School Board Cuts $50 Million, Saves Some Jobs

Pinellas County School Board members were charged with a difficult and painstaking task last night, as they sought to approve a budget reduction recommendation that would cut $55 million from the district’s 2011-2012 budget. 

Items under consideration included the elimination of some 400 positions and furlough for 17,000 employees.

By the time the meeting was over, the school board cut $50 million and saved the jobs of middle school guidance counselors, school librarians and teaching assistants for an at-risk student program.

The next task will be to decide where the school district will find the $4.7 million dollars to keep these positions. Additional furlough days may be one thing they consider.

The budget has been a hotly debated topic for months. Last night, a sea of speakers wearing red crowded the meeting room and waited for their chance to plead with board members to spare what they deemed essential functions of public education.

After hearing from more than 50 speakers, board members removed three groups from the list of imminent cuts.

In a 6-1 vote, with only Robin Wikle dissenting, the board voted to allow 37 library information specialists to keep their jobs, with the stipulation that their job description be re-written to include technology services to students and teachers, a function most of the librarians said they already fulfill.

“Two for one specials.  That is how I would like to present the library information specialists to [the board].  Not only am I responsible for all of the library duties, but also all of the technology duties as well,” said Suzanne Shirk who is the library information specialist at 74th Street Elementary in St. Petersburg.

The board also saved 44 STARS assistants from the budget reduction by a vote of 5-2.  This time, Wikle was joined by Carol Cook in voting against retaining the positions. 

STARS is an acronym for Students Targeted for Achievement, Recognition and Success, the program helps students who have had significant academic difficulties.

“If it wasn’t for the STARS [teachers] I wouldn’t have passed,” said Largo High School sophomore and straight A student Viktourea Hamill.  She urged board members to consider the change that the STARS program makes for struggling students.

In the final save of the evening, board members voted 5-2 to retain 20 middle school guidance counselors from the district.  Again, Wikle and Cook were the dissenting voters. This vote came after several tearful guidance counselors spoke at the podium.

The removal of these items from the proposed budget cuts resulted in a $4.7 million shortfall in the budget, an amount the board reluctantly voted to make up for with additional furlough, if other alternatives can not be found.

“I’m not comfortable with adding furlough,” said board member Janet Clark, “I’d want to give [the budget] back to Superintendent Janssen and say ‘find something else’”.

In addition to the budget, the board approved changing the start time for St. Petersburg’s Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School from the current 7:20am to 9:30am beginning next year.  The change will reduce the amount of additional routes needed to accommodate transportation to that campus.