Frequently Asked Questions

What are options for budget reductions in 2009-10?
Options for budget reductions include renegotiating contracts with suppliers to save money and putting into place energy-saving strategies at all of our schools. Overtime for staff has been either eliminated or seriously reduced, and the use of cash reserves is on the table. Another option being discussed is revising busing strategies to save money and better serve our community. While a two-tier system is being considered for the 2010-11 school year, this year’s focus will be on increasing efficiencies in transportation. View the full list of possible 2009-10 budget reductions.

What is an Extraordinary Growth Tax and why has the district asked for the budgeting authority?
An extraordinary growth tax levy gives a fast-growing school district the ability to request additional funding to deal with operating expenses. This is the first year that the Spring Hill School District has qualified for this assistance, with an average growth of 6 percent for three years. Several months ago in a public meeting, the Board of Education approved the process of applying for this type of budget authority. On May 18th, a public hearing was held in Topeka and the Court of Tax Appeals approved the request. The estimated $620,000 that this tax levy could generate would help bridge the funding gap if needed. It is important to note that the board will have the authority to levy only the amount needed to cover budget shortfalls.

How is the economic downturn impacting the state of Kansas and the Spring Hill School District?
The declining state economy impacts the state’s revenue, including funds raised from sales and property taxes and state income tax. It is anticipated that a budget shortfall of $150 million will occur this fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2009. Current estimates are that Kansas faces a $1 billion deficit in next year’s projected general fund budget of $6 billion. It is important to note that the state is required by law to balance its budget. As the majority of the Spring Hill School District’s funding comes from the state, any decrease impacts our district’s budget.

What is the latest information from the Kansas Legislature?
In May 2009, Kansas lawmakers had the unenviable task of balancing the state’s budget, and more than $100 million in aid slated for public education was cut from the budget. Specifically, The Spring Hill School District lost more than $550,000 in state aid.

Previous Questions

How is the Spring Hill School District affected by the state’s budget shortfall?
Because 52 percent of the state’s general fund is dedicated to K-12 public education, funding cuts of historic levels are being made to Kansas schools in order to balance the state’s budget. Based on the funding reductions of $33 per student, the Spring Hill School District will lose approximately $97,000 in general funding, plus another $16,000 in special education monies. Unfortunately, much deeper cuts are anticipated for next year (2009-10), as it is not anticipated that the economy will recover significantly in the short term. District administrators will continue to watch legislators’ actions regarding the budgeting process and keep you updated.

Where does district funding come from?
As outlined by Kansas law, school districts have an operating budget called the general fund. This fund is used to pay bills, including teachers’ salaries and benefits, instructional supplies, facilities maintenance, utilities, insurance and the other costs associated with the day-to-day operations of a district. This funding comes from two basic sources, including state aid and local property taxes. For more information about how funding is calculated, see Budget Basics.

What has the district done to curb spending this school year?
While the Spring Hill School District has always strived to be fiscally responsible, it is even more critical at this time. As a district, the goal is to implement proactive strategies that can be adopted to save funds. Beginning in early February, Superintendent Bart Goering met with the staff members at each school to explain the current funding issues and also asked for their ideas for saving money. Additionally, district administrators were asked to examine their individual budgets to look for areas that could be trimmed.

Some of the cost-saving measures that are already being implemented include:

• Payment to the Insight School of Kansas will be reduced, as its funding per enrolled student also suffered the same reduction as the district.
• A new copier contract was negotiated for the school district with projected savings of $17,000.
• Several vacant positions will remain open.
• All staff overtime has been eliminated for the remainder of the year.
• Staff in all buildings has adopted energy-saving initiatives, like turning off lights and computers, to reduce operating costs.

What is the timeline for budget reduction decisions for next school year?
Unfortunately, it is impossible to forecast a time frame since the Kansas Legislature will be taking additional actions to balance the budget and the magnitude of impact on the district is unknown. However, district administrators and financial personnel are working to plan for some of the anticipated reductions. As soon as additional information is available from the state or as budget measures are put into place, those details will be announced.

What impact will reductions have on instruction in the classroom and will class size be impacted?
Students and their educational experience are the top priority. The school district’s goal is to prevent funding reductions from impacting classrooms. However, if funding reductions are extreme for the 2009-2010 school year, class size and other programs may be affected.

Would you like to submit a question?
As this issue affects schools and the community, you are encouraged to stay up-to-date regarding this situation. If you have a question or would like more information, please contact the district at budget@usd230.org.

What "extra" activities will be considered extra?
All events that require extra duty supervision (i.e., adult supervision) are considered extra student activities. These include athletics, band, dances, clubs and more. At this point, we are not in a position that extra activities will need to be cut and our intent is to protect our current activities. However, one proposal that was reviewed at the Feb. 23rd Board of Education meeting was the implementation of an activity fee to help cover the costs of all extra student activities. No decision has been made regarding this proposal.

Will all necessary positions be filled?
Our No. 1 priority is our students and their classroom experience. At this time, it is our intent to fill all needed positions this year and next school year.

