate cost-saving measure for the district.

That's just one of the ideas being brought to the table for discussion by Superintendent Wayne Alexander during a 1 p.m. workshop Tuesday, where board members will begin reviewing the 2008-09 budget and brainstorming about how to compensate for a $2 million revenue shortfall.

"Here's the challenge that's in front of us," Alexander said. "How do we continue to move our district forward, (retain) what we have in place, establish new programs and improve our salary structure so we can build a world-class education structure — with less money? That's the challenge."

The budget is expected to be tight, with officials having to roll back numbers to the amount spent during the 2006-07 school year due to a worsening economic climate across the state.

Alexander said he is coming prepared to the workshop with a slew of ideas, including the idea of a four-day school week, an experimental move taking place at mostly-rural school districts across the country.

By adding hours and consolidating to four days, the move can provide considerable savings by reducing transportation, energy and other overhead costs.

Officials are already testing this by shutting down on six Fridays this summer, which Alexander estimated is currently saving the district $90,000 to $100,000.

If the district closed one day per week during the 36-week school year, the savings could reach $650,000, he said.

"They're already trying it next year in Jefferson County (Fla.)," he said, referring to a smaller school district in Florida's panhandle.

However, it can also cause headaches for working parents without childcare, which he acknowledged.

"That's part of the (reason) people have tried to stay away from it, I'm sure," Alexander said.

Another avenue for increased cost savings next year will include examining the district's current transportation routes and policies, and most likely alter hours for individual schools to accommodate increased runs for drivers.

""We're trying to get busses to have three runs a day, instead of two," Alexander said. "This will cut back on the amount of bus drivers we need and use fewer busses."

Officials are also looking at parking busses at their last-stop destination and starting routes there, instead of driving them back to the district's transportation headquarters.

Each bus costs the district approximately $200,000 each, and with the district currently budgeting $5 a gallon for fuel, the situation is "absolutely absurd," Alexander said.

"It's time for creative thinking," he said. "I'm examining every dollar in every department, every day."

Since salaries for teachers and staff make up 83 percent of the budget, district officials are currently assessing all positions to identify which positions could be eliminated to save money.

The cuts would not rely on layoffs, but instead would funnel teachers and staff between schools into open positions, and leave other positions unfilled.

Alexander said some of the additional positions he recommended during his reorganization plan — such as an executive director of special programs and one of four math coordinators — will likely have to be placed on hold for at least one year.

At Tuesday's workshop, he is scheduled to present five options for the addition of an assistant position, which board members recommended two months ago.

The estimated salary-and-benefits value of the new position would be $130,000, with the various options ranging in cost from $17,184 to $124,671.

But the position is not appearing viable in the current economic climate, Alexander said.

"My recommendation is that we suspend filling the position at this time, due to the financial difficulties I anticipate," he said.

Alexander said he is recommending that the district keep the structure "as is," with no assistant and additional cost.

Other issues up for review at the afternoon workshop include an updated proposal for the district's performing arts continuum and changes to the student code of conduct.

At the board's regular meeting at 7 p.m. that evening, issues set to be discussed include approval of comprehensive safety reports of all district sites and renewed bids for fuel and other annual expenses.

Both the workshop and meeting will take place in the board room at the district's headquarters, located at 919 N. Broad St. in Brooksville.

Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.

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