“I want to thank the school board and administration for taking on the difficult task of working together to create a fiscally responsible budget request in the best interest of our school system,” Superintendent Ken Saranich said.

“This part is just the beginning and I look forward to working with our city officials to find common ground in the budget process,” Saranich added.

Board chair Kathy Yolish said the budget request was transparent and clearly defined, and she hoped to be able to communicate her thoughts to city officials.

“Our council, the mayor and the council of aldermen have worked together in the past and I hope that will continue during this budget season,” she said.

The main drivers of the budget increase are contractual obligations for certified salaries ($1.1 million), benefits ($297,047), computer subscriptions ($48,000), tuition ($362,915) and utilities ($73,870).

Saranich said he considered requests from building administrators as well as increased enrollment and class sizes when adding four certified staff members, at a cost of $260,000.

Through the end of January, the school district had a total of 4,469 students, an increase of 56 from the 2020-21 school year. Over the past seven years, total school enrollment in the city has fallen by 458, but special education, a costly and unpredictable part of the annual budget, continues to grow.

The increase in enrollment comes after five years of job cuts by the district. Since 2017-18, the district has cut 76.5 positions, while creating only 12.5, leaving a net loss of 64 jobs during that time.

Saranich said the positions cut included teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, tutors, custodial staff and secretaries.

From 2017-18 to 2019-20, the district eliminated 43 positions, adding none. The 2020-2021 fiscal year saw the elimination of 23.5 positions, with only two added. Last year, Saranich said the district cut 10 positions, but it was the first time in years that there were no layoffs.

According to enrollment numbers prepared for Thursday’s meeting, special education numbers jumped by 89 students — seven of whom were passed — in the current school year.

These special education student totals have increased six of the last seven years. The low point was 2014-2015, when there were 623 students in special education, or 12.64% of the total population.

Saranich said the cost of replacing special education students is the responsibility of the school district and the average cost per student is about $100,000, which means the seven new students cost about $700,000.

Overall, the proposed budget for special education includes $947,511 in special education funds that board members said are essential and likely long-term: $185,801 for private lessons, $366,637 $ for public tuition, $86,135 for private transportation, and $308,938 for professional services.

“It was my ‘wow’ moment,” Yolish said of the estimated $700,000 cost for seven overwhelmed special education students. “This number is a big change for us at the school board, but it’s something we have to do by law. People need to be aware of that. »

Saranich said the district is “legally obligated” to provide the placements, even though the placement decisions were made when the families lived in other districts.

The council held five budget workshops in the past six weeks, and the final number was reduced from an initial increase of 5.48% after recommendations from central office staff members.

“Many items were listed as priorities along with regular cost increases due to salaries and benefits,” Yolish said. “A telling factor was recently updated data which showed that our special education population increased by 89 students, seven of whom were out-of-district placements.

“We can’t predict this cost increase when planning our budget, so this additional cost is an unexpected variable at the start of the new school year,” Yolish said.

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