Burden Is On Wake Principals To Make Cuts

Wake County principals are facing tough decisions as they struggle to comply with a system requirement to cut five percent of staff positions for the coming school year. The school board has pledged to avoid teacher layoffs, but other positions aren't as safe.

For school counselors like Rebecca Atkins, the news is already grim. As one of two counselors at Millbrook Elementary School, she visits classrooms every day. But the proposed budget reduces the number of counselors to just one for every 800 elementary school students, making daily classroom visits impossible.

"Having one person for 800 is going to be difficult, no matter what," Atkins said. "You have to look at what the needs are, assess your program and decide, this is the crucial part that our students need."

The proposed budget also includes cuts in media specialist positions, school psychologists, and social workers. That means principals have to look even further to find positions they can manage without.

Of the 105 staff members at Millbrook Elementary, just 35 are classroom teachers. Principal Paula Trantham said that has meant having difficult conversations with employees, especially those with terminating contracts that expire June 30.

"They are conversations that I haven't wanted to have," she said. "We're going to have to make tough decisions and use our money as flexibly as possible."

School system administrators are planning for reduced staffing because of anticipated cuts in state funding. The system receives the bulk of its funding - 62 percent - from the state. And funding is tied to student enrollment. Republican lawmakers are suggesting changing the funding formula for school districts to put two more children in each class, effectively cutting per pupil spending.

State Senator Phil Berger of Eden, N.C., said the change would make a significant impact on the budget without harming students.

"Everything that we have seen, and most of the studies that you see indicate that a difference of two students in a class really does not adversely affect the quality of education," he said. "The amount of savings that you get from doing that is in the neighborhood of 300-plus million dollars on an annual basis."

While the savings would help balance the state's budget, on a local school level, it would mean cutbacks in programs like after-school tutoring, supplies and staff.

"The money that we get for students and how many students we have can have a big impact," said Trantham. "Copies, supplies, books, even pencils and paper. We've already had conversations with our staff about sharing supplies and doing without, so we don't have to place big orders for things like construction paper and things that are part of our instructional needs for our kids."

As a Title 1 school, Trantham said she receives federal funds for some support positions to serve a specific student population. But she is concerned about what staffing cuts will mean to all students.

"We have kids that we're responsible not only for their cognitive development, but their social and emotional development," she said. "We want them to be prepared for the 21st century. There's a large part of that that is academic, but there are many skills besides reading, writing and math we want them to know too."