Coping with cuts

A $900 million budget deficit led Georgia lawmakers to cut education funding. South Carolina trimmed $161 million, and rumors are circulating of an additional 4 percent cut in the next week by the state Budget and Control Board. Here's a look at what reductions were made by local school systems and how principals and teachers expect the cuts to affect their jobs, their schools and their students.

COLUMBIA COUNTY

The Columbia County school system has lost as much as $13.5 million in state funding this year.

To cope, the school system has instituted a two-day furlough for employees, cut the supply budget by 10 percent, increased class sizes and eliminated more than 100 positions, including more than 70 teachers and paraprofessionals.

Though educators said they are feeling the pinch, they don't believe the cuts will drastically hamper instruction.

EVANS ELEMENTARY

When classes resume Monday, Evans Elementary fifth-grade teacher Pat Goolsby expects more pupils in her class.

Last school year, she taught 17 children. This year, she knows she'll have at least 19, with the potential for as many as 23, the state class-size maximum after it was raised by two earlier this year.

"Whether or not it is going to be difficult to teach more students is going to depend on the students," Ms. Goolsby said. "Last year I had a lot of autistic students, who require more attention. If I have a lot again this year, it could be tough."

Though third-grade classes don't receive paraprofessional assistance, Ms. Goolsby said she might need to "steal" one from a co-worker if she misses work.

"Normally I'd use a substitute, but we're going to try to stay away from that and use parapros to cover classes," she said. "That could put a burden on a teacher in a lower grade."

Still, Ms. Goolsby said she wanted to refrain from complaining too much.

"There are some areas of the country where budget cuts might force teachers to have as many has 30 kids in the classroom," she said.

She said help is readily available.

"I had many parents who volunteered to help out in the classroom last year," Ms. Goolsby said. "I know many of them will help again, and we're very lucky to have that kind of relationship with our parents at this school."

STALLINGS ISLAND MIDDLE

"Everybody's hurting," Stallings Island Middle School Principal Don Putnam said of the budget cuts. "You just have to make do with what you've got."

What Mr. Putnam's got, like every other school principal, is a 10 percent reduction in instructional spending. Stallings Island also lost a part-time teacher, who wasn't replaced when she took a full-time position at another school.

Mr. Putnam said he always has considered himself a conservative spender.

"Even though we don't have as much to spend, I don't feel like we're going without," he said. "I'm not going to tell you I order everything they request, but that would be (the same situation) any year."

Most significant for Mr. Putnam is that class sizes will rise by at least two pupils.

"The research shows that it shouldn't matter, but sometimes I wonder if that's more of a mind-set than a reality," he said.

Still, Mr. Putnam believes his teachers will "rise to the occasion."

"I've told our teachers that we need to be thankful that we have jobs and are getting paychecks," he said. "We're each going to have an extra head or two in our classes, and we're just going to have to work a little harder."

LAKESIDE HIGH & HARLEM HIGH

Lakeside High School is losing instructional money, along with a guidance secretary. But Principal Jeff Carney is more concerned with what he hasn't gained.

"We should have gained a number of teachers, because our numbers are going up, but because of the budget cuts we kind of broke even," he said. "We gained one or two positions, but in a normal year we would have gotten several positions."

He expects to have more than 1,700 students at Lakeside, which is about 100 more pupils than last year.

Superintendent Charles Nagle sent a video explaining the budget cuts to teachers last week. Julianna Boatwright, a 12th-grade language arts teacher at Harlem High, said the video alleviated some of her concerns.

"There have been some consolidation of classes, but it's not working out to be terrible," Ms. Boatwright said.

"I was expecting to have a class of more than 30, but as it stands right now, I don't have that," she said. "But it could turn out next week (once more students have registered) that I'm maxed out."

Dr. Carney said there's been no whining about furloughs or bigger class sizes.

"I think everybody understands what's going on with the economy and we're fortunate we do have a job. We're going to make the best of it," he said.

More than $10 million in state funding was slashed from Aiken County schools' budget this year. With 90 percent of the budget tied up in salaries and benefits, the school district struggled to come out of the budget year without too much damage to employees.

Plugging the budget with contingency money, the district kept from furloughing teachers in 2008-09.

The district faced a $12 million shortfall when it began the 2009-10 budget process, not including the $10 million it had already lost. But when $6.9 million in stimulus money arrived, it was able to keep a five-day teacher furlough off the table.

