When administrators attack!
In December Naches Valley approved pay raises for the district administrators. In January, they found out they could be $600,000 in the hole if they don't make changes. The results? 10 layoffs this week, with 14 more that could happen. From the Yakima Herald-Republic, emphasis added is mine:
Administrative raises rankle Naches school taxpayers
By LEAH BETH WARDYAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Caught off guard by declining enrollment, the Naches Valley School District will lay off 10 people at the end of the week and another 14 this spring to avoid a $600,000 deficit in December 2006.
"There's no savings account. We have to cut expenses now," Superintendent Duane Lyons told a group of about 40 parents and taxpayers Monday at a board meeting at Naches Valley High School.
Most of the layoffs affect paraprofessionals, although custodial, maintenance and secretarial positions are also part of the plan.
But many in the audience said the district should have better enrollment forecasting, and they wanted the cuts to take place across the board and to include administrators.
"Why are there no administrative cuts? Why were raises for administrators approved in December?" asked Gary Tolle.
The school board approved two-year raises for administrators in December, before learning in January that student enrollment had dropped by 20 more students than expected, reducing state funding and putting the budget out of balance.
"In retrospect, the decision to approve and implement the administrator's raises may have been a mistake, Lyons said in a recent e-mail to the Yakima Herald-Republic.
An administrator earning $74,000 a year saw a $3,100 increase.
The second year of raises for administrators has since been frozen, saving about $21,000, according to the board-approved plan. Staff members are also deferring their vacation pay and taking voluntary reductions in paid time in order to save money, Lyons said.
School board chairman Don Flyckt rejected the call to cut administrators' jobs or pay.
"They're just as important as classroom teachers, and we need to pay them their salaries," he said.
The district's budget had anticipated about 20 fewer students but the actuality turned out to be 40, reducing state revenue by about $100,000. Lyons and board members said they don't know what in particular is behind the drop, though they said such fluctuations aren't unusual.
A recent voter-approved levy to raise $3.3 million won't begin generating money until January 2007, too late for the current crisis.
I believe that most administrators deserve every cent that they make, but man things like this don't play well in the press.
Administrative raises rankle Naches school taxpayers
By LEAH BETH WARDYAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Caught off guard by declining enrollment, the Naches Valley School District will lay off 10 people at the end of the week and another 14 this spring to avoid a $600,000 deficit in December 2006.
"There's no savings account. We have to cut expenses now," Superintendent Duane Lyons told a group of about 40 parents and taxpayers Monday at a board meeting at Naches Valley High School.
Most of the layoffs affect paraprofessionals, although custodial, maintenance and secretarial positions are also part of the plan.
But many in the audience said the district should have better enrollment forecasting, and they wanted the cuts to take place across the board and to include administrators.
"Why are there no administrative cuts? Why were raises for administrators approved in December?" asked Gary Tolle.
The school board approved two-year raises for administrators in December, before learning in January that student enrollment had dropped by 20 more students than expected, reducing state funding and putting the budget out of balance.
"In retrospect, the decision to approve and implement the administrator's raises may have been a mistake, Lyons said in a recent e-mail to the Yakima Herald-Republic.
An administrator earning $74,000 a year saw a $3,100 increase.
The second year of raises for administrators has since been frozen, saving about $21,000, according to the board-approved plan. Staff members are also deferring their vacation pay and taking voluntary reductions in paid time in order to save money, Lyons said.
School board chairman Don Flyckt rejected the call to cut administrators' jobs or pay.
"They're just as important as classroom teachers, and we need to pay them their salaries," he said.
The district's budget had anticipated about 20 fewer students but the actuality turned out to be 40, reducing state revenue by about $100,000. Lyons and board members said they don't know what in particular is behind the drop, though they said such fluctuations aren't unusual.
A recent voter-approved levy to raise $3.3 million won't begin generating money until January 2007, too late for the current crisis.
I believe that most administrators deserve every cent that they make, but man things like this don't play well in the press.
posted by Ryan at 5:58 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home