Have you considered cutting back the amount of time they are in school -- by days or months?
While we have heard about and discussed this option, it is not considered necessary or viable at this time. Ultimately, analysis showed that only minimal savings would be achieved unless very radical schedule changes were implemented. The state requires 1,116 hours of instruction for students. Currently, we have those hours plus enough to cover several snow days built in to our school year and have adopted a very similar schedule for next year.

Does any of the money from the admission and concession stands at athletic events go towards the school budget? If not, who receives the money? Do middle school students pay an admission?
All students, other than the athletes participating in that activity, do pay admission to enter the event. The price is $2 per student, and $3 for an adult. The league – not our district, sets these prices. The monies raised by the admission fees cover many of the costs associated with holding those events, including adult supervision, officials, janitorial personnel, building costs and more. Any funds that are any excess of the costs and any monies raised by the concession stand are put in a school fund to help support that school’s extra activities, including athletic programs, clubs and other special events for classes.

If you cut overtime costs, are you going to compensate the teachers with comp time?
Our No. 1 priority is our students and their classroom experience, and we are working to ensure this area is not adversely affected. To be clear, teachers are salaried employees with contracts. However, they do receive additional compensation based on an hourly rate, which was negotiated and agreed upon by the teachers’ association, for hours above the 40-hour level. This compensation has not and will not be changed by the current budgetary situation.

The overtime that has been eliminated is for classified staff (hourly employees), including secretaries, custodial personnel, grounds crews, and other support staff. In respect to these hourly employees, their supervisors are working closely with them to stagger schedules, if needed, to cover all events and needed services, and then allow comp time for those employees who are at their 40-hour time frame.

Why is all the lighting at the high school necessary at night?
As you noted, the district has indeed been looking at energy-saving measures. Computers have auto shutdowns so they are not on all night, and use of many facility lights is being minimized. The costs of lighting around the high school have been reviewed, and minimized where possible. Many times, even when an event is not being held at the school, students and staff may be returning from out-of-district activities and may need the basic lighting. Adequate lighting is required to ensure the safety and security of users and the building itself.

Why is so much money being spent of watering the fields?
The maintenance staff for the district has analyzed the costs of all inputs required for grounds keeping, including general lawn care around buildings as well as all athletic fields. Beginning in January, budgets have been tightened across the board for all grounds care, including seed, fertilizer, mowing and also watering only what is necessary to keep them in acceptable shape. One of the concerns of not properly caring for athletics fields is the extremely high cost of repairing and renewing them if in fact grass dies. The fields must have good grass cover and be soft enough to ensure the safety of our players.

Why are bus drivers being allowed to take their buses home? If that bus had wrecked this morning on the slick country road, how would the insurance of paid out on that? Is personal use of buses allowed?
The Spring Hill School District contracts with the Apple Bus Company to provide busing for our students. All policies and procedures for parking, personal use and insurance are handled and maintained by Apple Bus Company. The amounts that the school district pays for busing is encompassed in a negotiated pre-set contract. However, here are a few answers to your questions based on information from Apple Bus. Only four buses out of 23 are allowed to be parked at their homes. This is specifically due to the fact that their routes start near their home and it would actually be less efficient to park at the bus barn and require more miles driven. All buses are covered by Apple Bus Company’s insurance and, as such, any accidents would be covered by that policy. The only allowance bus drivers have for personal use is if their route ends very near a facility and it is on the way back to the bus barn. It is against policy for a bus to be taken from the bus barn and used for a personal errand. Can we not save money on the amount of school vehicles we have? Why is it necessary to have so many suburbans?

A major benefit of having suburbans is that they can be used for a wide range of field trips, sports events, academic outings and other activities for students, and the district does not have to pay for additional busing. A cost-analysis has shown that the use of the suburbans far outweighs the costs of their purchase, especially as these are bought at a government, non-profit rate and no “extra” items like carpet, etc., are included on these models. Additionally, the newest ones use a flex fuel system to maximize gas mileage.

I would like to know if any of our administrators are willing to take a pay cut to help out? If it comes to enlarging our class size next year are we hiring the extra paraprofessionals to help the overwhelmed teachers?
Compensation for district officials, including the superintendent, is well within the range of Kansas school administrators considering their education and experience level. There is hard evidence that effective building and district administrators have a measurable, significant and positive impact on student achievement. It also is important to note that the school district has not added any administrators since 1999, and more than 400 students have been gained since that time. All of the administrators are dedicated to our students, teachers and staff. All necessary positions will be filled to ensure that teachers and support staff provide the best possible curriculum to students.

Is funding for all day kindergarten in the budget?
We don't anticipate any changes to our current kindergarten program. Parents will still have the choice between the all day or half day classes. Currently, the state only provides funding for half-day attendance. We will continue to charge the unfunded portion to those parents electing all day kindergarten. If at some point in time the state increases their contribution percentage (which is our hope), our plan is to reduce the amount we charge parents by an equal amount.