Sunday, February 21, 2010

If you suddenly discover you're short a little money -- say $2.3 million -- the first questions that come to mind are: How did this happen and whose fault is it? The next question, the most important one, is: How do you make up the shortage?

We're sure those questions are foremost in the minds of Monroe County School Board members, as well as the administration.

Our answer to the third question is: What we're all doing with our own budgets -- tightening up the belt, doing without.

We also believe that this might not have come to light if the district hadn't hired Chief Financial Officer Michael Kinneer to oversee the district's expenses. We are very disappointed that nobody saw this coming. But it speaks well for the concept of hiring professionals who have the skills and experience to do the job.

According to Kinneer, $66.2 million was budgeted for salaries and benefits, but he projects $70.6 million will be required in this fiscal year.

Are furloughs, as has been proposed, the answer? Maybe, but not the total answer, although board member Steve Pribramsky estimates it could save $126,000 a day. That's a lot of days off.

Recently, the board agreed with the United Teachers of Monroe to give raises and bonuses. We don't want the board to go back on its word, either by cutting or reducing the raises, or doing the same thing de facto by making teachers take an unpaid day every few weeks.

When money is short, companies, as well as families, often look to reducing travel expenses. That should be high on the school district's list of cost-cutters, since, in addition to the travel expense, the district must also pay for substitute teachers if it's full-time teachers who are doing the traveling. Companies, too, freeze positions when employees leave, which the district has already done on non-essential, non-classroom positions, Kinneer reported.

We like the idea of having administrators fill in as teachers, rather than hiring substitutes. People who rely on the revenue that comes to them through substituting may not like it, but that expense has become overwhelming and one that can be reduced considerably.

Yes, we also believe that the district is top-heavy in administrators. Let the administrators, the assistant principals and even the principals go to the classrooms now and again. They might be the ones who would learn the most from the experience, and it no doubt would save the district considerable money.

If the financial scandal that was unearthed last year really cost the district (and taxpayers) more than $500,000, shouldn't that mean that that money is now going into the school coffers? It's an interesting premise to consider.

Regardless, all governments and many families have discovered over the past few years that changes have to be made in the way they operate financially. The Monroe County school district is no different.

Changes must be made, if the district is to be solvent by June 30, when the fiscal year ends.

The time to start was yesterday, but we missed that opportunity, so today will have to do.

-- The Citizen