Cedar Rapids schools begin identifying budget cuts for next year

CEDAR RAPIDS - A week after Gov. Terry Branstad approved state aid for schools - a disappointing increase for Cedar Rapids schools, and less than what the governor had wanted - administrators have started to identify areas that will feel the financial squeeze.

'We're trying to keep these questions away from the classroom,” Superintendent Brad Buck told the school board Tuesday. 'But realistically, when 83 percent of your budget is people, people are going to be in the mix of these conversations.”

Forming a balanced budget for fiscal 2017, which starts July 1, will take some juggling, Buck said.

The district's budget is divided into several pools, with each pool of money having its own strict parameters on where its funds can go. The largest pool, the general fund, pays for most curriculum costs and is affected by legislative decisions.

The general fund has provided for programs like special education and the English Language Learner program, but those programs might pull money from another pool next year. The same goes for some non-classroom software, like a human resource program.

A reorganization of class schedules at the high school level also would help, though it would give teachers a heavier workload.

That funding dance will help save some programs from being cut, Buck said. But protecting programs has gotten harder as funding misses district needs year after year - a result of legislative decisions and falling enrollment.

'This isn't the first $2 million,” Buck said. 'We're in the 19th and 20th million, which is a very different part of the conversation to enter.”

Reductions have not been finalized yet. That will come in June, when the line-item budget is completed. To balance the budget, the district will have to make at least $2.3 million in reductions.

But that number could grow if new state mandates become law. Legislators are expected to require implementation of a new state standardized test, the Smarter Balanced Assessments, starting next school year. If the test doesn't come with additional funds, Buck said the Cedar Rapids district would have to find an additional $265,000.

No members of the community spoke about the budget during public comment.

A certified budget must be submitted by April 15.