Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools Superintendent Matt Kegley delivered a measure of good news to district teachers Wednesday night, announcing that six of the 18 educators who recently received Reduction in Force (RIF) notices have now been told they will have jobs for the next school year.
Kegley said the positions became available through the normal attrition process involving retirements and resignations within the district.
The superintendent made the announcement during an update to the HSE School Board from Chief Financial Officer Tim Brown on the work of the district’s internal Budget Task Force.
Brown said the district is facing a significant financial challenge after relying on approximately $8 million in cash reserves during the current school year to cover operating expenses — a practice district officials say is unsustainable.
To address the shortfall, the task force is recommending approximately $7.7 million in budget reductions, exceeding its original goal of finding at least $5 million in savings.
The largest share of the proposed reductions — roughly $6.7 million — would come from personnel-related savings, reflecting the fact that staffing represents the largest area of district spending.
District officials said declining student enrollment is a major factor driving the cuts. HSE enrollment has dropped 4.1 percent over the past three school years as the district’s demographics continue to change. Because Indiana school funding is largely based on student enrollment, fewer students mean less state revenue.
Most of the teaching position reductions are concentrated in kindergarten through sixth grade levels, where enrollment declines have been the greatest. Those reductions account for approximately $4.4 million in savings.
The task force is also recommending several central office and support staff reductions, including the elimination of positions such as Deputy Superintendent, Building Instructional Coach, Payroll Clerk, Custodial/Maintenance staff member, District Technology Instructional Coach and Telecom Specialist.
Additional savings are being explored through transportation efficiencies, building technology changes and reductions involving support instructional assistants and office staff not tied to special education services. Officials indicated bus driver layoffs are not expected.
The recommendations also include several potential new or reinstated student fees. One proposal would establish “consumable fees” for classroom materials, projected to save approximately $770,000. Another would bring back participation fees for athletics and performing arts programs, similar to measures implemented during previous rounds of district cost-cutting years ago, a savings of $225,000.
The task force also identified an estimated $24,000 in possible savings through reduced printing costs.
Specific recommendations are expected to come before the school board in June. At that time, board members are expected to consider the amount of proposed fees for athletics, performing arts and classroom consumables.
District officials noted Indiana law prohibits schools from charging textbook fees.
The board will conduct a work session May 27 on a possible referendum to be placed on the November election ballot.
If you love to parse numbers, HSE has now unveiled new section of the district’s Web site. It is a financial section, which school officials say will be updated on a regular basis. You can peruse the school’s finances using this link.