Of the 817 responses as of Friday morning, teachers were by far the highest priority listed in a budget survey conducted by the Douglas County School District.
With a $4 million shortfall for the current year and a structural deficit of $5.2 million for next year, Douglas County School Board trustees are under pressure to come up with a plan that will balance their budget.
A proposed solvency study and report prepared by consultants Hessolutions and Jensen Professional Services was presented to trustees on Thursday night as part of a contract to help the district figure out what to do over the rest of the fiscal year.
The district is under a deadline to come up with a mitigation plan by February and identify sustainable long-term budget reductions.
That plan requires the district to come up with a way to address the shortfall and present it to the Department of Taxation.
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One of the first steps would be for trustees to declare a fiscal emergency and begin negotiations with the associations representing district employees within 21 days.
Immediate actions would be to implement a nonessential hiring freeze and determining savings from not filling positions open due to resignations or retirements for the rest of the fiscal year.
The fiscal emergency would permit a midyear salary reduction, freeze of stipends, temporary suspension of longevity, and shifting health insurance plan from self-insured to fully funded.
Those insurance plans could include increasing employee deductibles and co-pays, soliciting quotes for a fully funded plan over the next 30-90 days and implementing a fully insured plan after 90 days.
The contract indicates an hourly rate of $135 an hour for support services for a projected 100 hours and $100 an hour for HR policy and procedure development.
The school district is conducting a survey that started Dec. 15 to gather input from parents and students in grades 6-12, employees, and the community to guide the district’s budgetary decisions.
The survey ends at 5 p.m. Monday. Participants are encouraged to share their perspectives on which programs, services, and operational area should be prioritized, maintained, or potentially reduced.
