I went to the EMSD#63 Blog site today to see how the Financial Task Force (FTF) was doing.
I’ve gotten used to disappointment with this crowd.
The Financial Task Force questions and answers were separated from one another making the webpage tedious to work with.
EMSD#63 Websites Financial Task Force Questions
After a couple minutes and three webpage’s of this, I decided to re-present for my readers convenience the FTF Q&A in a easier to read (question and answer together) format .
I have linked to Dr. Clay’s Blog-site as of 01/19/2011 for your review.
Question & Answer #1
| “What would a pay freeze across the board save the district? | ||||||||||||||
| If salaries were frozen, that is, the staff received the same annual pay next year as this year, the estimated approximate salary savings by employee are as group follows:
There would also be other related savings for retirement plan contributions that are based on a percentage of salary, as well as some insurance costs that are tied to salary. A pay freeze is subject to collective bargaining for most employees. The above number for the EMEA group excludes those employees participating in and eligible for salary increases under the retirement program provided for in the EMEA contract.” |
Question & Answer #2
| “Is it possible to re -open contract negotiations with the unions to bargain salary only? |
| Yes, it is not uncommon for school districts to have multiple year contracts for everything in it except the salaries, which are negotiated annually. In the case of our 4 unions, we would need to agree to open the salary portion of the contract only for renegotiation.” |
Question & Answer #3
| “What are the roles of support staff such as library clerks? |
| Library clerks/assistants make it possible for the librarians to better perform their professional duties. They assist with all of the following to allow teacher/librarians to teach, implement programs and collaborate with teachers regarding curriculum: a. Assist the staff in the use of print and non-print resources, procedures, care and repair of print and non-print materials. b. Assist with book check/in check/out while librarians are teaching lessons and assisting students with appropriate reading level book selections. c. Help to maintain library/media materials, records, and inventory by repairing books, entering new books into the computer system, running bar codes/spine labels to attach to books, covering books and stamp books to prepare for student check out, and running reports such as overdue notices. d. Serve as a resource person to staff and students. e. Assist in supervision of student aides. f. Provide assistance to the staff/students in the use of library materials. g. Assist the staff and students in the use of various software applications for research and developing keyboarding skills, how to access the Internet, online databases, and computer programs. h. Support the staff and students with reading programs, such as guided reading. i. Shelve books properly so they can correctly be located by teachers and students.” |
Question & Answer #4
| “Is it possible to join with other school districts to reduce the costs of insurance for employees? |
| District 63 is already a member of cooperatives for insurance. It belongs to the Education Benefits Cooperative (EBC) for health insurance and to the Collective Liability Insurance Cooperative (CLIC) for property, casualty, liability, workers' compensation and related insurance.” |
Question & Answer #5
| “Is there a cost savings possible by reducing the school year to the minimum number of days required by the State of Illinois? |
| This is possible, with most of the savings resulting from salary reductions. This would be similar to taking furlough days where staff members take days off without pay. There would also be savings in transportation, utility, and similar costs on those days. Reducing the number of days would require collective bargaining with employee groups to renegotiate the length of the school year.” |
Question & Answer #6
| “Can students be charged for extracurricular activities? |
| Student fees are set annually by the Board of Education. Currently there is a $35 per sport athletic participation fee and a $105 instrumental music fee. Students also pay a Universal Fee that supports extracurricular activities primarily by supporting staff extra-duty stipends. These fees are subject to fee waivers as provided by Illinois law.” |
Question & Answer #7
| “Are there options to close a school and send the students to another school in the district? |
| Closing a school is possible provided there is room in other schools to accommodate all of the children from the closed school. Even if we closed our smallest school, that would mean making room for more than 360 students and the programs necessary to educate them. This is a very unlikely option considering the lack of space in most of our schools.” |
Question & Answer #8
| “Could the district get rid of the food service program? |
| The food service program has two components. The first is revenue, which is associated with providing free and reduced price meals to students. This revenue is primarily from student meal payments and the federal government (under the National School Lunch Program - NSLP), but the State of Illinois also provides a small portion. A reduction in the number of free and reduced price meals served will reduce the reimbursement (revenue) to the district. The second component is the cost. The cost of the program is based on a per meal price, and any reduction in the number of meals served will reduce the cost. Generally speaking, meal costs are offset by the paid meals and reimbursements. The district can opt out of the NSLP and stop making meals available to all students. The district, however, will still be obligated to provide meals to those students eligible for free meals, but will no longer receive government reimbursement for the meals served. Approximately 55% of meals served during the school year were to students eligible for free meals.” |
Question & Answer #9
| “Does the Board of Education get paid? |
| No, board members are not compensated for their service to the school district.” |
Question & Answer #10
| “Is it necessary to offer free and reduced price meals? |
