New plan could mean no layoffs in East Valley district

The East Valley School District won’t have to lay off teachers or cut popular programs as originally feared if residents give their blessing Monday to an alternate proposal for closing a $1.5 million revenue shortfall. The school board has scheduled a public meeting at 7 p.m. Monday to discuss a plan Superintendent John Glenewinkel presented to the board earlier this week. The meeting will be in the district office at 12325 E. Grace Ave. Glenewinkel said the new plan, based on patrons’ comments at previous public meetings, would eliminate the need to lay off 11 or so teachers and to slash music classes and programs for gifted students and those in need of remedial instruction. No reduction was planned in the district’s classified staff, which Glenewinkel said already was a “skeleton crew,” but teacher layoffs would have trimmed about $800,000 from the budget. He said the new budget plan is based on heavy cuts in administration, dipping into the district’s reserves, putting off curriculum purchases and confirmation that federal payments will cover nearly one-third of the expected shortfall. Glenewinkel said he now is confident the district will receive about $400,000 federal money for special education programs and about $85,000 for “Title 1” programs to help disadvantaged students. That reduced the necessary cuts to about $1 million. About $400,000 worth of cuts in the administrative office and deferred curriculum purchases of approximately $200,000 would cover much of the remaining shortfall. The remaining $400,000 would be drawn from budget reserves.