The INDEPENDENT, March 5, 2009
Page 13
School Board asked to reduce spring sports schedule to save $$
Banks school board and ad-
ministrators had an intense dis-
cussion, at a special meeting
February 23, about the current
school year budget, which busi-
ness manager Simon Levear
calls a “moving target.”
Levear led the board through
an almost week-by-week sum-
mary of conditions affecting the
‘08 –‘09 budget and the admin-
istrative team’s actions to keep
the budget in balance. The
Banks budget was built, and
adopted by the board, before
negotiations with labor unions
were complete. Completion of
these negotiations resulted in a
shortfall of $155,000 before the
school year even started. This
initial increase in expenses was
absorbed into the budget with
minimal effort by the adminis-
trative team. As the economy
slowed in the fall, and the state
began issuing predictions that
schools would receive less
money this year, budget cuts
Boy Scouts will
celebrate Mar. 6
The Banks Blue & Gold
Banquet for Boy Scouts to cel-
ebrate scouting will be held
March 6, at 6:00 p.m. at Banks
Elementary School. The ban-
quet is for all Boy Scouts, from
Cub Scouts to Venturing
Scouts.
became more difficult and more
painful.
School principals Jim Foster
(high school), Bob Huston (ele-
mentary) and Mark Everett
(junior high), and student serv-
ices director Shelly Mitchell
work closely with Levear and
superintendent Marv Ott to bal-
ance the districts budget. Lev-
ear presented the team’s ef-
forts, explaining to the board
when and how large adjust-
ments have been made
throughout the district. Though
Ott was not present, each ad-
ministrator was able to offer
specific examples of major cuts
in nearly every department. Le-
vear said that the team made
an early decision to keep a full
program for students as long as
possible. In addition, the team
was also bound by a board pol-
icy to maintain an ending fund
balance of five percent. Levear
told the board that the current
budget shortfall should be met
by reducing the number of
school days and reductions in
the spring sports schedule.
The board appeared con-
fused initially about how to re-
spond. Levear told the board
that the political nature of
sports programs led him to
seek input from the board. He
explained that up to five days
could be cut and still meet state
requirements for instructional
hours, but the district would
have to seek a waiver of that
requirement if additional days
Food collected
Banks’ Hometown Tribute, on February 28, included anthems, prayers, a proclamation by
Mayor Kinsky, Boy Scout Troop 581, even dessert. There was a moment of silence for Army
Chief Warrant Officer Joshua Tillery, formerly of Banks, who was killed January 26 in Iraq.
The evening was a tribute to Banks’ veterans, both past and present.
Banks Cub Scout pack #581
collected 187 pounds of food at
their recent Family Game
Night. The food was donated to
the Sonrise Food Bank.
were cut. When pressed about
the response from staff he told
the board that representatives
of both unions (certified staff
and classified staff) had indicat-
ed that staff would be willing to
negotiate less pay for fewer
days work. Asked about the
timing of the request and the
lack of a detailed plan showing
proposed changes to the calen-
dar, Levear said that he was
looking for an agreement to the
concept of cutting days to bal-
ance the budget.
At the time of the meeting,
Levear told the board that, after
reducing the spring sports, the
budget would still have a deficit
of $224,000. He told the board
that about $28,000 per day
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