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If next year's budget is not cut substantially, the New Ulm School District will be operating in the red, Supt. T.R. Olson said Tuesday.
Olson estimated that the school district, which has a surplus of its general funds of about $625,000, will be about $3000,000 short in funds.
He said that school board must make a number of decisions by next March about slashing the 1976-77budget.
IN ADDITION to a cutback next year, Olson said the school board may want to consider going to the voters for a referendum for more funds.
Olson made his statements while paring his previous "laundry list" of about 16 items where cuts could be made to seven.
One of the cutback areas still on Olson's "appraisal list"is teaching staff, but Olson added that if staff is to be cut back, the cutback in that area will have to be kept to a minimum.
"THERE ARE probably six or seven areas where there are real (savings) possibilities, and the board will have to be appraised of them," Olson said, "and I guess that that is not a popular thing for boards and superintendents to get involved in because it's easy to point fingers and you're dealing with people and it's easy for them to look for scapegoats."
He emphasized that before any cutback decisions are made, the school district must go to the administrators, teachers, students and parents to get their ideas.
He also said that the cutbacks should be based on two considerations: what will hurt the quality of education least and what will save the most money.
REDUCING staff, he said ,is probably where the district can save the most money because it is where the most money is spent.
The average teacher earns $12,000, he said as an example, so if 10 teachers are cut, savings would amount to $120,000.
The increase in the size of the classroom, which would be caused by cutback in staff, may be less desirable, but it hasn't been shown to hurt, he said.
"It isn't going to hurt our children. In certain areas, it's tough to cut staff or increase the size of the class," Olson stated." But, in certain instances, all it means is increasing the amount of chairs or desks."
ANOTHER possible cut would be the creation of combination classrooms at Lafayette and Hanska. He indicated that three teachers could be picked up at Lafayette and one at Hanska through that means.
Olson also pointed out that while summer school is basically seen as an enrichment of a student's education and allows some students to pick up required courses,the district could save about $15,000 by cutting in that area.
He added that the school district should examine the possibility of turning its driver's education program over to a commercial concern. The district, he said, could save $50,000-$55,000 by doing that.
THE EXTRA-CURRICULAR program, Olson said, could also be cut back.
Without hurting general education, he said, the district could trim the number of coaches and cut back on the elementary school program.
Other areas that should be examined for possible savings, he said, are the music and agriculture programs, in-town busing kindergarten students at Hanska and Lafayette to New Ulm.
"This is not popular and I understand that,"he said of the latter possibility. "Being in debt is not popular either."
Because commitments on next year's financing will begin next spring,Olson said that the board should be ready to make some decisions on cutback possibilities by March.
"The time has come," Olson said.
"Outside of hockey, I don't recall anything we've really put in that parents really came in and pushed about," said Board member Wanda Penrod. "But then to try to take it away. It's a lot easier to put it in than to take it away."
New Ulm Daily Journal
Oct. 15, 1975