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Kaneland School District 302 can’t afford to eliminate student-facing positions. But with a projected $4.2 million deficit for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, it has to do something.
It certainly will have to come up with a different plan after its proposed reduction of the equivalency of 31.28 full-time employees and an approximate budget impact of $1.7 million was met with grave concern by the board of education during Monday night’s meeting.
“I would urge you to relook at the district and particularly administrative,” Board Vice President Bob Mankivsky said. “We need to do better. I’m looking at this and I’m seeing in terms of budgetary impact almost all at the elementary level. $700,000 at the elementary schools where our students need it the most and what we’re seeing reflects that. We need to take a deeper look and maybe reevaluate this and how what is proposed is going to further our goals for excellence, particularly with reading and math which are so critical and which we’ve been lacking for a while.”
The meeting was moved to the cafetorium to accommodate community interest. Kaneland Education Association (KEA) President Susan Acksel and Chief Negotiator Patti Reader were among the many who spoke out about the suggested staffing reductions during the first public comment portion of the meeting which preceded the discussion on the budget and staff reduction.
“While we recognize the financial challenges facing the district and know that no stone was left unturned looking for solutions that would not impact staffing, it’s disheartening to know that these cuts are being pursued in part due to unsustainable spending on various program that were previously recommended by administration and approved by the Board of Education,” Acksel said. “While innovation and experimentation are vital to growth they must not come at the quality of the education to students throughout the district nor should they jeopardize the livelihood of dedicated staff.”
All elementary schools would lose a multi-tiered system of supports interventionist. Furthermore, a behavior facilitator would be terminated, three classroom FTE at McDole and Blackberry Creek would be eliminated and approximately 3.7 exploratory FTE would be reduced due to efficiencies in scheduling. Additionally, students and staffing would feel the repercussions of changes in administrative staff which calls for the elimination of two assistant elementary school principals.
In addition to losing two MTSS interventionists and an instructional coach, Harter Middle School would eliminate its library resource center director position.
Hope Paskus moved into that position last year after serving as an eighth grade science teacher in the district for the previous 15 years.
“As the LRC Director at Kaneland Harter Middle School, I was not asked to provide any information about the plan,” she said. “And I have not been given a clear answer about the data used to determine the position’s elimination. Please consider how LRC directors support students, staff and the district as a whole before you agree to eliminate the LRC director at Harter Middle School.”
The high school would lose an MTSS interventionist, a food service FTE and counselors Andrew Franklin and Kate Ozarka. Franklin is retiring but won’t be replaced. Ozarka’s future in helping Kaneland kids plan for their respective futures would be no more.
“Losing these post-secondary supports would be a great loss for our students and their futures,” Ozarka said. “Please keep this all in mind when you’re deciding to eliminate positions in the counseling department.”
Other proposed changes include moving Kaneland IgKnight Personalized Learning Academy out of Kaneland Meredith Academic Center and relocating its students to John Shields Elementary School and Harter Middle School. Additionally, KIPLA would eliminate two lunchroom supervisors, two support staff members, a food service manager, a special education position and 1.2 FTE in physical education and band.
“The district is going to come back with a very similar proposal is what I think,” board member Ed Koch said. “They have done their due diligence, and looking to rationalize it, to my best belief I think they’ve already done that. And so I don’t know what we’d be looking for to come out of this next part.”
Board member Aaron Lawler suggested reevaluating the staffing plan again.
“Can you go back to a staffing plan and take a look at it,” he said. “See if there are any places where we can keep some roles and other roles at the administrative or district level and we swap those out?”
Tough decisions have to be made.
“We have to give direction as how to proceed,” Board President Addam Gonzales said. “We have a budget crisis. These are facts. We are buying ourselves all sorts of problems further down the road by how we’re handling this and how our actions are likely to be interpreted or considered.”
Kaneland District Superintendent Dr. Kurt Rohlwing said if the board is directing him to reevaluate administrative staffing then that’s what he’ll do.
“Have I done that already? I believe so, but if that’s the directive of the board then that work will begin tomorrow morning,” he said. “In terms of what to give back I think that becomes a very challenging conversation, but I think we could go through the process again and I guess do it in reverse, but that would be, I think, I think it would be a challenge quite honestly, but could certainly approach that.”
The board was originally scheduled to vote on the budget reduction plan at the Jan. 27 meeting. Instead they’ll review a revised plan of staffing adjustments from Rohlwing, Dr. Jackie Bogan, assistant superintendent for business/CSBO and Dr. Chris Adkins, director of human resources.