Decision delayed on closing 3 Suffolk schools

SUFFOLK

The School Board decided again Monday to delay a decision on whether to close three elementary schools.

Board members said they're hoping a retirement incentive, the restructuring of some departments and programs, and other smaller cost-savings measures will be enough to balance the 2010-11 budget.

The board needs to cut millions from the proposed spending plan, but exactly how much is unclear.

Last month, Superintendent Milton Liverman estimated the school division could lose as much as

$10.4 million in state funding, $1 million of which was already accounted for in his budget proposal.

With additional plans being weighed by the General Assembly, the outlook has improved.

Board members still need to account for a possible decrease in funding from the city, Liverman said.

Closing Florence Bowser, Mount Zion and Robertson elementary schools would save about $1.7 million and eliminate 37 positions. Board member Michael J. Debranski asked Monday if everyone at those schools would have jobs elsewhere in the division next school year.

"I can't make that promise," Liverman said.

Positions could open up as a result of a retirement incentive, a cash payout of 20 percent of an employee's annual earnings. If all 126 eligible employees participated, the division would incur a one-time cost of $1.6 million but would save an estimated $2.8 million annually.

Other cost-saving measures under consideration include restructuring the alternative program, cutting back on operating costs - such as travel and supplies - throughout the division, offering fewer after-school activity bus runs, and eliminating the division's contribution to the licensed practical nursing adult education program.

The board also requested that staff talk with the city about vehicle parts and fuel mark-ups. The division, which pays 33 cents above cost per gallon of fuel, paid the city nearly $124,000 in mark-ups during the 2008-09 school year.

Hattie Brown Garrow, (757) 222-5562, hattie.brown@pilotonline.com