THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 11, 1995 TAG: 9503110297
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
Superintendent Richard D. Trumble proposes cutting $850,000 from next school year's operating budget by getting more out of his administrative staff.
At least 22 officials who now work outside the classroom probably will find themselves reassigned to fill teaching vacancies or other jobs with new duties.
The savings would result from decisions to freeze hiring for jobs not considered critical and to rely on people within the organization to pick up the slack.
Trumble's plan, outlined in a report obtained by the newspaper this week, follows criticism from some city leaders and others who urged the administration to streamline its operations before asking for extra tax dollars.
``I think it's pretty clear that our (financial) situation won't improve very much any time soon,'' Trumble said. ``I think this is an attempt to address that reality.''
The report targets next school year, but Trumble said some of the recommendations - such as reassigning administrators to the classroom - probably would be put in place sooner.
Trumble announced a hiring freeze this week. The report recommended 22.5 positions for reassignment or elimination through attrition. Trumble came up with a total of 30 in his proposed 1995-1996 spending plan for day-to-day operations.
He described the jobs Wednesday as ``managers, facilitators and coordinators of some sort.'' The School Board will vote on his proposed budget next Thursday.
Trumble said the report, prepared by an internal administrative restructuring committee, is not a plan to chop costs overnight, but a blueprint for future downsizing.
The report does not call for layoffs. Rather, some positions will be eliminated by attrition, and other job openings will be filled internally.
Trumble also wants to give teachers and principals the opportunity to work more closely with those who advise and support them.
For example, instructional specialists in subjects like math and reading increasingly would be based in schools rather than in the school system's headquarters. They would still share their expertise districtwide on a part-time basis.
Barbara Mann, a parent activist, said she hoped citywide coordination wouldn't fall through the cracks. Still, she said, ``it would be helpful for some administrators to see what teachers face on a day-to-day basis.''
The Portsmouth school system is struggling to balance its financial realities with its needs. Trumble's proposed operating budget - less than 1 percent more than the current year's - is an austerity plan.
Enrollment is declining, but the number of students in costly special-education programs has grown. Maintenance needs totaling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars will continue to go unmet. And few anticipate more money from the city.
In 1990-91, the board's operating budget was 32.4 percent of the city's general fund. This school year, the figure is nearly 29 percent, district records show.
The committee tried to better define what administrators are accountable for and simplify the chain of command. Its proposed reorganization of the district's top rung consolidates several jobs.
The reorganization still could lead to cost increases if bottom-rung employees or low-level administrators are promoted to some of the new, higher-paying supervisory jobs. The district could wind up spending more on pay raises.
Many of the changes can be made without board approval, but the board typically votes on the granting of jobs that are advertised.
The superintendent ``has said he's doing this in order to make the strategic plan more visible and active,'' board Chairman J. Thomas Benn III said. ``The School Board supports that.''
The committee that issued the report was formed last year. Its members are James Roberts, who heads business affairs; Wilbert Hawkins, in charge of personnel; Woodrow Wilson High School Principal Lindell Wallace; and Sheila Hill, principal of Churchland Elementary. The group worked in private, but it sought input from principals and other staffers.
Hunt-Mapp Middle School Principal Michael Spencer - president of the district's principals association and PTA Council - said the effort was valuable.
``I think the main idea is to look at each position and determine whether it's essential to our mission, which is teaching children,'' Spencer said.
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH SCHOOL BOARD BUDGET by CNB