n
Hi hland Pk PTA an
HIGHLAND PARK - The
PTA Council' ugry with the
Highland Park Board of
Education and· witboldiDg
support of the proposed mil
lage renewal set for a 'YOte
Jan. 27, 1987.
If, if give them this
renewal we want to see the
top dministrato take a cut
and want to see the hour
(of cl cut in Nov.) res-
tored at the Middle Schoo "
declared Gloria Davis, Presi
dent of the PTA Council.
On the ballot Jan. 1:7 is a re
quest to renew 5.9 mills, e
cordiDg to Public Information
Officer Greg Byndrium. He
said $2.6 milli'ln in revee
for the be1eagured district .
at t •
The property tax itself
generates $1,029,000 and that
eams a ate ·match- of $1.6
million which would be lost if
the millage is defeated,
8yndrium said.
The PTA presented a letter
to the Board of Education at
their Dec. 15 meeting. The let
ter listed seven questions the
PTA want answered.
In the letter, the PTA
Council ed whether the mil-
lage will op the proposed
layoff of 17 building ad
ministr tors and teachers
well reduce class size.
According to Byndrium the
millage is needed to continue
chool operations t the cur
rent level,
A 1 of 321 tudent this
icptcmbcr meant a I of $1
million in tate id Byndrium
id. The Highland Park K-12
and dult education enroll
ment was 6365 in eptember
of 1986 and fell to 6044 in
·1
e couldn't balance the
budget without the $1 million,"
Byndrium . d. e had no
choice but to djust expendi
tures."
Th e djustments in-
cluded laying off 42 employees
including 24 te cber in
o mber; the shortening of
the cl day for middle
school students by one hour;
d the pink slipping of 17
building dministrators the
Dec. 8 Board meeting
The results have been
de Gloria DI· said.
"Everything falls directly OIl
the kids," Davis said of the
cuts.
Overcrowded ooms, a
1 0( talented )1OUDg
te chen, a shuftling of person
nel puttias less qualified
teachers into classes they are
ot prepared for, are all some
of the effects of recent board
actio Da' said.
Teachers who have been
teaching ·swim and gym are
no in science and math,"
Davis said, explaining the ef
fect of lay-oft's on classroom
assipments for the remaining
teachers.
"The Board has pitted prin
cipal against principal, " the
PTA president said of the
board action pink-slipping all
principals. She explained that
by contract the principals can
bump those with less seniority.
"Why didn't the board just
issue lay-off notices to those
on the bottom?"
Byndrium said that the
board had to take the action
the way it did to keep its op
tions open. By contract, all ad
ministrators must be notified
prior to Dec. 31 of impending
lay-offs. Not knowing what its
exact revenues would be, the
board had no choice but to
notify all, Byndrium said.
Final administrative cuts will
become effective in June, 1988.
One of the biggest irritants
to the parents, is the question
of cuts at the dministrative
level, Davis said.
"lolothing (is cut) on the
top, the heavy top," said Davis..
That is a common "misper
ception", according to
Byndrium. As recently as four
years ago the district had 680
full time K-12 employees, he
said. After the lay-oft's in Nov.
of the 42 employees, the dis
trict is down to 468
employees. During that same
four-year period, the district
cut administrative staff by 20
to 2S percent, he said
"It' a common assumption
that administrative ranks are
unscathed, that' no the case,"
Byndrium said.
Many of the top slots have
been eliminated though attri
tion or by cutting out the job,
he said. One person now does
the job that two did just four
years ago, an example, he
said. The Director of Elemen
tary Education and Secondary
Education are no one posi
tion.
e're pretty lean at this
point, especially compared to
previous years," Byndrium ob
served
In their letter to the Board,
the PTA questioned paying
two superintendants. Dr.
Thom Uoyd who was
removed from the post of Su
perintendent in January by the
board, CODtinues to receive su
perintendent level of pay.
Mr.Eldon Martin, who was
hired to rep ce Uoyd is also
paid the Superintentent
level
Davis also points out that
there is a Deputy Superinten
. dent, John Stindt
The PrA Council wants
those at the top to bite the bul
let during the budget crunch.
"Until we are out of this
deficit situation, would central
staff administrators consider
taking a 10 percent or 20 per
cent pay cuts?" the Council
asked.
According to Davis, the
dov
r
feu
I
answer is no.
The final issue raised by
the PTA Council is the lack of
printed - "in black and
white" - budget for the cur
rent operating year, 1987 .. 88.
Byndrium said he also had
not seen a budget. He said the
Board did dop a resolution
at its Dec. 15 meeting estab
lishing all' zmount of $23.5 mil
lion as anticipated revenues
for the school year.
Davis said the PTA Coun
cil is urging parents to attend
the 5 p.m. Dec. 22 special ses
sion of the Highland Park
School Board.
According to Byndrium the
meeting will be a closed ses
sion for the board to consider
legal m tters with its attorney,
the Detroit firm of Kirk,
McCargo, and Arbulu.
"That's where a lot of the
money goes," said Davis, "to
lawyers faxing up the wrong ac
tions they (the board) took in
th first place --- just like ill
sup rintendent.
d your lette ,comm n
opiDio t to:
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