Published: July 05, 2009 12:21 am         

EPS superintendent says schools not certain to get appropriated $$

By the end of the last legislative session, it looked like the education budget was in good shape.

Enid Public School Superintendent Shawn Hime said the state appropriated the same amount of money for education as last year with a few increases.

“There were a couple of increases based on specific line items,” said Hime.

Those increases were appropriated to offset increases in retirement and health insurance costs.

With schools slated to receive the same amount of money as last year, it would seem that there is no budget problem in education.

However, that might not be the case.

“I think the problem is the uncertainty of actually receiving the money appropriated,” said Hime.

According to Hime, the money appropriated for the schools may not be the actual amount re-ceived by the schools this year.

“Over the last three months, Oklahoma’s revenue has come in 20 percent below estimate,” said Hime.

Oklahoma was expecting an 8 percent drop in revenue but if trends continue it will be much more, said Hime.

“If the state doesn’t collect what was estimated, then schools and state entities don’t receive was appropriated,” said Hime.

A total of $2.5 billion dollars were appropriated by the legislature for education this year but if the total amount cannot be collected, the cuts will be across the board for every public school.

Last year Enid Public School’s operating budget was just under $50 million. More than 60 percent of that money came from state education funding.

With almost 7,000 students and 1,000 employees, operating Enid’s school district is no inexpensive task and a state budget shortfall could be a big blow.

“If the state budget continues to be 20 percent short of estimate, that could equate to a $200,000 shortfall per month for Enid Public Schools,” said Hime.

The possibility of a funding shortfall has not hit Enid blind-sighted.

“There is a possibility of budget cuts and we are definitely pre-paring,” said Hime. “Hopefully we’ve ta-ken steps to help cushion the blow.”

In preparing for a possible funding shortage, EPS has taken measures to evaluate each job position that has come open. If it is determined that job is not necessary for school operations, the position is not filled.

EPS has also been evaluating each program the school offers to make sure it is essential and not a waste of money.

“Every program we have, we analyze,” said Hime.

Schools should be continuously evaluating programs, not just in hard times, said Hime.

EPS has had an energy management in place for a number of years. Lights are turned off each time a room is empty, computers are shut down when they are not in use, and heating and air conditioning in only used when there are children in the classroom.

“We’ve tried really hard to be very efficient and ensure that every expenditure that we’ve put forth for this year is absolutely necessary for educating students,” said Hime.

The recent conversion from a junior high school system to a middle school system is also expected to be a money-saver.

“By moving into middle schools and moving the ninth-grade to the high school, it allowed us to more efficiently utilize current staff and also saved money for needed construction for classrooms and portable buildings,” said Hime.

When the sixth grade students were in the elementary schools, junior high school music teachers were forced to travel to the ten elementary schools to teach music. Now, with the sixth-graders in the middle school, the music teachers can stay in one school.

Because Enid High School had plenty of room to take in an additional grade level, the freshman class, space was created in the middle schools for the sixth-graders. The over-crowded elementary schools have now been relieved of an entire grade-level of students.

EPS officials are continuing to look for ways to operate more efficiently and prepare for the possible, looming budget crisis. Hime feels the school can withstand a cut this year.

“Every dollar saved can go back into the classroom,” said Hime.

However, if the following year doesn’t pick up, Hime said he is concerned for the district.

The smaller schools in the area might not be able to withstand budget cuts quite as well, said Hime.

“I’m very concerned for small schools,” said Hime. “They don’t have a margin for error.”

Cimarron Public School Superintendent Steve Walker believes his school, located in Lahoma, is not so small that it can’t survive the budget problems.

“In the short term, I don’t think it will affect us,” said Walker.

Schools districts with fewer than 200 students may not be able to make budget adjustments, but Walker said there is room to make some adjustments in the Cimarron school district, as long as the budget problem is not long-term.

“I can weather the storm for awhile,” said Walker. “You’ve just got to hope the economy turns around.”