Fond du Lac board workshop maps $3.5M in possible cuts; technology, library and paraprofessional reductions debated

At a public workshop following its Feb. 16 regular meeting, the Fond du Lac School District Board of Education spent roughly two hours reviewing a package of proposed reductions that administrators said would total about $3.5 million. The board president said the goal is to present the board’s recommendation at the next regular meeting.

Technology and devices: Paul Hermas, identified in the meeting as the district’s director of technology services and assessment, described a seven-year replacement cycle for student devices and estimated that moving to a 2:1 student-to-device ratio for a single grade-level purchase year would save approximately $80,000–$85,000. He warned that pausing tech purchases (a full "freeze") would concentrate replacement needs later and could harm high-school digital curriculum that currently relies on digital resources.

Classroom displays: staff outlined that interactive LCD boards and their associated Chromebox units and peripherals have been rolled out incrementally and that pausing or delaying installations would "punt" costs to a later year. One line-item proposed pausing the first phase of high-school displays (roughly half the school) to spread costs but staff cautioned this would reduce the high school’s parity with other buildings.

Library media staffing: the workshop explored cutting multiple library media specialist positions while hiring two library media secretaries to keep libraries operational. Administrators provided salary-and-benefit calculations used in the budget model and estimated savings: cutting four library media specialists would save about $342,526; cutting five would save about $427,385 (these figures reflect salary and benefits and do not include all offsetting costs). Board members raised concerns about preserving digital literacy and library access for elementary students if media specialists were reduced.

Paraprofessionals and work-day changes: staff said the district employs roughly 76 special-education instructional assistants, 14 health-room IAs, 11 translators, three educational interpreters, and about 13 regular education IAs (plus others), and that trimming academic-planning days or other calendar changes are possible savings tactics but would affect supports for high-need students. Board members emphasized the class-size and special-education implications of cuts and the difficulty of balancing financial savings with student supports.

Enrollment loss to outside virtual programs: staff reported the district currently loses 197 students to outside virtual schools and used that figure in an illustrative revenue calculation; one board member multiplied the district’s per-student amount discussed earlier to suggest the revenue impact could be on the order of $2.3–$2.5 million annually.

Board direction and next steps: after extended discussion, the presiding officer said the board will present the 'green' package (the set of reductions shown to the board that evening) as the board’s recommendation for a vote at the next meeting. The board also asked administration to prepare a workshop plan showing what closing two schools would look like if the referendum passes and the board asked staff to provide more precise cost offsets where members requested them.

Quotations that framed the debate included technical cautions from technology staff — "If we do do that, we're creating a double problem the following year," Paul Hermas said of a purchasing freeze — and the board president’s policy framing: "The goal of our workshop is to come away with a question to bring forward to our next board meeting on cuts," the presiding officer said.

The board did not take final votes on the workshop items; it instructed staff to return with refined numbers and will vote on a specific motion at a subsequent regular meeting.