Printable VersionDaytona Middle School could be closing its doors next fall forcing its estimated 500 students into area elementary schools and the district’s only other middle school, Thunderbolt.
A “perfect storm” within Lake Havasu’s school finances is pushing governing board members to make some tough financial decisions, which include school closings, teacher reductions, and potentially salary reductions.
The most financially devastating to the district is when voters did not approve two budget override questions in early November, which essentially would have extended property taxes for the schools that voters approved in 2005.
Over the next three years, the board must phase out that 2005-approved funding it has been collecting. The first cut, by state law, must come next fall and will equal $1.2 million.
In addition, school officials said they face a declining student enrollment, which could mean $500,000 less next year in state funding, according to their estimations.
Top school officials could not provide exact student counts Tuesday and don’t expect to know the final student count approved by the Arizona Department of Education until well after the first of the year. The ADE funds schools based primarily on the number of pupils enrolled.
The last piece to the financial puzzle is the state legislature’s inability to approve a budget. School officials are still waiting to hear what their final current budget is and what changes – if any — are coming. Usually, school officials know what their budgets are by now.
On top of that, school officials are having a hard time financially planning for next year, when they don’t know what decisions state legislators will make to bail themselves out of an estimated $4 billion deficit for coming fiscal year.
With all of those pieces falling into perfect place, school district officials must find a way to cut the costs, they said.
Closing Daytona would save the district $800,000 in administrative costs, custodial costs and utility bills, according to their calculations.
If the board votes to close the school, this year’s fifth graders — next year’s sixth graders — district wide would potentially remain at their elementary schools for sixth grade.
Malay said there is enough room at the elementary schools to accommodate the additional grades, with her one worry about space at Smoketree Elementary School. She said if the district heads that route, they would try their best to keep all fifth grade students at their same schools for sixth grade.
Sixth grade teachers from Daytona would be dispatched throughout the district to teach.
Thunderbolt Middle School would then just house seventh and eighth graders.
Malay said Daytona Middle School would just sit dark unless the district could lease the property.
A message left for the Daytona Middle School principal was not returned Tuesday afternoon.
But to make up the remaining $900,000 in cuts, district officials are proposing to cut two school nurses, to eliminate coach stipends, to cut one support staff from each school site, and to eliminate one teacher from each school site, and to ask each district employee to take two days of unpaid leave.
And that could just be the first phase of financial cuts.
Two other proposed future phases include closing an elementary school, salary reductions, further staff reductions, and eliminating elective classes.
Governing board members agreed Tuesday to make decisions soon in order to prepare for any coming changes.
“I’m not proud to a certain degree that our community has chosen this path,” said governing board member Ross Hobday. “There is really no place to go. It’s kind of a slap in the face to a certain degree that we have to do this, but we don’t have a choice. … This was the hand that was dealt to us.”
The governing board will vote at 6 p.m. on Dec. 8 on preliminary considerations that could cut $1.7 million from next year’s budget. The board meets in Building C in the district office at 2200 Havasupai Blvd.
You may contact the reporter at jleatherman@havasunews.com
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