NORTH MANCHESTER -ÊA serious meeting for Manchester Community Schools began with a light-hearted musical performance by elementary students participating in "Circle The State With Song."

More than 20 students drawn from both elementaries performed. Larry Dockter, the group's director, said the students were a select bunch and demonstrated the musical talent found in the schools.

Following the upbeat performance, superintendent Diana Showalter introduced the proposed cost reduction plan.

The school's plan intends to cut $485,725 from the corporation budget by pruning administrative staff, teachers and classified staff. Moderate rate increases and small testing fees also were proposed.

"With $400,000, the only way you make that kind of reduction is with people - personnel," Showalter said.

Declining enrollment since 1991 and further decline projected over the next four years led the board to eliminate a total of six elementary school teachers, 1.5 special education positions and reduce the hours of two high school teachers.

Other positions will be eliminated, but teachers with seniority and appropriate certifications will "bump" into open positions within the four schools.

One administrative cut was made. Manchester Elementary School assistant principle Denny Craft was notified in February of a potential lay-off.

Craft has tenure and may be able to "bump" into a teaching position within the school corporation.

Potential changes at the junior high include making one new junior high school position less than full-time, eliminating a junior high school special education position and eliminating half of the computer applications classes. Showalter said they will teach some computer applications in the elementary schools and will use non-classified staff at the junior high to make up the rest of the students' computer education.

Changes to the high school include eliminating or reducing summer school instructional assistants, eliminating extended day contracts for science and industrial technology teachers and reducing lunch section supervisors. School administrators plan to supervise three sections of lunch.

The corporation's media coordinator job description will be rewritten and three current coordinators will be reduced to two. The corporation's communications specialist also will be eliminated.

An hourly maintenance assistant and the director of transportation truck stipend also will be eliminated.

Cuts account for $466,725 of the total cost reduction. Fee increases will account for about $19,000.

The school plans to increase transfer tuition from $1,450 per year to $2,000. The proposed increase still is thousands less than some neighboring corporations, Showalter said.

The school also plans to impose a small test fee. It costs the corporation about $5 to have each standardized test graded. That price will be passed on to parents next year.

Fees for Heartland Career Center, elementary summer music and field trips also will increase, though no specifics were available.

A proposed General Fund fiscal policy was presented by business manager Steve Shumaker, but was tabled by the board after Thom Frantz questioned the proposal's timing.

The policy intends to increase the corporations's cash balance so funds are available in case of future financial crisis.

It calls for the school to attempt to save $75,000 - $100,000 per year, thereby increasing the cash balance from $400,000 to $750,000-$775,000 over the next five years.

Schools are advised to have enough cash available to pay one month's complete expenses in case state and federal monies are not available on time or at all in the future, Shumaker said.

"What bothers me here is the timing," Frantz said. "Here we are having a cash reduction and we're trying to put more cash in the coffer."

Manchester school board members are Sally Krouse, president, Todd Speicher, Thom Frantz, Kent Terrill, Larry Miller, Carlye McLaughlin and Brad Perrot. Superintendent is Diane Showalter. [[In-content Ad]]