School Board approves $2.1 billion budget assuming union pay concessions

The Clark County School Board on Wednesday approved a $2.1 billion budget for 2010-11 based on the assumption that its four employee unions will make salary concessions totaling $25 million.

An important milestone was reached less than two hours before the budget meeting when the union representing school support staff ratified an agreement to freeze pay raises based on employee longevity, saving the district about $10.1 million.

In its ratification vote Wednesday, the Education Support Employees Association approved a three-year contract. Of the 566 members who voted, 86 percent voted yes.

The support staff bargaining unit is the district's second-largest union and represents about 12,000 employees.

The teachers union is expected to ratify a similar agreement Monday, which would save the district about $15 million.

Still, Superintendent Walt Rulffes believes the district is "cutting it close because we don't know what our property (tax) revenue will be."

"It's really nip and tuck," said Rulffes, explaining that the budget had to absorb a $145 million funding shortfall because of state cuts and declining property tax revenues.

By necessity, the nation's fifth-largest school district, which serves more than 308,000 students and has 38,000 employees, had to be resourceful in planning for the new budget year, which begins July 1.

The district decided to phase out all year-round schools and found about $40 million in savings from the current budget to carry forward to next year.

Rulffes said he also would like to find a way to maintain employment for the 540 elementary school teachers who are losing their jobs next year because of increased class sizes in grades one through three.

As an additional savings, the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees, the administrators' union, is expected to make concessions worth $2 million, which Rulffes said will add "to the safety net."

In addition to cutting 540 teaching positions, the district is eliminating 89 school-based administrative positions.

The administrative reduction represents the loss of 46 deans and two assistant principals at middle and high schools and 41 assistant principals at elementary schools.

The displaced administrators will be effectively demoted to classroom teaching jobs unless other administrative vacancies are created through turnover and attrition.

"Once these positions are cut, they are gone," said Stephen Augspurger, executive director of the administrators' union. "They're not coming back."

Augspurger said he "shuddered to think" of the additional workload that will be placed on the remaining administrative school staff. He also thought it was "unconscionable" for Rulffes to sacrifice so many jobs directly related to increasing student performance and school safety.

Augspurger contended there are resources in the budget to provide the $9 million needed to save these jobs. He cited alternatives such as cutting the textbook budget or not funding a $9 million pension benefit given to teachers and not to other employee groups.

Augspurger noted the superintendent is well within his authority to reduce staff to balance the budget.

Because he thought the whole budget process was confusing and unfair, Augspurger said all union negotiating "really needs to be done out in the open."

School Board President Terri Janison said she wished the board could have saved the school-based administrators.

"But it's really not that easy," Janison said, noting that money was also needed to provide adequate resources to schools.
"Do you cut the supplies so much that you can't function?" Janison said. "I feel like we've balanced it where we'll have enough supplies even though you know teachers will have to pay for many things on their own."

The School Board unanimously approved the budget to comply with a state deadline, but officials said it will be modified later to reflect the outcome of union negotiations.

In a worst-case scenario, if concessions are not reached, the district might still have to resort to additional job cuts and the elimination of work days.