No Raises or Job Cuts for Valley Park School District (MO)

April 1, 2011

Valley Park Superintendent David Knes says district employees may get no raise in the 2011-12 budget but there also probably will not be any involuntary reductions in personnel. Any reductions would be covered by attrition.

Knes will present a preliminary budget to the Board of Education on April 20. “At this time, everything is on the table for consideration,” he said Wednesday night after presenting background financial information to the board. Projections show a $600,000 drop in balances at the end of the 2011-12 school year if returning teachers get just an experience raise.

Teachers got an average 4 percent raise entering at the start of this school year, but total spending is projected to exceed reserves by about $1.5 million by the end of the year on June 30, as state support has fallen. The district has about 100 teachers and 56 other employees. Employees must be notified by April 15 whether they are to return in the fall, but 2011-12 salaries will be set later.