District 622 School Board Votes for Pay Freeze-Free Budget Cuts

The District 622 School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a budget reduction plan for the 2011-2012 school year that does not include a freeze on staff salaries.

District administrators removed the controversial proposal from their list of $4 million in cuts following questions about whether it would be appropriate for the school board to set salary parameters outside of the collective bargaining process, and testimony from staff members at a public hearing March 8 about the hardship a pay freeze could cause, said Superintendent Patty Phillips.

The night of the hearing, where Phillips heard both staff members’ testimony as well as comments from parents about how they wouldn’t want to see programs like all-day kindergarten or middle school activities get cut, Phillips said she couldn’t sleep because she felt like the board was in a lose-lose situation. The administration's recommended cuts would upset teachers and staff, but cutting programs would upset parents and students, she said.

“I went back to the drawing board … and I looked at how we can have a win for everyone,” she said. “I feel this compromise tonight brings together the best of what you heard from all of the stakeholders at our public hearing.”

Instead of saving about $1.3 million by freezing staff salaries, the plan approved by the board will cut $70,000 by eliminating five regular education bus monitor positions, cut $300,000 from the staff development budget and will put $980,000 in federal jobs money toward paying existing staff rather than adding positions.

School board members said they appreciated the changes to the recommendations.

“I want to thank the administration for taking the two very difficult discussion items off of this list,” said Board Vice Chair Theresa Auge. “I think you have presented a win-win situation.”