| The district is required to offer free and reduced price meals under the federal National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The federal and state governments provide reimbursement to the district that currently covers the cost of the meals not paid by the students. If the district ceases to participate in the NSLP it is still obligated to provide meals to those students eligible for a free meal, however, no reimbursement would be provided.” |
Question & Answer #11
| “Can fee waivers be eliminated? |
| Fee waivers are required pursuant to State of Illinois law.” |
Question & Answer #12
| “Is a four day school week possible and would it save money? |
| This is allowed and would require a longer school day the remaining four days. The savings would come in the form of one less day per week of busing, food service, and utilities. A change to four day school weeks would require bargaining with employee groups.” |
Question & Answer #13
| “Can principals be shared between buildings? |
| This is allowable but not very workable. The buildings would be without a principal at least 50% of the time plus any meeting time that took them out of the building. Our principals play a vital role in the education process as instructional leaders, building managers, disciplinarians, liaisons to parents and community members, supervisors of staff, etc.” |
Question & Answer #14
| “Is it possible to eliminate bus transportation? What about charging all students for busing? |
| It is possible to eliminate bus transportation for regular education students. It is also possible to charge all regular education students for bus transportation. Transportation for students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) is required at no cost if stipulated in an IEP.” |
Question & Answer #15
| “Do the fees charged for athletics offset the full cost? |
| No.” |
Question & Answer #16
| “Could the property next to the ESC be sold? |
| The house on the property adjacent to the ESC is used to store records. The storage of these records is required by law, some for as long as 60 years. Without the house, we would have to purchase other space for this purpose.” |
Question & Answer #17
| “What does the TLC program cost the district? |
| TLC is a self-funded program. It does not use district funds.” |
Question & Answer #18
| “What criteria is used to determine free meals? Would limiting the amount of free meals, if possible, make a big difference? |
| Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty level are eligible for free meals. Those between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals. These levels are established by the federal National School Lunch Program, and the specific cutoff amounts are also federally established each year. It is not possible for schools to limit free meals for students who qualify for them. The federal government does, however, provide some reimbursement for the cost of every free and reduced price meal served.” |
Question & Answer #19
| “Would it be worth the cost to digitize the school records to eliminate the paper, making it possible to free the land for sale? |
| In 2009 the district began implementation of an electronic document management system (EDMS). An EDMS can serve as a document repository where documents can be stored for long term archiving as well as be easily retrieved for reference or other use. The project has begun on a smaller scale to validate the use of the EDMS in document management and workflow, as well as determine the cost and effectiveness in storing archived documents currently residing in the building adjacent to the district office. Proposals received at the time reflected cost estimates from approximately $100,000 to $300,000 to scan the existing archived documents and the extent of document indexing. Quotes are per page and per key stroke for indexing, so the actual cost would depend on the final number of pages scanned. Conversations with some vendors indicated that it was less common for school districts to use a third party to scan archived documents due to the cost, and that temporary/summer help may be much more cost effective. The district has been scanning some archived documents into the system, but resource limitations have limited progress. Elimination or destruction of paper records is also governed by the Illinois Local Records Act and requires approval, even when electronic records are made beforehand.” |
Question & Answer #20
| “What GRANTS might be available? Who could write the request? Can professional grant writers, if they exist, be used to write the requests? |
| For the 2009-10 school year the District received 23% of its revenue from operating grants and contributions. These are primarily targeted federal and state grants, with the largest related to the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Grants are generally targeted to a specific purpose, and usually do not fund current initiatives or expenses, but rather require that grant recipients increase their level of expenditures by doing something new, and in some cases even require local matching funds. National grants which are funded by organizations (corporate and non-profit) are very competitive and difficult to obtain for a district that is our size. They are usually marked for large, urban districts, or rural districts with limited resources. There are a number of publications that provide information on grants. Criteria for submission is usually quite specific and the number of grants with large amounts of funding is very limited. Grant writing can be a time-consuming process without guarantee of success. Grant writers can be utilized, with some charging an hourly rate and others an hourly rate plus a percentage of the grant. Most grants at District 63 are written by the Teaching and Learning Department and the Tech Department, although some smaller grants have been written by individual teachers or other staff members.” |
Question & Answer #21
| “What is the purpose and number of staff involved with enrichment classes at Gemini? | ||||||||||||||||
| Enrichment classes at Gemini serve a number of purposes. Some classes provide students with additional learning opportunities outside the core curriculum of math, science, social studies, and language arts. These enrichment classes include foreign language, computer applications, art, music, (general music, band, and orchestra), and drama. Students may select up to two enrichment classes per semester. Other enrichment classes provide students with additional support in the academic areas of math and language arts. The breakdown for the number of staff is shown below.
