Marysville school officials got the ball rolling on creating a contingency plan should a levy attempt fail in November.
A special meeting of the Marysville Board of Education Wednesday gave a glimpse at what the future cuts might look like if the district is forced to stretch its dollars beyond the next levy cycle.
Contingency plans are not new to the district as it was forced to enact one last year after an 8.4-mill levy was soundly rejected by voters. In an effort to trim money from the annual budget, the board enacted a hiring freeze, eliminated pay for assistant coaches /advisors/directors as well as transportation for extra- and co-curricular activities.
The district also planned to cut all-day, every-day kindergarten and the TRI Academy, but later opted to reverse those decisions to varying degrees.
The impacts of those moves, including 17 teachers, eight support positions and one administrative position going unfilled, have resulted in $2.25 million in annual savings.
Now, with a 5.5-mill, 10-year levy planned for November, district officials must one again plan for the worst should their message not resound with district voters.
At the meeting, no discussion of potential cuts was held, but the information offered to the board gave a glimpse of where the next wave of cost-saving measures might be centered.
Information from district treasurer Todd Johnson showed how much the district spends School Resource Officers, athletic supplemental contract and non-athletic supplementals.
This would indicate that police officers in schools, head coaches and other advisors and directors of extra-curriculars are at least being considered for elimination should the levy fail.
The November issue would generate $6.2 per year with would keep the district in the black for a few years and keep it from dipping into cash reserves. The district expenses are outpacing revenue by about $4 millions per year, and that figure is growing.
This means that without a new revenue source, the district will eat into cash and would drain those coffers in a few years.
Should the levy fail the district would need to cut additional dollars from the budget to make the cash reserves last as long as possible.
The School Resource Officers cost the district $674,000. Marysville Police Officers are located in every building in the district except Raymond, but that building had a deputy lined up for next school year. The district splits the cost for the officers, plus one supervisor, with the city of Marysville.
Johnson said the supplemental contracts for the district coaches cost the district $643,000 per year. The total spent on contracts is actually higher, but is offset by approximately $270,000 in pay-to-play fees.
Non-athletic supplementals cost the district another $166,000 per year. Those contracts cover everything from yearbook advisors to show choir directors.
Another sum mentioned was nearly $500,000 allotted to buildings for supplies like paper, copier costs and other expenses. That figure is not offset by collected student fees.
No discussion about potential impacts to teaching positions were discussed, although the board did go into executive session near the end of the meeting to consider the employment of public employees or officials, as well as to consider confidential information related to the marketing plans, specific business strategy, trade secrets or personal financial statements of an applicant for economic development assistance.