Educators see no easy ways to cut spending on schools - Idaho Statesman

Article posted on Idaho Statesman

Districts face difficult choices in quest to keep budget slashing from affecting kids

By Bill Roberts

Idaho's 272,000 public school students could face a shorter academic year, fewer teachers and staggered kindergartens next fall as public education braces for unprecedented budget cuts caused by the withering economy.

Facing possible reductions of up to $130 million, school districts once planning expanded programs are now talking about saving jobs and protecting student-teacher contact time.

Some parents say the state's priorities are misplaced as leaders talk of cutting education while they consider raising taxes and fees to fix Idaho's roads.

"It's insane," said Amy Ditton, a mother with two children at Paramount Elementary School in Meridian. "The bumpy roads are more important than the country's future."...

But educators are talking about lots of ideas, and every choice comes with an impact:

SHORTEN THE SCHOOL YEAR

Every day shaved off the academic calender saves about $5.3 million statewide...

CUT TEACHERS

The state could reduce the number of instructors it pays by tweaking the formula that allocates teachers to districts...

SAVE ON TRANSPORTATION

In the Marsing School District, Superintendent Harold Shockley is evaluating the pros and cons of saving $45,000 by changing the kindergarten bus schedule...

PUT INITIATIVES ON HOLD

If education must be cut, the state should not be funding initiatives and projects like paying $350 to teachers for supplies each year - at a cost of more than $5 million - until the financial crisis passes, Clark said. "No sacred cows," she said...

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