School board cuts $1.8M to cover budget shortfall

The Cataract Elementary School and deep cuts to teaching staff both escaped the chopping block, so far, after the Sparta School Board cut nearly $1.8 million from the 2022-23 budget at a special meeting Tuesday.

The school district is looking to cut at least $2.8 million annually from its next two budgets to cover a shortfall caused by the state’s K-12 funding freeze, the expiration of the school’s recurring $750,000 referendum and rising costs due to inflation.

On April 5, the electorate voted down a two-year, $2.1 million referendum that would have shored up much of the shortfall, leaving the district few options other than to make deep and unpopular budget cuts.

Around 80 people attended Tuesday’s meeting, many to voice their dissatisfaction with the administration and board over the proposals to close Cataract Elementary and layoff teachers.

Sarah Jarvis, a first-grade teacher at Cataract said the district has hired non-classroom staff to address poor test scores among students, but that strategy doesn’t seem to be having an impact on student performance. She said the district needs to invest in teacher training and professional development.

“Before we look at cutting classroom teachers and closing schools, we need to look at some of those non-classroom teaching positions that don’t have a direct impact, all day every day, on our students,” Jarvis said.

She felt that since the administration didn’t give teachers any input on the budget, they shouldn’t be penalized for the district’s financial woes.

That sentiment was shared by Michelle Glandt, speaking on behalf of the Sparta Education Association (SEA), which represents teachers, para-professionals and secretaries. She said the faculty is underappreciated even after working tirelessly to overcome the difficulties presented by the COVID pandemic and trying to get students reengaged after they returned to school.

“The struggle has been enormous,” said Glandt. “The staff is exhausted and yet we keep on giving.”

She asked why teachers were taking the brunt of the cuts and wanted to know if cuts to administration, middle management and instructional coaches have been explored, adding the district has seen an exodus of teachers to other schools.

“Finding teachers to come to this district will be a struggle let alone retaining any of the quality staff we currently have,” she said, noting the SEA had no input in the cuts. “The lack of respect we received from the stakeholders in the community who voted no along with administration not seeking our input into these decisions is disheartening to teachers.”

Several parents of Cataract students also addressed the board, expressing a mistrust of the board and administration and asking that Cataract school be taken off the chopping block.

George Prager, who lives on his family farm near the Jackson County border, said there is a petition with 1,100 signatures to keep the school open.

Board member Heidi Prestwood, whose children attended Cataract Elementary, made a motion to keep the school open, saying the facility was not only a school but an integral part of a tight-knit community. She said closing the school would lead to long bus rides for many of the students who attend the school, forcing some families to send their children to Black River Falls or Melrose.

We’re not closing that school,” she said. “Over my body, we’re not closing that school. I will fight for it.”

Board member John Hendricks said taking the option of closing Cataract off the table at this point would tie the board’s hands. Closing Cataract is projected to save the district $438,000 annually.

“We can save $400,000 closing Cataract,” he said. “If we don’t do that, is that going to translate into $400,000 of staffing cuts?”

Hendricks expressed hesitance over some of the other options on the table like changing the transportation plan, which would affect all students who are bussed, and cutting the district’s contribution to the staff retirement plan.

“There just aren’t enough cuts here,” he said. “By eliminating the possibility of closing Cataract school at this point, we are going to paint ourselves into a corner and be forced to make decisions that we don’t want to make.

“We talk about how we value the staff but all the arrows here are going to point to staff cuts instead.”

Prestwood withdrew her motion after the board agreed to hold a separate discussion next week on closing Cataract and delaying the decision until the end of the month.

The board then approved $1.86 million in cuts, which were most of its tier-1 recommendations minus the closing of Cataract.

Leah Hauser, director of business services, said the $750,000 worth of staffing cuts the board approved were part of the district’s staff review that had nothing to do with referendum not passing and would be accomplished through natural attrition (retirements and voluntary resignations).

They included one teacher each at Southside and Herrman elementary schools, a grade five teacher and an LMC specialist at meadowview, a German teacher at Meadowview/high school and a secretary at Herrman. In addition, the board voted to phase out the EDGE Program at Meadowview, reducing one other teacher.

Other cuts included reducing the current health insurance premium cost by 5%, delaying replacing math textbooks for elementary students, replacing high school student technology devices with ESSER funds, allocating $800,000 currently in Fund 10 to Fund 46 for annual capital projects over the next two years and moving the middle school athletics program to Fund 89.

That leaves nearly $1 million in cuts remaining to be made. Board members suggested going to the  electorate in August with a more palatable referendum to cover some or all of the additional shortfall.

Interim Superintendent Sam Russ urged the board to keep in mind that the $2.8 million shortfall doesn’t take into account inflation or other expenses like increasing compensation packages to attract and retain staff.

“The $2.8 million is probably not going to get us what we actually need, potentially,” he said.

Outgoing board member James Rasmussen cautioned the board not to rely on the referendum and delay making hard decisions.

“You’ve got to get it done,” he said. “You can’t leave all of this stuff hanging, hoping that August is going to change everything because it may not.”

Sidebar

The Sparta School Board voted Tuesday to hold a workshop on the proposal to close Cataract Elementary School to save the district $438,000 annually.

The workshop will be held Wednesday, April 20 at 6 p.m. at Meadowview Schools. The public is invited to participate.