Schools facing more extreme cuts

As state aid to north country schools drops, districts are facing the possibility of even more severe staff and program cuts.

While this could create an impact in graduation rates, few districts admit they will struggle to have even their top students obtain a Regents diploma if essential courses are cut, a problem known as “educational bankruptcy.”

“We’re anticipating that this would be a phenomenon that would happen here and all over the state,” said Jack J. Boak, Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services superintendent. “As a district’s resources get depleted, there are some districts that would reach the point where they could not have the required credits to accrue a diploma.”

He hesitated to name any districts, saying it was too early to determine how dire the problem is.

District superintendents were also hesitant to acknowledge problems at their districts, but said they were aware the concern could become a reality in general.

“I don’t see that happening to Beaver River,” said Leueen Smithling, Beaver River Central School superintendent. “If the trend continues, I think any small, rural district could be in trouble with the fact that we’re not getting our fair share.”

Superintendents from Thousand Islands, Copenhagen and Sackets Harbor expressed the same sentiment. For them, it is a waiting game until the official budget is passed in April. In the meantime, they are reaching out to local legislators. Joseph A. Menard, superintendent of Thousand Islands, sent a letter to the governor indicating that the gap elimination adjustment — the cut to state aid used to offset the state’s deficit — cost the district 20 percent of its instructional staff in the past two years.

“Our districts will probably not know until April,” said Mr. Boak. “The problem is that nobody knows.”

Multiple districts complained that, while core reading, writing and arithmatic courses are not getting cut yet, the academic intervention courses may be the next to go. While students used to be able to choose between a local or Regents diploma, the latter is required for all students now. Intervention services give struggling students extra help to pass their Regents examinations.

“At this point, we’re not worried about (diplomas),” said Susan L. Whitney, LaFargeville superintendent. “We’re worried about continuing our academic elimination activities. We’re worried about sports.”

She said the courses she will have to cut are ones that help students when they apply to colleges, not broad, cultural courses.

“We’re not cutting Chinese, because we’re not offering that. We’ll have to cut bus drivers. Our transportation mechanic only works part-time now,” she said. “Bit by bit, we’re cutting away.”

Ms. Whitney is not working with bare-bones courses now, but she is hoping for an increase in the foundation aid that has been frozen for the last few years.

More dire up north

Up north, St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES Superintendent Thomas R. Burns feels his districts, some of which have among the lowest wealth ratios in the state, are in a more acute predicament.

His concerns focus on Brasher Falls, Potsdam and Canton. These three districts have faced significant cuts in Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s latest executive budget.

“Those three schools, and I know all my districts are feeling the pain to some extent, might be cutting 15 percent of their staff in the upcoming budget,” he said. “Just based on the cuts they’ve made in the past two years, you’re getting close to perilous numbers.”

While he does not think his district superintendents are having conversations about the possibility of not being able to offer Regents diplomas at the moment, they may be by September.

“To me, it’s unfortunate that we’re even having this conversation,” he said “It’s sad that we’re just talking about the bare bones for students because that’s going to affect them later on down the road.”

William A. Gregory, Canton Central superintendent, has heard from students how these cuts are affecting them. One student said that college interviewers have commented about the lack of languages and challenging courses on the student’s application.

“I don’t see us not offering the diploma,” he said. “What I do see is the students’ abilities to achieve these diplomas.”

He predicted an increase in the at-risk population and a decrease in graduation rates as extracurricular courses are squeezed out of the budget.

As sports and other after-school activities are cut, he said students will have less of an incentive to stay in school and graduate.

“The other thing that we’re going to be challenged to offer are some of the special-education programs and academic intervention,” he added. “We’re going to be out of compliance in those areas.”

He is not the only school chief in St. Lawrence County preparing for a worst-case scenario. The head of St. Lawrence Central School in Brasher Falls is also worried about cuts that have piled up in the last few years.

“My greatest concern is that we’ll cut staffing so greatly that the students won’t be able to learn effectively,” said Stephen M. Putnam, superintendent.

He thinks academic intervention services could be cut as soon as next year.

He has lobbied with superintendents from Canton and Potsdam in Albany several times to try to increase foundation aid and get the gap elimination adjustment eliminated.

He said the executive budget indicated an increase of $332,000 for transportation and BOCES aid, but that may be too little after the cuts the district had in the past few years.

“Yeah, we’re $300,000 better, but that doesn’t even begin to cover the normal inflation pressures,” he said.