The Haines School. (Emily Files)
The Haines School Board met on Tuesday to go over the school’s budget for the coming year, discuss new Language Arts curriculum and review hiring decisions for two positions.
Over the school year, significant restructuring has taken place to cut costs. The front office reduced an administrative position from full-time to part-time, telecommunications and auditing service contracts were rebid, and administration staff was reduced and reorganized. Interim Superintendent Rich Carlson explained that these changes will save a lot of money in the coming year.
“We are going to spend in FY19, in comparison to the original budget in FY18, 73,000 dollars less, and we incurred a $77,000 increase in insurance. I’m feeling pretty good about this, to be honest,” Carlson said.
Although expenditures for the 2019 budget are significantly less than in 2018, it is not enough to offset the drop in revenue. As it stands, the school’s general fund is expected to decrease by $135,000 in the coming year.
One of the largest changes to the 2019 budget is a projected decrease of $150,000 in state funding due to a decline in enrollment. The number of students is expected to decrease by 20 because of a large outgoing senior class and a small incoming kindergarten class.
The 2019 budget was approved unanimously, but Carlson said that the current numbers aren’t set in stone.
“We will have to do a budget revision sometime in the future. We may have an additional intensive student, the numbers are going to change a bit, and there’s a possibility that on June 12th we may end up getting some additional funds from the Borough. That is not calculated in here.”
At the meeting, the board approved selections for two positions at the school. Teacher Kim Sundberg will take over the new Dean of Students position, which provides supervision for both staff and students.
The board also approved a decision to hire school librarian Leigh Horner as a groundskeeper for the summer.
Principal Renee Martin presented the new Language Arts curriculum for approval. It has been simplified compared to previous years due to changes at the state level, and decisions by teaching staff.
The state has restructured standards, eliminating grade level expectations. Haines School has eliminated some of its longer reading and vocabulary lists, allowing teachers more flexibility with their lesson plans.
“Gone are the days where it’s one spelling list for the 25 students in front of you,” Martin said. “We’re meeting the students where they are to move them forward.”
According to Martin, the new curriculum relies less on textbooks and more on digital content. This saves money and allows the school to buy sets of novels instead.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for July 10th.
