School district tries to balance budget without cutting staff, enhancements

Wayne County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Dunsmore says the district faces a $5 million deficit, but slightly increasing class sizes — not cutting staff and student class offerings — might give the district the immediate solution it needs for the next budget year.

But with declining enrollment, increased benefit costs, charter school funding shares and high exceptional children services’ costs, more drastic steps will have to be taken soon to allow the school district to stay in the black in the future.

Dunsmore said the county is not looking to cut teachers, but is hoping to cut back on positions through attrition, specifically retirements and resignations.

“But it is getting harder and hard to do that,” he said. 

Rising costs are “very concerning” if nothing changes, he said.

Dunsmore and county staff presented additional details on the 2020-21 budget at the board of education’s regular monthly meeting Monday.

The board plans to continue working with the budget numbers and is expected to review them May 27 before committing to a final version.

The county has agreed to give the school district more time to finalize its budget numbers and local funding needs before delivering them to the board of commissioners. Dunsmore has asked to make that presentation in person.

Finance Officer Michael Hayes said 80 percent of the school’s $180 million budget is concentrated in one area — personnel.

“The majority of our money is tied up in human capital,” he said.

And not all of that is salaries.

Increased costs in providing health benefits and the county’s required contribution to the state’s retirement system all contribute to the difficulty in keeping the district’s budget balanced.

Hayes said the county’s portion of health insurance costs is $6,647 per year for each employee.

Most teachers, he said, in answer to a question from board members, pay a very small amount per month for their insurance, unless they have family or spousal coverage.

He added that retirement costs are expected to rise as well.

In 2019, the district contribution to the retirement fund was 19.7 percent. In 2020-21, that number is expected to be 21.4 percent.

So, even if the district does not raise salaries for teachers and staff, personnel costs continue to increase, Hayes said.

Add to that increasing concerns about state and federal funding, and the district is facing even more strain on an already-tight budget.

The state Department of Public Instruction determines funding levels based on ADM (average daily membership). There is an initial allotment, Hayes said, followed by a modification based on actual enrollment numbers reported once school has started.

And if those numbers do not meet the forecast, some of that state allotment has to be paid back, Dunsmore said.

“We don’t give it back. They take it,” he said.

Dr. David Lewis, assistant superintendent for accountability and information technology, said the state allotments of teaching positions for core subject areas and enhancements such as arts, music, physical education and second language, are a major factor in the funding flow.

State-defined class sizes for kindergarten through third grade put restrictions on the number of teaching positions available elsewhere, Lewis said, as does the district’s commitment to lower class sizes for fourth and fifth grades.

The state allotment does not completely fund the personnel needs for those mandated class sizes, which means those numbers have to be covered in other ways — sometimes with state-allotted positions elsewhere and sometimes with money from at-risk and low-wealth school funding.

The state is currently funding 1 teaching position for 191 students.

Lewis said that to cover the core and enhancement class needs, the district would need a state allotment of 1 teaching position for every 132 students.

He added that the district does have some options — specifically, modifying the local goal of smaller fourth- and fifth-grade class sizes.

By changing the limits at the elementary levels from 26 students per class to 27.5 or 28 — the district will be able to cover the costs of core and enhancement classes — or “break even,” for now.

Lewis said some classes in K-5 are already below class size limits — especially in smaller schools, where lower enrollments necessitate it and adding a position would skew numbers.

State support for the mandated class sizes has been helpful, but not a wash, he added, saying allotments for those positions have decreased, too.

But where the big hits have come is in the other grade levels.

“While they have helped us in four of our grade levels, they have hurt us in the other nine,” Lewis said.

Lewis also said that he has had discussions with high school principals about increasing the preferred class sizes in grades 9-12 in core area classes — to 25.

Increasing the class size will allow the county to recover about 10 positions, which will help prevent any cuts in enhancement or any other coursework.

He added that the district is considering maintaining some class size flexibility for low-performing schools with high at-risk student populations.

Core class assignment needs put stress on providing positions for enhancement classes, as well as for other extra coursework like advanced placement and foundations courses, which help students prepare for high school work.

“The district’s efforts will have to be looked at to see if we can continue to do that,” he said.

Lewis said the district has looked at the performance in K-5 at-risk schools and the smaller class sizes have worked. But he added that those advancements also suggest that adding a couple more students per class in grades 4 and 5 might be sustainable.

That would allow for those positions to be repurposed elsewhere.

Board chairman Chris West added that he thinks the state’s allotment cutbacks combined with another decision have damaged schools’ ability to provide the best education possible for the state’s students.

“The state needs to get teacher assistants back in the classroom,” he said, adding that teachers could manage the higher class counts if the assistants were there, too.

The end result would be a cost savings.

In addition to the class size discussion, board member Len Henderson said the district should look at enrollments in some enhancement classes to see if the student interest is there to support continuing.

Lewis said administrators are looking at those numbers as well.

Lewis added that enhancement classes are important for another reason — they allow the district to provide a state-mandated planning periods for teachers.

Also grinding down budget dollars is the money that has to be shared with charter schools, which, by law, are entitled to a share of available funding based on their enrollment.

In Wayne County, there are two major players — Wayne Preparatory Academy and Dillard Academy — but there are others that take a piece of that budget pie.

The charter schools are entitled to a portion of the local funding as well as fines and forfeitures, Hayes said.

He said that five years ago, charter school funding shares cost WCPS $500,000. This year, Hayes estimates that number could go as high as $1.6 million.

“They are entitled to a portion of what the county gives for general spending,” he said.

Also a factor in the district’s budget talks is the shortfall in state funding for education of exceptional children.

The state funds at 12.75 percent of the student population — the average statewide.

However, Wayne County’s numbers hover around 15 percent.

Petitioning the legislature to fully fund exceptional children numbers is something that Dunsmore said he has done regularly as have superintendents around the state.

“Every county across the state is starting to feel this,” he said.

In addition to just covering the daily education needs, the county has to provide one to one aides and teachers for some students, as well as occupational, physical and speech therapy.

“Those things can be very expensive,” Dunsmore said.

Board member Jennifer Strickland said that as the budget discussions continue, one of the areas where special attention needs to be paid is in services provided to exceptional children.

The state, she said, should provide extra funding for programs like Edgewood and support continuing education for special needs populations because it is the right thing to do.

And local residents should speak up for that funding, too.

“These are our kids,” she said.

Strickland also advocated for the enhancement programs, saying that they are not an “extra,” but a vital part of education, especially for those students who are not as motivated by traditional core work.

“These are the classes that grab these students and keep them engaged,” she said.

West emphasized that school districts and parents need to advocate if they want better education for their children and more money for their schools.

“We don’t have any way of raising funds,” West said. “We are at the mercy of the state, federal and local governments.”

Next up: The board is expected to meet May 27 at 10 a.m. to finalize the budget and discuss graduation.

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