The staff and I recommend against such a strategy. The need for couriers has been documented in earlier memos to the Board. Note that we have reduced the number of couriers through attrition. The phone expenses are projected to be higher because all district modem costs are charged against this cost center and we are anticipating higher costs due to increase internet access. The equipment costs are higher because we need to acquire more administrative computers for the special education area.
Cuts here are, therefore, impossible.
The amount budgeted reflects the realities of the past two years. The staff recommends against cuts in this area. The recommended reduction in the clerical line will eliminate the additional FTE position recommended to provide more access to the media centers in our secondary schools and large elementary schools. In our analysis, we focused on non-instructional areas even though we had already made an effort to trim those accounts to the lowest possible level. The Board and the BAC should be aware that recent developments in the area of health and other insurances will result in some modifications to the bottom line of the budget, as will the incorporation of the adjustments included in the various memos included in last week's packet.