After a wearisome two months of budget cuts, the school board announced its balanced budget March 9. The decision calls for a $4.66 million budget reduction, the effects of which will be felt throughout the Lawrence school system.

   “It’s a relief to be done,” School Board President Scott Morgan said. “But there’s nothing satisfying about it.”

   With 85 percent of the district’s budget tied up in salaries, the board was left to comb over the remaining $30 million in $30 million of instructional funds. To cut that subtotal by $5 million was no small feat.

   “All of these cuts are hard because 85 percent of our budget is salaries,” School Board Member Mary Loveland said. “To save, or cut, $5 million we have eliminated jobs. As I keep saying, these cuts have faces.”

   One of those faces belongs to Lawrence High Prevention Specialist Dianne Ash.

   In March, the board decided to cut the prevention programs at the high school. The only way Ash will keep her post at LHS is with a federal grant.

   “What it [the Prevention Program] does that a lot of people don’t realize is that it provides a lot of leadership opportunities for kids and a network and support group,” Principal Matt Brungardt said. “Now that’s probably gone.” 

   Ash’s cut is one of many. In raising the teacher-student ratio by one, the district cut 21 or 22 teaching positions and saved $1.1 million. Many of those cuts will be achieved through retirements. Already this year, five LHS teachers have filed for retirement, but it is unclear how many of their places will need to be filled next year.

   On the elementary school level, these cuts will raise class sizes. However, on the high school level, the decision will have even larger ramifications. Class sizes will increase and elective offerings will likely decrease, putting in jeopardy low-enrollment elective and high-level classes.

   “What you may also see at the secondary level is more joint courses between LHS and Free State, with teachers going back and forth between the schools,” Morgan said.

   This solution may work for advanced language courses and other classes of that nature, but Doll and company are most concerned with how the new ratio will impact students at the other end of the spectrum.

“We’re increasing class sizes,” Superintendent Rick Doll said. “Well, who does that affect? It’s the kid that’s struggling who can’t get the same kind of help from the teacher when she’s got to manage a class of 35 kids.”

   Doll and the board members worry about the effect these cuts will have on “at-risk” students, especially in regard to standardized testing.

   However, the $1.1 million cut to salaries, only amounted to a quarter of the board’s goal, so the board was not done yet. Assistant coaching positions were cut. The school board also voted to cut administrative salaries and positions and to reduce clerical and counseling staffs.

   As a result, students at the high school level can expect slower responses from a strained student services staff over the long term.

   “Nothing will be dramatic,” Morgan said. “They’ll be subtle, and over time, you’ll see changes.”

   However, there is a silver lining. Last summer, the district decided to withhold 50 percent of its schools instructional budgets for this year as a precautionary measure. The district was unable to release those funds this year but plans to for next year.

   “I don’t think the 50 percent cut hurt much this year, but if we were going to cut over a couple of years, then we might impact things,” Doll said. “Right now, we are budgeting for full instructional budgets next year.”

   The March 9 cuts were difficult from every perspective, but for the most part, administrators are happy the cuts weren’t worse.

   “It was bad in that it cut a lot of programs and forced us to do lots of things we didn’t want to do,” Brungardt said. “Could it have been worse? Yes.”