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Question & Answer #22
| “Can PE class be eliminated? |
| No, Illinois School Code mandates physical education daily for students in grades K-12. The School Code states, "A physical education course of study must be part of the regular school curriculum and not extra-curricular in nature or organization." This means that while recess may meet part of the daily requirement, schools are also obligated to provide specific instructional time for physical education.” |
Question & Answer #23
| “How much does the district spend on professional development and would we save money by eliminating it? |
| Professional Development cannot be eliminated. Illinois School Code requires school districts to "design programs which provide continuing education to update or improve a teacher's skill or knowledge in order to maintain a high level of performance." When establishing a school calendar, specific dates for Teacher Institute and School Improvement must be included. Additionally, District 63 receives funding through Title II of No Child Left Behind that must specifically be used to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers and provide ongoing professional development that improves the knowledge of teachers, principals, and paraprofessionals on effective instructional practices. Click here for a chart that shows major expenses for professional development conducted in District 63 during the previous school year, 2009-2010. Funding covers the cost of substitute teachers, supplies, and fees for external consultants if needed.” |
Question & Answer #24
| “Can kindergarten be eliminated? |
| Kindergarten is not mandated, however Illinois School Code states that school districts should "establish kindergartens for the instruction of children between the ages of 4 and 6 years, if in their judgment the public interest requires it, and to pay the necessary expenses thereof out of the school funds of the district. Upon petition of at least 50 parents or guardians of children between the ages of 4 and 6, residing within any school district and within one mile of the public school where such kindergarten is proposed to be established, the board of directors shall, if funds are available, establish a kindergarten in connection with the public school designated in the petition and maintain it as long as the annual average daily attendance therein is not less than 15. The board may establish a kindergarten with half-day attendance or full-day attendance." All school districts in Cook County provide kindergarten, and parents have the option of attendance because School Code also states that a child does not have to attend school until his/her seventh birthday. However, recent research indicates ninety-eight percent of American students attend at least a half day of kindergarten prior to first grade. Research also consistently indicates that children who attend preschool and kindergarten are better prepared to meet the expectations for first grade. Failure to meet expectations for first grade can impact a child's entire educational career. Early intervention is proven to be the most effective way to insure academic success.” |
Question & Answer #25
| “What foreign language instruction does the district provide and is it required? |
| The only foreign language instruction provided at the district is Spanish at the 7th and 8th grade levels and French at the 8th grade level, however, the 2010-2011 school year is the final year for coursework in French. Courses in Spanish I/II and Spanish for Spanish Speakers are currently scheduled to continue. Foreign language is a required course in high school. While foreign language is not required at the elementary or junior high level, students who successfully complete two years of Spanish in junior high frequently place in second year Spanish when entering high school. This puts these students on track to take AP Spanish prior to graduation. The Illinois State Board of Education also provides the following guidance with respect to foreign language instruction: ‘Given the increasingly global nature of our society, the need for Americans to speak a variety of languages other than English is growing daily. While foreign language is a required instructional component of the comprehensive curriculum offered at the high school level under Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) administrative rules beginning language study at the high school level does not provide much time for students to learn to communicate effectively. To fully master a foreign language, students require carefully planned and well-sequenced learning opportunities that provide practice in using the language beginning at a younger age. A longer sequence of study would provide more opportunity for students to attain the ability and confidence necessary to interact fluently with native speakers in oral and written contexts.’" |
Question & Answer #26
| “Why does the district provide bilingual services? |
| Bilingual services are required by law (Illinois Administrative Code, Title 23: Part 228 Transitional Bilingual Education). This Part establishes requirements for school districts' provision of services to students in preschool through grade 12 who have been identified as limited English proficient in accordance with Article 14C of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/14C] and this Part (228). Some key aspects of the law include the following:
+ Instruction in subjects which are either required by law (see 23 Ill. Adm. Code I) or by the student's school district, to be given in the student's home language and in English; core subjects such as math, science and social studies must be offered in the student's home language. + Instruction in the language arts in the student's home language. + Instruction in English as a second language. + Instruction in the history and culture of the country, territory, or geographic area which is the native land of the students or of their parents and in the history and culture of the United States.” |
Question & Answer #27
| “How does our bilingual program compare to others in the region/state/country? |
