Parkway CFO Raises Possibility of New Bond Issue for 2014

The school district's CFO said it will exhaust its current bond funding this summer and will not have any funds available for additional capital projects.

With the last bit of funds from a 2008 bond issue scheduled to be spent this summer, the Parkway School District's chief financial officer is recommending the school board began talking about placing a new bond on the ballot next fall. CFO Mark Stockwell made the remarks during a presentation to the board at their May 8 meeting. The bond serves as a source of funding for capital expenses, such as maintenance for the district’s facilities. Parkway has about $5.4 million in various projects set for this summer. After that, the bond funds will be gone. Stockwell said this means the district will no longer have money available for additional capital expense or improvements outside of emergency repairs. His preliminary 2013-14 budget sets aside…

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Rockwood Board Member Cites Deficit Concerns in Opposition to Raises

Newly elected in April, Jeff Morrell said he doesn't want to worsen the district's budget gap by "stepping on the gas."

Updated May 8: The board member behind the single "no" vote on a pay plan that will increase the average salary for Rockwood Administrators told Patch Wednesday that his opposition is based on concerns over the district's deficit. Jeffrey Morrell said he agrees, in principal, that the district's employees need to be paid a fair and competitive salary, acknowledging a find by a Rockwood committee that its administrators ranked 21 out of 22 in terms of average total compensation among St. Louis County school districts.  However, given the district's project $11 million deficit, Morrell said those raises need to be paid for with an equal amount of cuts so that they don't add to the red ink. "If we were going to go give them a raise, what …

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Cynthia C.

11:47 am on Friday, May 17, 2013

So, the teachers just got a pay increase. What? No outcry about more deficit spending now? No outcry that "the discussions weren't done in public"? If the logic is that administrators shouldn't get raises, as some believe, then logic should follow that no one should get raises in the district. However, if the logic is that teachers should get raises, then it follows that everyone deserves to have…   more ›

Rockwood Now Anticipating $11 Million Deficit for Next Fiscal Year

The board gave the informal go-ahead to a slate of capital projects that would cover what were described as the district's "most critical" needs.

After at least three years without any red ink, the Rockwood School District is moving ahead with a proposed budget plan that will produce an $11 million deficit. The plan included $4.6 million worth of items that would have been included in the $38.4 million Prop S bond issue, had it passed. District CFO Tim Rooney presented the recommendations to the board at a meeting Thursday night and said they represented the district’s most critical needs. “We had a tough task,” he said. “We were really looking at what, if it would fail, would cause the most disruption.” The move was not a formal adoption of the fiscal year 2013-14 budget, which will occur later this summer, but provides guidance to district staff so they can begin coordinating the …

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Enthusiasm Key Factor in Appointee for Rockwood School Board Vacancy

The district's school board members selected Wildwood resident Darby Jo Arakelian to fill the unexpired term for Steve Smtih, who stepped down in March.

Calling it a very tough decision, the Rockwood School Board whittled a list of eight possible candidates down to one during a public meeting to determine who will fill the term of former board member Steve Smith, who resigned in March. By a vote of 4-2, the board selected Wildwood resident Darby Jo Arakelian, who will be sworn in on May 2, said she is looking forward to her tenure on the Rockwood School District’s governing body. “To say that the board faces challenges is an understatement, but instead of just voicing my concerns, I thought it was time to offer up my services and help be part of the solution,” Arakelian said. Arakelian will stay in the position for the remainder of Smith’s term, which expires next April. She holds a master…

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Parkway School District Gives Raises Following Millions in Cuts

After cutting $8 million from the budget and eliminating 130 full-time jobs, KMOV reports that the Parkway School District gave its gave administrators and department heads raises. Watch KMOV's story here.

