Our staff and members of the Board of Education have fielded many calls and emails from school families, staff, and the community over the past two weeks regarding the redistricting/reconfiguration issue. If I have not been able to personally answer your email yet, please accept my apologies and know I will respond as soon as possible. Once again in my weekly blog entry, I will try and address some of the questions that have come up. I hope it will be helpful.
The next Board of Education meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, February 14. This will be a work session (where the majority of agenda items are generally discussed and voted on at the regular session the following week). It was originally scheduled to be held in the central office at 6:00 p.m., but has been moved to the Horton Middle School multipurpose room (79 Horton Rd., Pittsboro, NC 27312) at 6:30 p.m. The redistricting/reconfiguration issue will be on the agenda. There will also be the opportunity for public comment during the meeting.
I encourage you to be careful of relying on the budget numbers that are floating around in the community. What we know at this point is to anticipate a $4.5 million cut in our 2011-2012 budget. There are several specific areas of federal and state funding that we know will not be available after June 30, 2011. It could be several months before state officials are able to determine many of the state budget cuts we will have to absorb, which presents an additional challenge to us in early budget planning. (Our local budget request is due to the County Commissioners on April 1st.) Central office staff is currently working on budgetary projections to use in scenarios/options as we move forward in the annual budget preparation process. Determining costs and savings that would come with redistricting/reconfiguration are also part of their current task. We will present redistricting/reconfiguration budgetary implications during the February 14th Board of Education meeting.
If, at its meeting on the 14th, the Board expresses an interest in continuing to consider redistricting/reconfiguration as one of its options in this massive budget reduction, we will hold
redistricting community meetings to gain additional input from you. Each will be focused on presenting the facts and hearing from attendees. The dates will be:
Tuesday, February 15, at 7 p.m. - Chatham Central's Polly O. Yow Auditorium
Wednesday, February 16, at 7 p.m. - Northwood's Benjamin Lee Auditorium
Thursday, February 17, at 7 p.m. - Jordan-Matthews' auditorium
Specific questions I’ve received over the past week:
• Which is instructionally best, a traditional K-5/middle school model or a K-8 model? Research and literature relative to this matter are mixed. Some studies suggest a return to smaller, neighborhood K-8 schools while others support a traditional elementary/middle school configuration. It is imperative that we provide the best educational services and opportunities to our children. It is with this goal in mind that the reorganization is under consideration. Budgetary numbers indicate that we will not be able to provide an adequate level of instructional services, programs and staffing to our schools in the present mixed grade configurations. Hence, I offer this point for your consideration; if we cannot support the small K-8 configurations, they will not continue to be as effective as we would like.
• Is the local supplement under consideration as a potential reduction or elimination?
At a recent meeting with local Chatham County Association of Educators (CCAE) representatives, I requested CCAE poll its members to get feedback on using a reduction in or elimination of the local salary supplement to balance the budget. Due to how the supplement is allocated, the County Commissioners would have to approve such a school district request. Consideration of a salary supplement reduction or elimination is only one of several options we are considering in our 2011-2012 budget reduction.
• How would a reconfiguration affect staff? Would they be transferred to a different school or even have to interview for jobs at different schools? Would teachers with tenure be guaranteed a job?
Generally speaking, staffing would follow the students, but not necessarily the same group of students. Master scheduling needs and the licensure areas teachers hold will be important in determining specifics. Tenured teachers have some level of job security versus probationary teachers, but, technically, if an entire program area or job classification is eliminated, tenured teachers could be part of a Reduction in Force (RIF). It is projected that the reconfiguration would save at least 18.3 certified staff positions, hence the budget savings. We hope, as in previous years, eliminated positions could be absorbed through attrition.
Continue to read our Hot Topics Blog postings. This is a very unique and challenging time for public education. Quality instructional services and programs for our children must remain the focal point in the decision-making process.
