The numbers people at Durango School District 9-R have done the heavy lifting, and a proposed budget for the 2014-15 year is on its way to board members for action June 10.
A new school year, financially anyway, will begin July 1.
Total proposed spending for 2014-15 at $39,556,409 is less than $1 million more than the $38,559,551 for the year soon to close. But it reflects tough decisions on personnel and investments in technology.
“Staff or stuff” is the catch phrase being kicked around by those deciding where money goes.
In April, District Superintendent Dan Snowberger unveiled a combination of buyouts, retirements and job reclassifications, eliminations and consolidations that wiped out a $1.6 million budget deficit.
The district dug into reserves in the past, but Snowberger said this year reserve funds were down to the critical 15 percent level. Reducing reserves further, he said, could leave the district gasping for life if the economy again goes into convulsions.
Salaries account for 84 percent of the current budget, an untenable position given needs in the “stuff” category, Snowberger said.
“We haven’t invested in technology in four years,” he said Tuesday.
The disparity between entry-level and veteran teacher remuneration – $35,000 to $70,000 – is a topic worthy of future discussion, Snowberger told board members.
The proposed budget shows increases and decreases in salaries and benefits brought about by the April upheaval:
Teacher salaries and benefits in 2013-14 cost the district $26.08 million or 67.6 percent of the budget. In 2014-15, the total drops to $24.83 million or 62.8 percent of the budget.
Services staff salaries and benefits increased in the same periods – from $3.8 million, or 9.8 percent of the budget, to $4.1 million, or 10.4 percent.
Central office and support staff salaries and benefits also increased – from $1.99 million, or 5.2 percent of the budget, to $2.3 million, or 5.8 percent.
Stipends (for extra work in developing curriculum, for example) increased from $100,000, or 0.2 percent of the budget, to $321,000, or 0.8 percent.
But broadly, salaries and benefits account for 80 percent of the 2014-15 budget, which, judging from comments Tuesday, is where Snowberger would like to hold the line.
The instructional budget has a cushion because four positions each for teachers and teacher aides have been budgeted but may not be used.
Two huge, one-time investments in technology are critical, Snowberger said. A math curriculum that sets goals for kindergarten through fifth grade alone is worth $400,000. Of all subjects, math is Durango students’ Achilles heel.
A student information system that tracks individual contact data, enrollment history, educational needs, grades and disciplinary record that is worth $100,000 is another outlay. The district’s current system is not adapted for a district the size of 9-R.
Depending on state revenue, the district could run a $247,000 deficit and not drop below the 15 percent reserve level, Snowberger said.
Capital costs, $675,000 this year, will jump to $1 million and loose change for planned maintenance or replacement projects.
The district expects $1.8 million through the Student Success Act, but it depends on enrollment, which could climb 0.7 percent. Increased enrollment could augment the state share.
daler@durangoherald.com