| Research shows that providing bilingual education is the best practice, and when implemented correctly and compared against non-native language instruction only, students benefit from becoming bi-lingual and bi-literate. As a result, in addition to the legal requirements and federal funding associated with bilingual instruction, districts nationally and throughout our region and state that have over 20 or more students that speak the same language within an attendance center provide bilingual educational services. District 63 is in the third year of implementing a Spanish Bilingual Program, and has built the capacity for a transitional bilingual education program that begins in Pre-K and ends after grade 3. Other districts throughout our state have bilingual programs in languages that include Spanish, Japanese, Polish, Russian, as well as English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. These programs have been in place for years and have been successful.” |
Question & Answer #28
| “Is ESL Summer School required? |
| While English as a Second Language (ESL) summer school and Ready Set Kindergarten are not expressly required by law, there are some laws that govern establishment of summer programs. These laws include the following points:
The Ready Set Kindergarten program is entirely funded through federal Title I and Title III grant funding. ESL summer school is a tuition based program. Tuition of $15 for materials and $35 for transportation (if needed) per child does not cover the entire cost of the 16 day summer program. Staff and facility costs are not covered by the tuition, and only approximately 50% of transportation costs are covered.” |
Question & Answer #29
| “What is the PreK program and are we required to offer it? |
| There are two preschool programs provided by District 63. One program is for students with disabilities and one program for students who meet the criteria for at-risk learners. We are mandated by federal legislation to provide a full continuum of services to students with disabilities starting at age 3. We are not required to provide services to at-risk learners.” |
Question & Answer #30
| “Is summer school required? |
| Summer school is not required nor offered for regular education students. Some students with disabilities require extended school year services in order to maintain progress they have made in their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals during the school year. The state department of education offers some reimbursement of staff costs when the students receive at least 60 contact hours of ESY services, which has encouraged most school districts in Illinois, including District 63, to provide these services through a summer school model for many years. Case managers and related service providers have been directed to use data to determine the need for extended school year services in order to provide this service only to those students who show a need. This may reduce the number of students receiving ESY services in the future and therefore reduce the cost to deliver the services.” |
Question & Answer #31
| “What special education costs are required and what are discretionary? |
| All public schools in the United States are federally mandated to provide a "Free and Appropriate Public Education" (FAPE) to all students with disabilities. This includes a full continuum of placement options (general classroom to therapeutic treatment settings) as well as a wide range of related services such as occupational, physical, and speech therapies, social work, and transportation. The placement and services required for each student is determined by the members of the student's Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team on an annual basis. This team includes a school building administrator, all general education and special education teachers and therapists that work with the student, and the student's parents. Therefore, while a wide range of placements and services are available, the IEP team has the responsibility to determine services that are necessary for the child to receive FAPE, and also considers what is fiscally responsible.” |
Question & Answer #32
| “Would it save money to eliminate air conditioning in warm weather and turn down the thermostat in cold weather? |
| Yes it would save money to eliminate air conditioning, but student comfort would also suffer. Also, some buildings, or parts of some buildings require it since there are no functioning windows in those areas.” |
Question & Answer #33
Question & Answer #34
Question & Answer #35
| “What are the roles and responsibilities of assistant principals? |
| Responsibilities may vary dependent of the changing needs of a school, but in general, an assistant principal is an instructional leader who shares all of the administrative responsibilities with the building principal. Some of these tasks may include: |
Question & Answer #36
Question & Answer #37
Question & Answer #38
| “Since the last referendum, how many new positions have been added in District 63? How many of those positions were state mandated or grant funded? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prior to passing the 2004 referendum, District 63 made major cuts in staff for the 2004-2005 school year. The list below shows what those cuts entailed and what was replaced as a result of passing referendum in the Fall of 2004. Position cuts were determined by raising the average class sizes to 25:1 in grades K-2 and 30:1 in grades 3-8. Since that time teachers have been replaced according to student population and a return to a class size average of 25:1. The number of classroom teachers therefore varies from year to year and building to building based on the actual student population.
Nurses have replaced most of our health clerks in response to changes in state/federal law. ESL\Bilingual Director: The previous position of ESL Facilitator was elevated to an administrative position in response to a federal mandate. It is a locally funded position.” |
Question & Answer #39
| “Why is the pay for administrators so much higher than teacher pay? | ||||||||||||||||||
| There are a number of reasons that administrator pay is higher than teacher pay. At virtually all employers when a person pursues and accepts a position of higher responsibility, that is linked to a higher level of compensation. In most cases the higher responsibility is also associated with more experience, and in education it is also linked to higher academic credentials. Another factor that contributes to the higher pay is the fact that administrators work full-time during the entire calendar year whereas teachers work for a ten month period. Teachers are compensated for 184 work days per year and administrators are compensated for 240 work days. The highest paid teacher earns $758 per day compared to the superintendent of schools who earns $723 per day.
