Muscogee County School Board makes cuts

Changes to next year’s school calendar mean fewer school days for students and thousands of dollars less in teachers’ paychecks.

A new calendar for 2010-11 approved at an April Muscogee County School Board meeting has five fewer days for students and 10 fewer work days for employees.

For employees, the changes mean taking a pay cut of just over 5 percent — about $2,000 for a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree and more than $3,500 for a teacher with 20 years experience and an educational specialist’s degree.The changes were made to help cope with an anticipated $18 million cut to the budget for the 2011 fiscal year. Changing the calendar will save the district about $10 million.

Traditional school calendar

According to the revised calendar, teachers would report to campuses two days later, on Aug. 4. School would start on Aug. 9, instead of Aug. 5.

The in-service days scheduled for Oct. 22, Feb. 17, March 18 and April 29 would be canceled. Teachers and students would not have classes on Oct. 25. In-service days are days when teachers report to work, but students do not have classes.

The in-service day scheduled for Jan. 3 would be moved to Jan. 4, and classes for the spring semester would start one day later on Jan. 5.

Schools would also be closed on March 14, but this day could become an in-service day if the funds become available.School would end five days earlier, on May 20. Teachers would only have one day of post-planning, on May 23, though May 24 could be designated as an in-service day if funds become available.

Year-round school calendar

There were also changes to the calendars for the county’s two year-round elementary schools, Rigdon Road and Georgetown. They would start their school year three days later, on July 15. The in-service days scheduled for Aug. 2, Oct. 22 and Dec. 17 would be canceled and schools would be closed those days. The in-service days scheduled for March 18 and May 27 would be canceled and schools would be closed on March 14 and May 31. Classes would end two days earlier, on June 8.The district anticipates being able to return to a 180-day calendar for students and a 190-day calendar for teachers during the 2011-12 school year.

Pay cuts, other reductions

For a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree, 10 fewer work days means a pay cut of $1,911. For a teacher with 10 years experience and a master’s degree, the pay cut would amount to about $2,710. For a teacher with 20 years experience and a specialist’s degree, the pay cut will amount to about $3,530.

For a high school principal with a master’s degree, the pay cut will amount to about $2,699. For the superintendent, the pay cut would be about $7,083.

Looking ahead to 2011

The district is also preparing for a possible $18 million cut to the budget for the 2011 fiscal year.Superintendent Susan Andrews sent out a letter to all employees addressing the budget crisis and listing possible ways to save, including the calendar changes.

Other recommendations for the 2011 fiscal year, which begins July 1, include:

This story was originally published May 23, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Muscogee County School Board makes cuts."