The Vail School District is working to adjust to its new normal — one in which half of the funds for its charter schools are gone.
At Mesquite and Acacia elementary schools, funds have been used to offer free full-day kindergarten. But starting next year, students will spend half of their day with a certified teacher and the other half with an uncertified staff member.
The certified teacher will focus on core academics like reading and math, while the uncertified staff member will focus on other instructional areas like social studies, art and physical education, all while reinforcing what was taught during the first half of the day.
It’s a temporary solution that allows the district to honor parents who signed up for a full-day experience, said Vail Superintendent Calvin Baker.
But the gesture can likely only be extended for one year as the state ultimately plans to eliminate all funding for district-sponsored charter schools by the 2016-2017 school year.
Together the two campuses are expecting to serve at least 225 kindergartners next year.
“Part of the reason we are doing this is because the Legislature sprung this on us so late in the school year,” Baker said. “Parents were already planning for full day, so we’re doing this in part not to pull the rug from underneath parents.”
It was not clear how much savings would be generated under this plan.
Mesquite’s low-cost Chinese immersion program — one that was highly sought after by parents and supported by charter dollars — will continue for the upcoming school year but then, too, will likely cease.
Parents were notified of changes this week, but other cuts will have to take place to make up for what is estimated to be a $1.1 million loss.
The district’s two other charter schools — Vail Academy and High School and Civano Community School K-8 — will also have to make adjustments that have yet to be determined for the upcoming school year.
Baker voiced disappointment in the state’s decision to pull money away from successful A-rated schools with waiting lists — the type of campuses he expects to be rewarded, not punished.
On top of the reduction, the state moved last year to prohibit district-run charters and to dissolve those created after June 30, 2013. That move impacted three other Vail campuses at a cost of $1.9 million.
Factor in cuts to district additional assistance funding — formerly known as capital dollars — and rising health-care costs, and Vail, like many school districts across the state, will be forced to make challenging decisions should the cuts continue.
“We’re just on an unsustainable course right now and we’ve had lots of discussion about how do we do school with less adults?” Baker said. “That’s the fundamental question given that 85 to 86 percent of our budget is people.”
While Baker does not anticipate any teacher layoffs, the same commitment has not been made for other noncertified employees.
“We have to reduce positions,” Baker said. “Looking into the future, if we continue on the path of little or no support from the state and we have to absorb increased costs, then something has to give.”