* There are also teachers whose salaries exceed the top of the schedule based on retirement program provisions in the contract, with the top earning teacher at $758 per day.” |
So, how does this square with EMSD#63/State of Illinois’s post 2004 Referendum payroll history?
Nine-Year Report - East Maine School District #63 Data in this report based is State of Illinois/EMSD#63 derived information.
Question & Answer #40
| “How much would it save if the district eliminated music, summer music, band etc..? |
| The current budget for music is approximately $784,000 for salaries, benefits, and instructional costs. Eliminating music at the elementary and junior high level would be provide a savings in teacher salaries and benefits, but this would be offset by the fact that the music classes provide contractual planning/meeting time at the elementary level and provide elective classes at the junior high. If music classes were eliminated, something else would need to be put in their place as described below. Eliminating music at the elementary level would save approximately $420,000 in salaries and benefits for 6 music teachers. At the elementary level, each building has staff to provide 1 hour of music instruction per week at each grade level 1-6. There is also 1 hour of art, 1 hour of physical education, and 1 hour of library (grades 4-6) or 30 minutes of library (grades 1-3). Kindergarten is 30 minutes of each of these, for a total of an hour for each teacher counting both the morning and afternoon sections. However, the music (as well as art and physical education) classes provide teachers with 4 hours per week of planning/meeting time that is contractually allotted to them. Currently, there are 6 elementary music teachers (one at each building). Their time is determined by the number of planning sections required at teach school. Some music, art, and PE teachers must travel between buildings in order to provide weekly sections of art, music, and PE for all classrooms. Eliminating these teachers would require the district to possibly hire additional staff to provide the release time currently provided by music teachers. At the junior high level, music is considered an enrichment class and students have the option to choose band, orchestra, or guitar. There are currently 5 music teachers at Gemini for a total of approximately $287,000 in salary and benefits. These teachers also provide band and orchestra classes at the elementary schools for grades 5 and 6. These are elective classes. The total cost for instrumental music is approximately $77,000 allocated to instrument purchase, repair, and maintenance; extra duty stipends for staff; and instructional supplies. Eliminating music at Gemini would potentially save these salaries, but other classes would need to be developed and staffed in order to provide the number of elective courses needed for all students at Gemini. The summer band and orchestra program is self-funded. Students pay to attend and tuition covers the total cost of the program.” |
Question & Answer #41
| “How much would the district save if the administrators paid their own TRS, Insurance, Dental, Vision, etc instead of the Board of Ed? |
| All employees receive benefits as a portion of their overall compensation, including health insurance, life/AD&D/disability insurance, and pension contributions. The value of the benefits received by administrators is available on the district website. Elimination of all benefits paid to administrators would save $406,033, and effectively be a pay cut for administrators averaging 19% and ranging from 11%-25%. Elimination of benefits to all employees would save $4,934,839.” |
Question & Answer #42
| “Do the following legislative actions mentioned in the NEA News Letter help our District? |
| The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), also known as the stimulus plan, did provide additional revenue to District 63 over the course of two years. The additional funds were two general types. The first type was provided to states to distribute to schools. The State of Illinois decided to use those funds to cover a shortfall in its budget by making already committed State payments to schools with the federal funds. This amounted to using federal money to meet State obligations, and resulted in no additional money for schools. The remaining ARRA funds received were provided through existing federal grant programs, primarily No Child Left Behind (Title I Low Income) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These programs have particular rules about eligible expenses and generally prohibit using the funds for existing programs, instead requiring additional, new expenditures to be funded. The Education Jobs Fund is a one time source of approximately $283,000 in federal revenue, similar to ARRA funds. It can be used to fund existing positions, and is supporting teachers and teaching assistants.” |
“In regards to Question #41: Not ALL employees receive pension contributions as a benefit….in fact, we don’t get any pension benefits, do we? We contribute to our own pension by the money that is withdrawn from our check every month, correct? Why would the administrators receive a pay cut? Isn’t their paid TRS a PERK?
Pension contributions are in fact made by the district for all employees. It is true that employees contribute to their own pension, but the district also makes contributions on their behalf. With regard to administrators, the TRS contributions that are paid by the district on their behalf are a benefit that is part of their overall compensation plan. Elimination of a portion of a compensation plan results in a reduction in compensation.”
Maybe you have a few questions of your own?
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