Lancaster ISD employee pay cuts approved

by Bill Conrad of of Lancaster TODAY

Lancaster school district employees will be asked to give up a portion of the raises they received this year as one part of the district's plan to make up for a $1.5 million shortfall. The plan was approved unanimously by the school board at its meeting Oct. 20.

The district was faced with a shortfall when enrollment didn't meet the projected numbers. Superintendent Larry Lewis said the district was 203 students short of its projected enrollment, which caused the shortfall.

Teachers, counselors, nurses and librarians received 5 percent raises, while non-teaching staff received 4 percent. Staff is being asked to voluntarily give back half of their raises, while administrators have agreed to give back their entire raises.

According to district projections, if 100 percent of teachers agree to the salary cuts the district will save more than $543,000.

Financial conservator James Damm said for the district's savings to meet the shortfall, at least 95 percent of teachers would have to agree to the cuts. Lewis said that when his administration met with teachers initially, 98 percent said they would support giving back part of their raises if it meant no job cuts.

Board attorney Don Henslee cautioned the board that even after they passed the plan, more changes may still need to be made.

“If a sufficient number of employees don't agree to do this, that is not the end of it,” said Henslee. “We would come back here and declare a financial exigency and have a reduction in force.”

A financial exigency would allow the district to release employees under contract.

Other cuts made by the district include removing all cell phones from the district, which would save $48,000, as well as cutting school supplies by more than $350,000. The district also cut the substitute teaching budget by almost $300,000 and eliminated vacant positions for a savings of $170,000.

Lewis also volunteered to give back $10,000 of his annual salary. Lewis was scheduled to make $197,600 during the 2008-09 school year.

The projected cuts would save the district $1.9 million.

Teachers have until the end of the week to sign the agreement. If a sufficient number don't agree to salary cuts, the board will take additional action at its Nov. 3 meeting.