Fairport, N.Y. - On Monday night, the Fairport School Board held a board budget workshop to tackle a $4.5 million budget deficit.
Several teachers took the podium during the "public comments" portion of the meeting to express their concerns over the superintendent's recommendations.
In a proposal released Friday, Superintendent Jon Hunter recommended eliminating at least 35 instructional jobs. These job reductions would come from cutting some elective classes in the social studies, science, English, family and consumer science, business, technology, art and music departments.
The International Baccalaureate program at Fairport High School would be eliminated all together.
Elementary schools would no longer have orchestra and band classes.
Programs for gifted students at middle and elementary schools would also be reduced.
"[We're] just in shock," says Fairport High School teacher Julie Mitchell. "Pure, pure shock. We really pride ourselves on our programming. We really do pride ourselves on what we teach and what we're able to offer."
Mitchell is also the union representative for the Fairport Educators Association. She says all these cuts to student learning will have harmful effects.
"It's really difficult these days, in terms of competition, to get in colleges of your choice, and all of our electives make you that much more marketable."
Students agree.
Ella Sandler says she lives for art and doesn't know what she would do if all her elective art classes weren't available next year. "I've been a cheerleader and done a lot of sports, but nothing has really stuck. Art’s my only real way to express myself and I don't know what I'd do without it.”
Ella and many other students hope the district seeks input from students and teachers before making a final decision.
“Talk to the students,” she says. “They haven't talked to any teachers or interviewed students. That's really important because we're going to be directly affected by it.”
Monday night, the school board said the administration was limited in the cuts it could make because of laws, state regulations and contract clauses.
“There were not many options and clearly, there were no easy answers,” says school board president Ken Kathan.
He says that while the district has $34 million in reserves, much of it is tied down to other projects, and by law, cannot be used to fill the budget. What remains is set aside for long-term plans to help the school district in the future.
“The fact remains that we cannot keep everything the same,” says Kathan. “The structural problems of paying for education are real and they cannot be used up by reserves.”
Also on Monday, the Fairport Educators Association called for an independent audit of the Fairport Schools’ budget. The union feels that the budget deficit is not as bad as the district claims.
The union president says in the last few years, the district has had an excess of funds at the end of each school year rather than a deficit. They want to make sure jobs and programs are not being cut unnecessarily.
The Fairport community can take a district budget survey here. The survey ends February 16.
