Sommer Woodward
Despite receiving additional income from the President’s stimulus plan, local schools are still struggling to make ends meet.
Insurance premiums for personnel increased in January, leaving schools scrambling to pull money from other areas of their budgets to fund the increase.
The estimated increase for this year in insurance premiums was $9.1 million, and the state legislature has yet to come up with any additional money.
Adair Superintendent Tom Linihan explained when the law passed requiring schools to pay single premiums, no vehicle was built into the law to fund an increase.
Last week, the state department of education came up with approximately half of the $9.1 million needed.
Linihan said Adair must still come up with $6,000 out of their budget to pay for the mandated insurance premium increase.
Adair’s not alone in their search for additional money.
Pryor Superintendent Don Raleigh said Pryor’s increase will cost the school another $19,152, while Superintendent Dave Cash said Locust Grove is having to fund an insurance increase of $11,921.17. Cash said if the state education department had not reallocated additional money, the schools would have taken a larger financial hit.
Chouteau and Salina
superintendents were not
available for an accurate estimate of their insurance increases.
But insurance isn’t the only funding issue the schools are having to tackle. School administrations know the cost to run a school will increase nearly
5 percent each year.
The state legislature recently released their proposed budget for the 2010 fiscal year, which begins in July. The state education department will receive an additional $40,544,649, which is basically a “flat” budget.
“Really a flat budget is a loss,” said Linihan.
Education is expected to receive approximately $167 million in stimulus funding in September, but the entire state budget is only increasing by $40 million.
“All they’re doing is plugging the holes,” said Raleigh, adding the school doesn’t know what budget they’ll be working with next year until the state money is figured into the allocation formulas.
“It really doesn’t help us because the state is taking it away,” said Chouteau Superintendent Dr. Lisa Horn. “I’m just real worried about what’s going to happen ... We can’t continue these cuts and maintain mandates without help from the
legislature.”
Linihan said the school must fund step raises and any raises for non-certified personnel. That money could come out of carry over funds, or the school might be forced to look at ways to minimize personnel. “We can save all the paper clips and rubber bands we want,” he said, but the largest expense in a school is personnel. He said many schools will look at not replacing teachers who are retiring as ways to cut costs.
“We’re working with a stacked deck,” said Horn. “It’s hard to
continue and keep up ... This year we’ll be okay. Next year’s gonna hurt.”
Joe Gill, executive director for the Oklahoma Schools Advisory Council, said the state is funding the shortage in the budget with stimulus money.
“That creates another problem for the year to come,” said Gill, explaining the state will lose the $167 million the next year. He questioned where that money will come from in 2011.
“It’s kinda a catch 22,” he said. “You can’t use one time money to fund continuing appropriations and that’s what they’re doing.”
Horn admits the budget doesn’t look “pretty,” but she thinks the state schools do a great job, considering their mandates. “Public schools do more with little than most can do,” she said.
