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Janesville School District struggles to plan for 2010

JANESVILLE — The Janesville School District is trying to get a better idea of how many students will show up when school resumes Sept. 1.

Officials are concerned the recent layoffs from General Motors and related companies might force many families with children to leave the area.

Next fall's enrollment will determine funding levels. State funding has become all the more important because Gov. Jim Doyle warned on Friday that schools should expect a cut of up to 5 percent in the coming year.

Five percent works out to a loss of about $2 million, said Superintendent Karen Schulte. However, the exact amount of state funding has not yet been announced.

The district could make up for the aid cut by raising property taxes. But school board members have thus far resisted any tax increase except for a 1.88 percent rise in the tax rate to cover an increase in referendum debt payments.

The governor's announcement came too late for the district to cut teaching positions any further. By contract, any teacher layoff notices must be issued by May 1. The school board approved issuing six layoff notices before that deadline.

A survey also would help officials plan future budgets because the effect of one year's enrollment on funding is spread over three years.

The district surveyed parents in February. The results showed 10 families representing 27 children planned to leave Janesville before Sept. 1.

Another 74 families representing 107 children said they would leave but didn't know when.

This time, the district has teamed up with UAW Local 95, which represents workers who worked at the local General Motors plant as a well as GM suppliers Lear and LSI. A link to the survey is on the Local 95 Web site.

Schulte said she hoped for more participation this time.

"It is the end of the school year. We know more people are making decisions," Schulte said. "… We don't have a good handle on how many, and we thought working with the UAW, we would get a better view (of how many would be leaving)."

Local 95 President Andy Richardson agreed to help the district. The UAW Web site displays a note encouraging families who have school-age children to complete the survey along with a link to the survey.

The survey asks when a family might relocate, numbers of children and the schools they attend. It also asks if the family needs help getting free or reduced-price lunch, counseling, clothing, school supplies or food-pantry information.

The deadline to complete the survey is Friday, June 5. Schulte said the district would accept a survey filled out on paper, but that would require someone printing a copy from the Web site.