Griswold — It asked for 6.45 percent more in the coming year, but the school board may have to make due with half of that.

Finance officials reduced the Board of Education's $25 million budget request by $754,000 earlier this week when they met to make final adjustments to the proposed 2008-09 spending plan. Now, the proposed school budget is $24.25 million.

While a reduction in the request was anticipated, Superintendent of Schools Elizabeth Osga said with the cut, the school district will not remain level with the current year spending.

On Tuesday, Osga told finance officials that the school board understands it is a tough year with taxpayers struggling with increasing fuel and food costs, but that the school district is dealing with the same problems.

Osga said a 3.45 percent increase may negatively affect programs and personnel, defer purchasing instructional materials, and postpone several capital improvement projects.

She said some anticipated teacher retirements may help, as the district may be able to hire new teachers at a lower salary, but staffing is driven by enrollment projections. Next year, the district is expecting larger fourth-grade and kindergarten classes. Finance board members said they were sensitive to this and gave the district another $55,000 to hire a fourth-grade teacher, reducing the original cut from $809,000 to $754,000. Whether that money will be applied to hiring the teacher is up to the school board's discretion.

The school's original budget proposal included money for educational materials for advanced placement courses and to complete the high school biology curriculum overhaul.

With the high school preparing to go through the accreditation process, the district is considering making two of the school's secretaries full-time — they are now part-time — and extending hours for the career coordinator.

The fate of those initiatives is unknown.

Regarding the capital improvements, Osga said she will review the current budget to see if there will be any expected unspent money. If so, the tennis courts will be resurfaced and the bleacher seats at the high school will be replaced.

Also Tuesday, Osga gave finance board members a revised copy of the school's budget to accurately show the amount designated for her salary and benefits, and dues and fees paid to professional organizations of which she is a member. School officials also gave finance board members a list of Osga's credentials to support the money spent.

Some residents recently have been critical of the superintendent's salary, saying that she received a roughly $20,000 pay increase since the 2006-07 fiscal year.

Osga said this is untrue. The actual increase in her salary between the 2006-07 years and the current year was $6,950, from $128,690 to $135,640. The entire line item including her salary and other associated expenses increased from $148,173 to $157,774.

The state average in the current fiscal year for a superintendent's salary is $158,477 and ranges from $106,075 to $262,294, according to information submitted to the Board of Finance.

Osga and school board Vice Chairman Stuart Norman Jr. explained after the meeting that the school board evaluates the superintendent in the late summer or early fall. For this reason, any wage increase is not reflected in the superintendent's line item in a proposed budget because it has not been negotiated yet. That figure is reflected in a list of actual expenditures at the end of the fiscal year.

m.bard@theday.com

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