District Would Close Elementary School, Shorten Year to Save Money
February 3, 2010
An elementary school would close and the school year would be reduced by five days if all the budget-cutting proposals discussed at the Hemet school board meeting Tuesday are approved.
The Hemet Unified School District is trying to eliminate a $19.7 million budget shortfall for the 2010-11 school year. The district’s budget for 2009-10 is $193 million.
District officials had already announced they were seeking to negotiate a 7 percent pay reduction for all employees, which would come from a combination of a shorter school year, a freeze in step increases and a 3.4 percent decrease in pay. That would save $9.7 million.
The other proposed cuts, which would save $10 million, ranged from as small as $3,000 by eliminating computer air cards for top management to as large as $2.38 million by releasing temporary teachers.
In between, the district proposed cutting student activities — which include high school athletics — by 20 percent, or $177,000 out of the $855,000 allocation.
The proposals, which must be approved by the board, were based on suggestions from management, the board and employees.
The idea that drew parents and 20 of their children wearing blue school T-shirts was the plan to close a school. Although Superintendent Phil Pendley said the district has not identified a target, the parents see a bull’s-eye painted on their school: Hemet Elementary.
Hemet was abandoned last year and the students transferred to Dartmouth Elementary when the school began to sink into the ground. Repairs or rebuilding will cost millions of dollars.
"We wanted the board to know that we all stand together," Hemet Elementary PTA President Car-Lee Clark said after the meeting. Three of Clark’s children and a grandchild have attended Hemet Elementary.
Pendley did say that the campus needs to remain a viable site because of anticipated future growth.
He and Assistant Superintendent Vince Christakos will recommend to the board which school to close to save $444,000, Christakos said.
Jerry Hall, president of the Hemet Teachers Association, told the board that he wanted to see more non-personnel cuts proposed.
"I applaud the effort, even if it doesn’t go far enough," he said.
The district and teachers are scheduled to resume negotiations Feb. 10. The district and nonteaching employees are set to begin negotiations Thursday.