As previously reported by Patch, in February, the Parkway School Board voted to cut up to $9.63 million from the district's budget over the next two years. At the time, school officials blamed the depressed economy for lower revenue.  According to a report by KMOV investigative reporter Craig Cheatham, the district cut $8 million of that this year and those budget cuts eliminated 130 full-time positions. (Watch Craig Cheatham's complete report on KMOV.com here.) However, Cheatham also reports that a few months after deciding on the cuts, the district gave all of its administrators and department heads pay raises, including all 70 employees making more than $100,000 a year. Parkway school officials tell Patch that vote came at the June 13 …

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Expect Budget Cuts For Parkway Schools, Chief Warns

The next two years will see operating costs slashed due to declining revenue.

Parkway School District Superintendent Keith Marty announced Thursday that he wants to trim operating costs by approximately three to five percent over the next two years. Although no specifics were given, Marty said in an email he plans to introduce cost-cutting strategies in January for the 2012 and 2013 district budgets. Marty issued the following statement Thursday: Although Parkway continues to be in strong financial shape, our schools are not immune to the challenges of declining revenues in a tough economy. Since 2007, Parkway's operating revenues have decreased steadily and future growth is expected to be minimal. Over the same period, our schools have worked hard to keep costs down and expenses have only grown by 2.8 percent …

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Rockwood School District Cuts High School, Middle School Staff

The cuts are estimated to save the district more than $840,000 in the next year.

In an effort to close a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall, Rockwood School District is cutting several staff positions.  In December, the Rockwood School District Board of Education pinpointed $5.3 million in cuts from the fiscal year 2012 budget. Cuts to staff at the middle and high school level were approved. Middle schools were asked to cut six staffing points; each point is equal to one full-time equivalent of a teacher, which is $60,000 along with benefits. High schools were asked to cut eight staffing points. The decisions on which positions to cut were determined by each school. It was based on a variety of factors, including enrollment and school needs, Katie Reboulet, director of human resources, said in an email.  At the …

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Layoffs, Increased Fees Possible in Rockwood School District

Salary freezes, layoffs at middle and high schools and more expensive kindergarten are all options the school board is considering.

Rockwood School District announced Wednesday that the school board recently endorsed salary freezes for non-union employees, various fee increases for students and layoffs of staff at area middle school and high schools. The proposed salary freezes only would affect staff and administrators who are not covered by existing contracts. Layoffs could be seen, however, at any of the district's high schools and junior high schools, including Crestview Middle School and Marquette High School. "These are difficult economic times, and our schools are feeling the effects," Rockwood Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a district release. "The salary freeze and staffing cuts will be a hard hit for our Rockwood community." Details regarding the …

Rockwood School Board Moves Ahead with $5 Million in Budget Cuts

The discussed cuts are based on input from stakeholders and will take effect when the final 2012 budget is approved.

Rockwood School District Board of Education directors discussed $5.3 million in cuts from the 2012 budget last week in an effort to close a multimillion-dollar shortfall. The possible cuts are based on a list of 44 items developed from feedback at public input sessions, an online and telephone survey, e-mails to district staff and priorities identified by six department heads. Cuts, which will take effect with the budget's approval, include reducing administrators' bonuses and eliminating stipends for elective professional development summer workshops. Staff at the district's Center for Creative Learning will be cut, as will technology department administration. After reviewing staff ratios, some counselors will be cut, too. Changes are on…

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Rockwood School District Mulls Tax Increase in Face of Budget Shortfall

Costs could exceed revenues by approximately $3.1 million this year and a tax increase alone is unlikely to be enough to balance the shortfall.

A tax increase and a bond issue remain as options to battle the multi-million dollar budget shortfall Rockwood School District faces for the school year ending 2012. Anticipated district expenditures could exceed revenues by approximately $3.1 million in the 2010-2011 operating budget, but the shortfall could climb as high as $6.8 million. Rockwood School District administrators planned an eight-hour meeting today to prepare a proposal for school board members to consider at their Dec. 2 meeting. A tax increase may go before voters next summer—discussion at a work session among board of education directors Thursday night favored putting the referendum on the ballot in August. "I think we all better enjoy Thanksgiving because we're going to…

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