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46 °F 5 Day Forecast Sunday, November 30, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend November 5, 2003 School board tackles painful staffing cuts By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Cutting seven child development specialists from Medford elementary schools would further jeopardize the city’s most vulnerable kids. That was the message Medford School Board members heard Tuesday as some 150 teachers, parents and specialists themselves protested one small part of the reductions aimed at plugging a $2.4 million budget hole. The nearly $600,000 savings in specialist salaries would cost far more in the long run, said an impassioned Carrie McCoy, a teacher at Hoover Elementary School. "I have had a primary child contract a venereal disease; two children find their mothers in a pool of blood due to failed suicide attempts and one boy who witnessed his mentally ill parents skin his beloved cats and hang their carcasses on a fence post behind his home," McCoy said, her voice shaking. Advertisement Without child development specialists to help serve such children, teachers cannot hope to cope, she added. "Please look again at this crucial decision to cut counselors and consider again the impact it will have at time when dysfunction is part of the everyday vocabulary of our society," said McCoy, drawing cheers and applause from the crowd. But board members and district officials defended the first tier of approved cuts that maintains classroom teachers while trimming at least 23 other positions — including the specialists — plus a range of programs. They asked audience members, including many district employees, to take a wider view of a budget dilemma that could require $9.2 million in further cuts if a Legislature-approved income tax surcharge is overturned by voters in February. "These kind of cuts will affect our whole community drastically," said board member Peggy Penland. "It’s not just about your job and your careers. It’s about our entire community." At least one parent said she was sympathetic to teachers and specialists, but also realistic about budget woes. "I think the board did what they had to do to educate our children," said Karla Lyle, 42, whose two children attend Jacksonville Elementary School. "Do we educate children or do we fix their problems? I don’t think the board takes this lightly." The first tier of cuts approved Tuesday, including the loss of the specialists, is "pretty firm," board member Joe Frodsham said. It eliminates outdoor education, the DARE anti-drug program, a district music festival and an elementary school planetarium program, among others. It reduces one elementary principal’s position and eliminates the position of a retiring district administrator. And it implements a pay-to-play athletic participation program. Those cuts, totaling about $2.4 million, will take effect mostly in February, regardles of the fate of a proposed surtax. They’re required to cover a deficit in the district’s $79 million budget, caused by unexpected building repairs, the more than $1 million cost of hiring 17 new teachers to reduce class sizes in September and a $1.5 million decrease sparked by falling enrollment. Despite predicted enrollment increases, the district is down about 300 students for a total enrollment of 12,759 as of last week, Superintendent Dick Gregory said. Looming ahead, however, are cuts that could top $9 million, raising the possibility of teacher layoffs, renegotiated insurance benefits, program eliminations, larger class sizes and a return to a shortened school year. Board members and representatives for the teacher’s union said Tuesday they anticipate new bargaining. The second and third tiers of cuts are likely if the Legislature’s approved $800 million revenue package for the 2003-2005 state budget is overturned by voters. The deal was financed by a three-year surtax and an increase in the corporate minimum tax. Opponents of the plan are gathering signatures to place it on a Feb. 3 ballot. "It’s important to say how drastic and dreadful the cuts are going to be," School Board Chairman Mike Moran said. The drama was not lost on parent Kirsten Thompson, 47, of Medford. "The whole idea that we’re in this hole is so nauseatingly disgusting to me," said Thompson, who is shepherding the last two of five children through Medford schools. "I’m befuddled at the predicament the School Board is in. No matter where you cut, somebody is hurt." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! 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