Projects cut to balance Janesville schools budget
JANESVILLE — The Janesville School Board on Tuesday stayed away from money earmarked for teacher pay and instead voted to delay four maintenance projects.
The move came at the board's meeting in the middle of the snowstorm Tuesday night at Parker High School. The board needed to find $748,000 to plug a budget hole created by an accounting error.
Superintendent Karen Schulte recommended cutting the maintenance projects. Chief Financial Officer Keith Pennington said the project delays would not affect health or safety.
The vote was 7-1. Lori Stottler was absent.
Board member Peter D. Severson was the "no" vote. He said the board needed more time to consider the impacts of postponing the projects.
Postponed are parking lot work at Parker High School, ventilation equipment replacement at Lincoln Elementary School, remodeling at Edison Middle School and something labeled "Craig special projects."
Severson said the board did not have a clear idea what the $250,000 for "Craig special projects" was all about.
Craig Principal Mike Kuehne told the Janesville Gazette on Sunday that he thought the money was for new athletics-equipment storage buildings and an upgrade to the auditorium, but Severson referred to a memo from Schulte that apparently said the intended uses of the $250,000 was not known.
The lack of knowledge might be attributed to the district's loss of its business director and comptroller during the budget process.
Bill Sodemann said before the meeting that he wanted to use $204,000 earmarked for a teacher pay increase, if needed, when teachers and the board reach agreement on a new contract.
Sodemann asked about that money Tuesday but made no motion to use it for the budget fix.
Several teachers attended the meeting. Teacher Wendy Haag addressed the board, saying that diverting money from teacher pay would hurt morale.
Children are stressed over the impacts of the local economy, and the district needs its most experienced teachers at a time like this, Haag said.
Board member Tim Cullen said the public should know that the projects being postponed represent less than a quarter of all the maintenance projects scheduled this year.
Schulte said that if other capital projects cost less than projected, unused money could be diverted to the postponed projects. Otherwise, those projects would be considered for the 2010-11 budget.
One other project that was offered as a possible cut—remodeling the Edison library—was saved but was trimmed from $100,000 to $97,000.
In other business, the board put off a decision on a budget-development calendar to Jan. 12. Several board members criticized the rules that require them to set a budget long before they know how much money they'll have to spend or how many students they'll have to educate.
The board does not plan to hold a second meeting this month.
Jan 8, 2010 at 10:20 p.m.
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An "accounting error" of $750,000?!
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Do I laugh, or cry?
Jan 8, 2010 at 10:03 p.m.
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Big surprise, Sodemann wants too take more money from educators. If you search is name on the gazzette website every article that comes up about that man, EVERY one has to do with taking money from teachers to fill budget gaps. Does anyone else see a pattern here? Its not just a coincedence.Im guessing that everyone who voted for you Bill doesnt have near the level of disdain you have for educators. So cut cut cut, and whenever you have a budget hole to fix, at least we have one voice on the school board that we know exactly what hes going to say before he even says it. Its like linstening to Rush , Hannity , and Beck. PTHETICALLY PREDICTABLE.
Dec 11, 2009 at 3:12 p.m.
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The school district's loss of "institutional memory" is going to get them into a lot of trouble. It should NOT have been used as an excuse for a 750K accounting misstep. To say that make the board look incredibly foolish.
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We have to remember that Pennington is an private sector outsider who picked up quite a mess. I'm not defending him. In fact, I have to question the thinking why our administration and board hired him knowing he does not possess the DPI licensure required of that position (check for yourself people - https://www2.dpi.wi.gov/lic-tll/home.do). This will come back to haunt the board. I'm terrified what else will get missed during this learning curve.
Dec 10, 2009 at 3:45 p.m.
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Good. Keep cutting (after all, it's just what we citizens that pay for all this nonsense in Janesville have to do when times get tough).
Perhaps the schools should look at their accounting methods--I hate it when I make a $700,000+ error in balancing my checkbook!
Besides, we need to save our tax money so we can waste it on a new ICE ARENA!!! (hahahahahahah)
Dec 10, 2009 at 12:31 p.m.
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Can Anyone explain to me why in the heck we just spent 78 million dollars on the 2 high schools and now less than a year later we need to spen another 400,000.00 between the 2. How is this possible. I believe we were told if we approve the ref. for the two school we would be set for years to come. Holy cow years to come didn't even make one year. WOW THIS IS NUT'S
Dec 10, 2009 at 9:53 a.m.
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Is schools in the headline supposed to be plural or show possession?
Projects cut from Janesville School District budget would have been a better more clear headline, would it not?
I wasn't sure if it was referring to the budget of the school district, or individual school budgets.
Dec 9, 2009 at 7:08 p.m.
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Dumb and dumberest. Pennington needs to go. He apparently is too incompetent to oversee a budget; and you know for a fact when whoever found the three-quarter of a million dollar mistake, Pennington was begging every manager for any dime they could throw him. Seems like whoever is in charge of the buildings (Dave Leeder, maybe) should be getting the praise for having that much cash still left. For Schulte to praise Pennington (who also, don't forget, fell asleep during the IT mess) is a dangerous statement which may bring into question her own competence. Most of the board, specifically Sodemann (who seems, at the meetings I've been to, angry and kinda slow) need to move on. They're supposed to be advocates of the parents and taxpayers and watchdog of our best interests, not yessers to the school district.
Dec 9, 2009 at 6:09 p.m.
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badger, the district replaced its business director, who retired in June, with a chief financial officer. The comptroller position opened up in November. It has not yet been filled. The idea I was trying to express here was that the people who started the budget-building process are now gone, and the new people may not know every detail of a complicated document.
-- Gazette reporter Frank Schultz
Dec 9, 2009 at 5:47 p.m.
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Oldtimer, don't forget to vote this spring for the school board vacancies.
The school board also didn't clearly know what the Chinese program consisted of either, among other mistakes and errors that keep popping up.
"The lack of knowledge might be attributed to the district's loss of its business director and comptroller during the budget process."
What the heck does this mean? Does this mean the district doesn't have people to oversee the budget process besides these two positions? It is very disturbing to discover that tax dollars are so carelessly handled. The tax payers deserve better.
Dec 9, 2009 at 5:06 p.m.
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The school board doesnt even have a clue what the special project is at Craig?? how stupid. not one of them have any common sense.
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