School board eyes 2009-10 budget

By Eric Maddy
The SCORE

The Rio Rancho school district will operate next year with fewer employees -- despite opening a new high school – if its proposed budget receives state approval.

School board members will not approve the final budget until their next meeting in June, but heard a preliminary report on the 2009-10 budget at its meeting Monday night as part of a lengthy agenda.

The board also approved a student services fee for activities, gave final approval to next year’s school calendar and had a lengthy debate on how much the district should charge to rent its facilities  as part of its final meeting of the school year that lasted more than three hours.

The proposed budget calls for total of 1,868.2 “full time equivalent” positions, down from 1,885.3 in the current budget. That includes staffing for Cleveland High, which will be filled by transfers from the district’s mid-high that housed ninth graders and is now being converted to a middle school.

“I’m not going to kid you – it’s going to be tight,” district budget director Randy Evans said. “Every single classroom is going to be filled right up to the state mandidated levels.”

The district, which faced about a $4 million shortfall from initial projections this year, will achieve the personnel reduction from normal attrition. The report estimates the district will finish the year by spending $130,409 from its reserve fund because expenses ran more than income.

Next year’s budget shows less income from interest and for the after school “safe program,” based on a projection of the number of students involved. But it does include a $594,100 increase in state funding plus a one-time $2 million state grant for new school start-up costs.

The proposal calls for savings next year of $1.65 million by:

• the deletion of the 183rd day in contracts ($400,000),

• retirement benefit costs shifted to employees ($500,000),

• federal funding of a reading recovery program ($400,000),

• cancellation of an annex lease ($100,00), and

• savings of the purchase of activity busses instead of using contracted services ($250,000).

Projected new costs include:

• $1,414,880 in state-mandidated salary level changes;

• $210,000 for teachers in the new Montessori program;

• $1.2 million in utility increases, including costs at Cleveland;

• $1,078,536 for the restoration of so-called “unsustainable cuts” made this year, such as the substitute program;

• $230,011 for CHS athletics;

• $97,929 for stipends for sponsors of CHS activities; and

• $220,000 for CHS athletic and activity transportation.

The figures were part of a presentation early in the meeting, one of four reports on the agenda, and did not require a board vote. The preliminary budget will be presented to the Public Education Department on May 20 with a final board vote scheduledd for June 15.

Will be updated after meeting ends.