The district didn't go unscathed. More than 100 staffers, from rehired retirees to special education aides, were not asked back; the International Baccalaureate program will be phased out at the end of this year; and pupil/teacher ratios were increased by as much as two in some elementary grades and by one in middle schools.

The board approved a $152.4 million budget, only $2 million short from the previous year.

AIKEN COUNTY

OAKWOOD-WINDSOR ELEMENTARY

Negativity won't infiltrate Janice Kitching's school. The Oakwood-Windsor principal said she's encouraged teachers to find a positive in every negative situation, even losing teachers to budget cuts.

"I try to encourage them to be positive no matter what's coming our way," she said. "I want them to think about those things they can influence. If you're always negative, then you will get a negative outcome."

Ms. Kitchings said the school will have the necessities this year and will be able to offer the same programs it did last year.

"We've cut back on some of our teachers, but we've had classrooms with 25 students before, so we can deal with it again," she said.

The increase in the teacher/pupil ratio hasn't discouraged her staff. Though teachers don't have to report until Tuesday, many have already been to the school to prepare.

SILVER BLUFF HIGH

Principal Todd Bornsheuer said he's in an uncomfortable position this year. Money he uses for supplies such as LCD projector bulbs, which run about $200 each, or laser ink cartridges, which cost $4,000 a year for the school, is gone.

Teachers will still receive $275 from the state to purchase supplies, but he's having to ask them to consider using that money for supplies he usually takes care of with the school budget.

"These are costs that normally teachers don't have to think about," he said. "I can't make my typical guarantees."

The school also lost pay for 3.6 teachers, one guidance instructor, half a media aid position, 11/2 secretary positions and one special education aid.

All teachers, except for department heads, will have to teach an extra period.

Faculty and staff at Richmond County schools began the school year Friday prepared to endure pay cuts, furloughs, larger class sizes and fewer resources.

Just last month, the state cut the school system's funding by $6.5 million, on top of a more than $1 million shortfall Superintendent Dana Bedden was already facing. Dr. Bedden recommended budget reductions that would add another furlough day on top of the four already approved for school employees and a total of five days without pay for certified 190-day employees such as teachers and bus drivers. Though it will be more than a week before the school board approves the measures, teachers and staff are already preparing for the effects.

RICHMOND COUNTY

BAYVALE ELEMENTARY

Principal Dana Harris said her teachers will likely be digging deeper into their own pockets because they won't receive the usual $100 gift card from the state to pay for classroom supplies.

"An overwhelming majority of the time they were already coming out of their own pockets," Dr. Harris said. "The teachers are well-equipped to do what they need to do."

Dr. Harris has the same number of staff members as she did last year, but she expects class sizes to increase from about 17 students per classroom to about 25.

The pay cuts and larger class sizes will not outweigh the positives going on at Bayvale, she said.

"We won't be negatively impacted," Dr. Harris said. "We have the technology and we have the resources to do what we need to do."

W.S. HORNSBY K-8

Lori Thomas has determined she will have to find new ways to reach her students.

Last year, every student in her fourth-grade math class received printouts for daily equations. To cut the cost of making copies, she said she'll use her projector and have students write down the math problems.

Using the projector to work on problems together will also help her deal with larger classes this school year. Instead of about 20 students, Ms. Thomas said she expects each class to have at least 25.

"Dealing with that amount of children will take some getting used to, but we'll probably do more work in groups this year," she said. "It's a workable situation."

Hornsby Principal Ruby Stewart also has a new challenge. She will oversee more than 670 students this year after just 312 last year. The school now serves students in grades 6-8 after the closing of East Augusta Middle School.

Mrs. Stewart said she does not expect the population change to affect her students. She does, however, fear that budget cuts could eventually eliminate the 21st Century program, an after-school program offered at Hornsby.

"They haven't finalized that yet, but they may be doing some cutbacks," Mrs. Stewart said. "The kids benefit from that so much, so I hope that we can keep that program."

T.W. JOSEY HIGH

Brian Wallace never expected to prepare for school with a bucket of paint and a brush, but he said there's a first time for everything.

The T.W. Josey High School physical education teacher, along with other Josey P.E. teachers, painted the boys locker room Thursday as a way to help already strapped custodians at the school.

"This is not a normal thing we'd do to prepare," Mr. Wallace said. "Right now, we're doing whatever we can to help. Everybody has to chip in."

Principal Ronald Wiggins said Josey teachers and staff aren't concerned about the pay cuts they will have this school year. They have had to weather hard times in the past, he said.

"All of our resources are here. I have the same staff, and we still have to reach these students even with less pay," Dr. Wiggins said.