Ronan keeps teachers, cuts budget $712K

RONAN — Despite a deficit of more than $1 million dollars, no Ronan School District teachers will lose jobs.

However three grant-funded homeschool employees will lose their jobs, to the tune of $165,939 in savings. The district has applied for grants to try and maintain some semblance of those positions, but has not received word on whether they will get any money yet, Superintendent Andy Holmlund said.

Paraprofessionals will take a cut in hours worked, dropping to 30 hours per week instead of 35. The change will save $11,720. Not filling classified positions that opened up because of retirements of people taking jobs elsewhere will save another $200,000. Doing the same for certified employees — teachers — will save $188,565. Also on the chopping block was $50,000 in maintenance costs.

School board members approved the money-saving measures during a special meeting last Wednesday night. The remainder of the deficit will come from district reserves. The decision impacts people, making it an emotional one to make, said Chris Lynch, the board’s chairman.

“The less impact we can make on the kids’ education is definitely the biggest concern of everyone up here,” he added.

Wednesday’s meeting was well-attended by parents and district employees, with some voicing concerns about programs and class sizes being negatively impacted by the changes in staffing levels.

It is unclear at this point what classroom impacts from the changes will be, and those details will be worked out over time, Holmlund said, adding funding levels could still change.

“This is the gray skies, the doom and gloom, the worst-case scenario,” he said.

Initially, the budget reduction recommendations were $1.2 million, Holmlund said. The large number is from enrollment decreases and cuts to federal impact aid dollars, he said. Overall, district enrollment is down 37 students, he said.

Even with the picture a little murky, the board needed to make staffing decisions so teachers could find other positions, he added.

The rhetoric of not cutting teachers rings true for Ronan-Pablo Education Association leader Rod Harris, who said classroom sizes could prove to be an issue, but that the union is glad jobs were protected.

During Monday’s board meeting, members approved a three percent salary increase for classified employees, Holmlund said. That amounts to about $100,000, which will have to be found in the budget, he said.