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Committee reviews proposed non‑override cuts: $237,000 target could affect athletics, clubs and special‑education aides
Summary
Finance staff outlined potential non‑override reductions totaling about $237,000 that could come from athletics and extracurricular stipends; the list also includes proposed reductions in instructional assistant roles that raised questions about meeting students’ IEPs.
Committee discussion turned to a list of proposed non‑override budget cuts that staff said would total roughly $237,000 if implemented by taking funds from athletics and clubs and by adjusting stipend lines.
Staff said the $237,000 figure was the total reduction being considered across athletics and clubs and identified options including running fewer teams (for example suspending freshman teams in some sports) and reducing certain stipend lines. The transcript records staff saying the district could either eliminate the clubs and student‑activities funding line entirely or take a share from clubs and athletics to reach the target.
Special education staffing: committee members questioned whether cuts to instructional assistants (IAs) — a line described in the transcript as 10 positions in a proposed reduction — would risk noncompliance with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Committee members asked whether some IAs were assigned to students who no longer require one‑to‑one support. Staff said they had conferred with special‑education administrators (named in discussion as Danielle) and that a recent review of IEPs and supports suggested some reassignment or attrition could reduce the IA count without creating compliance risk. Staff said Danielle has worked two years reviewing IEPs and that changes are part of ongoing MTSS and inclusion work.
Why it matters: IEPs are legally required. Committee members repeatedly asked staff to confirm that any IA reductions would not jeopardize services in active IEPs and requested that staff present programming implications for next week’s meeting so committee members could see concrete scenarios under a non‑override budget.
Outcomes and directions: staff agreed to present detailed options at the next meeting, including which clubs are cost neutral, which activities are required for accreditation, and what the financial and service impacts would be if particular teams or stipend lines were reduced. No formal vote on reductions was recorded in the meeting; committee direction focused on getting a scenario analysis for decision making.
Ending: Staff committed to provide a program‑level break down of revenue vs. expenses for clubs/activities and a clearer mapping of IA assignments to active IEPs before the next committee meeting.
