Batavia activity budgets could take hit

A projector bulb here, a Scantron test sheet there.

Batavia school administrators told the school board this week how cuts the board requested in the 2009-10 budget for discretionary accounts for each building will affect students and parents.

The board's finance committee directed school principals to cut 25 percent of what they asked for in August, to eliminate an $836,000 proposed deficit in the operating funds budget. The funds do not include spending for construction, nor to pay down loans for the construction.

The board is due to vote on the budget Sept. 22 and, if approved, the new operating budget would have a surplus of $807. "It was clear they wanted to make sure the funds were balanced," Superintendent Jack Barshinger said Thursday.

Each principal has a certain amount to spend per pupil, and amounts vary depending on grade level.

Most of the elementary school principals chose to reduce spending on equipment repair, professional development, general supplies, and supplies for the learning resource centers, according to a memo accompanying Tuesday's presentation.

Rotolo Middle School will use less postage, relying more on electronic communication with families. Worn equipment and furniture might not be replaced and the library will not buy as many new materials, including online subscriptions.

The music department will lose its piano accompanist for class time and concerts. A sixth-grade swing choir and a seventh- and eighth-grade vocal group is likely to be dropped.

Athletes would have to pick up the cost of playing in end-of-season tournaments, and no money has been budgeted for transportation for sports teams that advance to postseason play. An already-approved plan to add a second middle school girls basketball team might be dropped. Stipends for coaches and club advisers were cut by $19,000. Barshinger said no clubs nor activities will be cut, but there will likely be fewer assistant coaches.

Fewer copies of the high school newspaper will be printed, and lost or damaged textbooks will only be replaced out of the existing stash of extras.

The Building Trades program, which usually builds a house, will not be able to purchase a lot.

The human resources office plans to cut its supplies 50 percent, stop advertising jobs in newspapers, and spend less on background checks.