Middletown School Budget Challenged by Late Summer Enrollments

Belt-tightening continues until the next budget pass before the School Committee in two weeks, with number crunchers keeping a watchful eye on student enrollment figures that continue to creep higher as the start of the 2010-2011 school year on Sept. 8 gets closer.

By the latest count Tuesday, enrollment numbers showed 2,373 students so far registered at the district's five schools spanning grades kindergarten through 12. By comparison, the school district had 2,319 students, 54 fewer, registered by Aug.31 one year ago in advance of the 2009-2010 school year.

Additionally, the School Department on Tuesday reported they still had another 85 registration appointments scheduled before school starts next week that have not yet been counted as officially enrolled.

At a time when every penny is being counted, every unfilled position scrutinized and every closet and cubby hole completely inventoried for supplies to help close the coming school year's budget cap by another $324,000, the addition of each new student represents another adjustment of about $14,373 per student needed to balance the budget, according to school officials.

At the most recent budget meeting between district administrators and the school board, Superintendent Rosemarie Kraeger showed concern over the latest surge in numbers, jumping from 2,266 students registered the week ending Aug. 21 to 2,318 by Aug. 26 and 2,373 by Tuesday, Aug. 31.

With the U.S. Navy base and Naval War College nearby, it's not unusual for enrollment numbers to jump suddenly prior to the start of school, but Kraeger had noted those new students of military families have already been counted. What's left to count from here out are unpredictable last-minute additions, which will impact the district's bottom line.

Every new student added will increase the school's annual operating expenses further by $14,373 per student, according to Kraeger, and the state does not reimburse the district for such adjustments.

Facing a $651,083 deficit this year, school officials have already narrowed the gulf by identifying $327,000 in savings through a rigorous inventory of every school supplies cabinet and closet throughout the district, 10% voluntary coaching and after-school stipend concessions which resulted in about $25,000 in savings, and the elimination of some district-wide positions previously left vacant by retirement or voluntary departures, including one $75,000 annual salaried technology position and a mid-$50,000 business office position. Other cuts came by the way of some paraprofessional positions reduced from full-time to part-time.

Due to coaching stipend concessions voluntarily taken by the teachers' union, so far school sports and after-school programs have been spared from cuts.

Kraeger said school officials are working to avoid cuts to education programs that "would affect student learning."

The school district's contractual student-per-teacher ratio is 20 students per teacher in Grades K through 2, and 25 students per teacher in Grades 3 through 12, which means additional students have the potential to also increase the need for more teachers once a certain threshold is met.

School officials were previously undecided about whether to proceed to fill a new Social Studies teaching position at the high school, but Kraeger said Tuesday that the district will now need to fill the unbudgeted position part-time, which will cost $21,828 for the year.

Meanwhile, several classes this year will be added while others will be cut at three schools—to adjust for enrollment demands according to the number of students in the different age groups and grades, noted Kraeger.

So far, here are the changes as a result of school enrollment needs for the 2010-2011 school year:

• At Aquidneck Elementary School, one Grade 2 will be eliminated, and one Grade 1 class will be added.

• At Gaudet Middle School, one Grade 5 class will be eliminated and one Grade 6 class will be added.

• At Middletown High School, one math teacher position has been extended, and the school district is still looking to replace one Spanish-language teacher and one Science teacher position previously budgeted.
• At the Middletown High School, a .4 part-time Social Studies teaching position will be added.