Amanda McElfresh

amcelfresh@theadvertiser.com

Lafayette Parish School Board members said Tuesday they want time to work through possible funding cuts and perhaps come up with alternate ideas.

Board members gave no indication at a Tuesday workshop whether they would be willing to use nearly $11 million of their financial reserves and about $6.5 million of a 2002 sales tax fund to help offset more than $18 million in deficits.

If the board were to agree to use those dollars, the district would still possibly have to reduce some teaching slots, although officials have previously said those reductions would likely come through attrition. The system has also proposed reducing its per-pupil amount by 25 percent per student, meaning less money for instructional and classroom materials.

But Chief Financial Officer Billy Guidry warned that the cuts could be much more drastic if the board does not use its reserves, and uses a smaller portion of the tax fund. Some of the possible reductions include eliminating 5.5 assistant principal positions, 1.5 counselor positions and teaming teacher slots at five middle schools.

The district could also increase student/teacher ratios for special education and regular education, eliminate all school resource and safety officers, eliminate 37 instructional strategists, cut eight positions at N.P. Moss Preparatory School and cancel its contract with AMI Kids, a program that works with troubled youth.

Guidry said the district has been making cuts since 2010, but higher retirement costs, reduced state funding and costly state mandates have created this year's deficit. The district also stands to lose about $12 million because of the opening of three new charter schools in the parish this year.

"Each of those fiscal years, we've been making cuts, and we've been fortunate for the most part, whereby we were able to limit a lot of it to the administrative level," Guidry said. "We're at a point now where we're in the fifth year of these types of cuts, and this year, before we started considering cuts, that shortfall...was in excess of $18 million. That's the largest we've seen since 2010."

In a Monday letter to board members, Superintendent Pat Cooper urged them to use the reserve fund, which totals nearly $70 million. Historically, the board has been hesitant to use those dollars.

"The cuts that we are facing will drastically harm our public education system," Cooper wrote. "Making these cuts will remove our basic ability to operate as a system.... And it is not expected to stop... with continuing rises in health care costs, retirement benefits payments and no assurances of an annual 2.75% increase."

For now, board members plan to spend the next week reviewing the information and gathering more data. Board member Mark Babineaux requested more details on contracted services under Cooper's office, as well as positions that are funded but unfilled. Board member Tommy Angelle said he would like a list of personnel such as social workers, instructional strategists and nurses that have been added in the past two years, as well as the costs associated with those positions.

"I'm really interested to try and find out the salaries and number of employees that we have that aren't teaching," Angelle said.

The board is expected to meet again on May 27 to discuss the possible cuts and other options.

"I would like to have a week to digest what we have here, get other information and come back with things we want to discuss putting on the table," board member Greg Awbrey said. "There are some things that we're willing to let go of, but maybe others that we aren't. I think that's for the next meeting, if we came back with our ideas, it would give the staff and departments a chance to see where we are."