Wrangell Sentinel -

A Wrangell Public Schools budget presented at the Jan. 20 school board meeting and distributed to the borough assembly shows a $219,461 shortfall.

Business manager Pam Roope characterized the drafts as very preliminary, and meetings to refine the numbers are ongoing. The figures have been presented before the school board, but only as a discussion item, and not an action item requiring a vote. Since the budgeting process is only now just beginning for the 2015 fiscal year, potential cuts to programs or other things would likely take place in the future.

The figures show an increase in the amount of money allotted for the position of superintendent, from $57,354 to $110,000. That amount is the high range of a salary the board expects to pay for the position. The low range is $95,000.

The increase reflects recent board action to separate next year the elementary school principal and superintendent positions, combined for the first time this year as a cost-saving measure. The separation will also likely result in a decrease of principal salaries by about $8,595, according to budget figures.

Teacher salaries are expected to decrease by $243,088 through the process of attrition. Four teachers will retire at the end of this year, and school board member Rinda Howell told assembly and board members the district was considering hiring only half that number to replace them.

Enrollment is expected to remain the same or increase slightly, said Superintendent Rich Rhodes.

“We got a small group of 14 students graduating this year, we’ve got about 18 (new students) coming in.” he said.

In two years time, officials expect an incoming class of as many as 30 current four-year-olds to enroll. In the mean time, district officials are considering combining kindergarten and first grade classes as a cost-saving measure.

Another question mark surrounding the financial future of the schools is an $848,488 line item from the timber receipts portion of the secure rural schools funds. Officials have budgeted the same amount for next year, though federal legislators have eliminated the permanent provisions of the federal law generating that revenue, and the program currently exists as a one-year extension engineered by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski using funds from the sale of a privatized helium reserve.

School officials have maintained a fund of about $3.5 million in city coffers as potential insulation against the sudden or unexpected end of the Secure Rural schools funding, city administrator Jeff Jabusch told board members and assembly members at Tuesday night’s informal work session.

“That could potentially last three or four years,” he said.

The board also discussed potential facilities improvements at the Evergreen Elementary School parking lots with help from the Wrangell Cooperative Association, and re-painting of the side of the elementary school.

School facilities director Fred Angerman told the board the painting was long overdue.

“It needs to be done this summer,” he said. “It should have been done last summer.”

Board and assembly members also considered possibly using volunteers to accomplish the painting, though that may cause issues with the school system’s insurance, given that at least some portion of the work would have to be done with ladders.

Fire alarms at the high school and pool could also present another high-cost item, though improvements in those could be delayed for at least a year, Angerman said.

He took pains to stress that the system is functioning properly, and no students are at risk.

“It’s simply reaching the end of its usable years,” he said.

The board also discussed new accountability standards recently adopted by the State of Alaska (See page 6)