Staff cuts coming to Kaneland schools if enrollment continues to drop

Kaneland school district officials say they may not need the equivalent of nine full-time teachers next school year, as student enrollment continues to decline.

The school board Monday issued layoff notices to five part-time teachers and one full-time teacher. Another five full-time teachers are being cut back to part-time status, and a part-time teacher is having her hours reduced.

The district is projecting it might have 49 fewer students in the fall, with an enrollment of 4,379 in early childhood through 12th grade. That's 242 fewer students than it had just three years ago, according to a memo presented to the school board. At that time, it had the equivalent of 340.6 full-time teachers, 16 more than it is planning for in 2018-19.

The board also authorized having fewer support workers, adjusting stipends, and lowering pay for elementary school lunchroom monitors, interoffice mail carriers and crossing guards.

The latter group's pay will be lowered from $15 an hour to $13 an hour.

Two years ago their average pay was $17.57 an hour, putting Kaneland at the top of the nine school districts in Kane County. It then cut it to $15 and was still at the top.

The staffing reductions and pay changes could save the district $838,000, according human resources director Chris Adkins.

That would go halfway to overcoming a potential $1.5 million deficit in the 2018-19 budget the district is developing.

"We must do things to bring our budget in alignment," she warned the board.

The 2018-19 fiscal year begins July 1, but the district has until Sept. 30 to adopt a budget.