The Jamestown Public Schools' first draft of a 2010-11 budget includes a 5 percent tax increase and a cut equaling 50 full-time employees.
District officials plan to use $1.1 million of the fund balance, increase the tax levy by $700,000 and cut $4.6 million from the 2009-10 budget as part of its 2010-11 budget, according to information discussed during Tuesday's board of education meeting.
The 2010-11 budget proposal is a $79,604,933 proposal that increases spending by $2,609,351 from 2009-10 even with the cuts the district is proposing. The tax levy would increase from $13,944,132 to $14,644,132, or about 5 percent.
Among the cuts are two full-time assistant principals, an academic coordinator, reducing to part-time a director position, eliminating a middle school dean of students, reducing administrative time for department chair positions and administrative salary concessions, which saved the district a combined $342,000.
Administrators are also proposing to save $30,000 by changing two leagues for two of its sports teams, not buying supplies, eliminating two vacated positions and eliminating a varsity assistant softball coach. The district proposes saving $1,130,000 by cutting six positions at Jamestown High School, 7.5 full-time specialist positions in remedial math in the elementary school, elementary and middle school math, the videography program, Youth Apprenticeship Program and middle school Transition specialists; three computer teachers in the middle schools; two middle school English teachers and three elementary classroom positions. Special education will lose one integrated special education pre-kindergarten teacher, one full-time speech therapist, a half-time physical therapist, a full-time certified occupational therapist assistant, seven special education teachers throughout the district and a full-time school psychologist -- at a combined savings of $550,000.
Another $548,000 will be saved be eliminating elementary summer school, student-age GED classes, middle school volunteer programs and adult education courses and reducing alternative education programs.