3/12/13 - The Brighton Board of Education last night had the unenviable task of reviewing potential ways to save up to half-a-million dollars in this yearâs school district budget and cutting a whopping $3.5 million in the 2013-14 budget. The cost-saving ideas were prepared by Assistant Superintendent for Finance Maria Gistinger. Brighton is one of the stateâs deficit districts, and its most recent deficit reduction plan was rejected by the Department of Education last week as being unrealistic. However, Superintendent Greg Gray says thatâs based on outdated information since the state has not yet looked at the districtâs revised budget. A revised deficit reduction plan is due by March 22nd. The district projects ending the current fiscal year $445,000 in the red without some spending cuts. Administration is optimistic that the vacant Lindbom School, appraised at about $2 million, could be sold before the end of the school year. However, Gray now says he has been told by the state that the district cannot put the projected sale of Lindbom in this yearâs budget, although it can be used as part of next yearâs budget. Beyond this year, Brighton is projecting a deficit of $3.5 million for next year, and Gistinger presented 33 possibilities for saving up to $7.8 million to negate any future red ink. However, Trustee John Conely told WHMI the board must look at across-the-board staff pay cuts to realize significant savings. Rejecting such a drastic solution, Superintendent Gray tells WHMI heâs certain the district will be able to balance the budget with staff cuts and other savings and without affecting program. The 33 suggestions for saving money include â among others âoutsourcing maintenance employees, custodians and secretaries; not buying new textbooks; not purchasing new school buses; restructuring principals; staffing media centers with para-professionals instead of media specialists; reducing community education; reducing athletics or eliminating it altogether and eliminating two media specialists. Gistinger asked the board to review the 33 suggested cuts and get their preferences back to her by Friday. Conely was also criticized by a large turnout of teachers and students about earlier comments he had made concerning incompetent teachers in the district. High School senior Rachel Wehrly was in tears as she told the board about the teachers who had taught her in Brighton. Wehrly said she has been accepted at the University of Michigan, something she had thought wouldnât be possible without the dedication of teachers who believed in her and helped her along the way. Many teachers also spoke, saying they resented Conelyâs remarks about alleged incompetency, saying that it is belied by the data, which shows that Brighton consistently ranks among the top school districts in the area and region. After the meeting, Conely clarified his previous statements, saying he was referring to just a small number of teachers whom he felt were incompetent. He tells WHMI he is working on a plan to rectify the perceived problem, but declined to be specific about it.(TT/JK)
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