Green Bay School District Proposes $6M in Cuts
February 8, 2010
The Green Bay School District will look to cut about 20 staff positions and raise $85,000 through advertising if more than $6 million in preliminary budget recommendations are approved.
The district on Friday rele ased the list of suggested cuts, revenue enhancements and other measures for the 2010-11 budget. Community members can weigh in on the proposals on Monday, when the district hosts a public forum on the budget.
"It is just a preliminary list, a starting point," said Alan Wagner, assistant superintendent for business and finance. "One of the purposes of having the list done so early is that we are going to be starting staffing in February, and it’s important for us to know that the board does not have any concerns with the items that are on that list."
The recommendations call for the elimination of 8.5 full-time-equivalent administrative positions, as well as an estimated 12 teaching and paraprofessional positions. Officials hope to eliminate some of those through attrition, but layoffs are possible, Wagner said.
Officials are not recommending an administrative pay freeze, as was done for 2009-10. The total 2010-11 budget is expected to be about $248 million.
Revenue enhancements, specifically advertising, will play a big role in next year’s budget if the proposals are approved. Officials hope to raise $70,000 through ads in gyms, athletic fields, Web sites and other areas, and another $15,000 through advertising in school-issued planners.
The district has experimented with advertising in the past. In 2007, the district signed a contract with marketing group Sports Image Inc., based in Ohio. Intended to be a revenue source in conjunction with a larger strategy to improve the quality of athletics in the district, the approach has fallen short of expectations.
As of last month, the deal had raised about $7,000, said district spokeswoman Amanda Brooker. Officials didn’t have a specific goal amount for the sports marketing deal but were hoping to raise more than they did.
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This time around, the district plans to handle advertising in-house, rather than turning it over to an outside company, Wagner said. Officials hope that decision will make a difference in generating revenue.
School districts increasingly are looking to alternative revenue sources like advertising, said School Board president Jean Marsch.
"Ten to 15 years ago, looking at these kind of revenue-generating opportunities was something that our board would say no to," Marsch said, "because we didn’t want to place advertising in front of students.
"But with the tight budgets, we can no longer afford to turn down opportunities, when we’re trying to make certain we have some of the very basics."
Other budget recommendations include increasing Medicaid reimbursement revenue – expected to generate $1.2 million – and decreasing school supply allocations by 10 percent across the board. School Board members will also consider smaller cost-saving items, such as requiring staff to pay for lost ID badges and keys. Officials say that could generate $5,000.
The School Board will discuss the budget recommendations at its Feb. 15 meeting, and vote on the preliminary list Feb. 22.
There still remain many unknowns in the budget process, Wagner said, and the total amount of reductions and enhancements could total closer to $7 million in the end.