Board salvages first-grade teacher by tapping savings on insurance

Health insurance comes in $226,000 below budget, but some argue it belongs to taxpayers

Over the objections of Conway Municipal Budget Committee, school board members voted to remove up to $39,000 from health insurance savings in the current school year to cover the cost of a first-grade teaching position at Conway Elementary School.The move came on the heels of the board voting on May 14 to allocate $112,932.35 of $1.2 million in surplus funds from 2006-07 school year on a list of items deemed necessary to outfit a new high school opening this fall in Redstone.The $112,000 gleaned from surplus funds will go to pay for the following items: furniture: $25,586.50; custodial equipment: $10,519.50; athletic equipment, $51,826.35; and computer equipment, $25,000. Buffeted by criticism over its use of surplus money, the school board announced the district received some good news on the health insurance front Wednesday. The school district had budgeted for a 19 percent increase in health insurance for 2007-08, but the jump came in at only 12 percent, meaning a $226,000 savings for the district. School board members wanted to restore an elementary school teaching post, which officials hoped could be covered through Title I federal aid, but learned this week the job does not meet the criteria for assistance. So the board, over the objection of budget committee members, voted 4-2-1 (Randy Davison and Dick Klement in the minority with Sheryl Kovalik abstaining) to remove up to $39,000 from the health insurance savings to cover the teaching position.In April at the voting portion of school meeting, Article No. 2, the proposed operating budget $31,045,854, a figure the school board supported 6-1 failed 789-769. Since the article did not pass, the default budget figure of $30,736,782, set by the school board, was automatically adopted.According to School Superintendent Carl Nelson, the default budget is last year's gross budget with the addition of one-time expenses his list includes special education, insurance reductions and special warrant articles. Nelson said the district also must add back in contractual obligations such as fuel, maintenance costs, librarians and reading specialists items required for state approval. Budget committee members have disputed the way Nelson and the school board developed its default budget, calling it bloated with unnecessary expenses.Still, faced with its default budget rather than the proposed operating budget, the school board agonized over $309,000 in cuts to the budget May 14. The board was presented with a list of recommendations from district administrators. One being cut was a first-grade teacher at Conway Elementary. The board learned Wednesday federal funds would not be available and if the position was not restored, one teacher would be facing a classroom of 42 first graders, well more than the district's preferred class size.Nelson requested the position be restored."To me," he said, "it's a priority position. I'm afraid we won't qualify for Title I aid.""Forty-two kids in a class is way too many," Klement said. But he suggested not touching the health insurance surplus, but rather urged the board to "go back and squeeze the melon again and see what we can cut to give the surplus back to the taxpayers.""I have to ask why was this on the list if we were going to have 42 kids in a classroom," fellow board member Deb Deschenes said."The thinking at the time would be that there would be classroom reduction money," assistant superintendent Martha Cray said, explaining the district doesn't qualify under this circumstance."How else would we have solved the problem if the health insurance savings hadn't happened?" Kovalik asked. Davison suggested waiting until August to see what the actual classroom numbers will be, but Nelson said the district would run the risk of losing qualified teaching candidates for the position."Personally," George Fredette, chair of the board, said, "I don't have a problem using the savings. I'm glad to have it come along. I'm thankful we are able to fund it without cutting further. ... This needs to be reinstated, there are no ifs, ands or buts."Davison suggested again going back over the budget and looking for other possible areas to cut. He offered one example, which was to eliminate the district's full-time substitute teacher. "Health care has been a primary issue," he said. "Those funds need to go back to the taxpayers. ... I'm not in favor of cutting a grade one teacher, that was a ludicrous suggestion to begin with.""We have a responsibility to the students foremost," Kovalik said. "I will not gamble that we will find the money.""I agree with Sheryl that we need this," Klement said, "but I think we should go back and cut another $39,000 (from the proposed 2007-08 budget). ... We cut $25,000 in computer equipment (as part of the default budget recommendations) and then last meeting we approved using surplus funds of $25,000 for computer equipment."Education editor Lloyd Jones can be contacted at lloyd@conwaydailysun.com.