Tekoa school district makes budget cutbacks

Tekoa School district has eliminated one administrative position and made other cuts to deal with revenue cutbacks for the upcoming year. The district has cut back $120,000 for the upcoming year.

Tekoa Supt. Wayne Massie, who has been with the district for four years, said the budget, approximately $3 million, was expected to be finalized by the Tekoa Board in a Tuesday night meeting.

Massie said the budget plan keeps the district’s elementary program in place, and it meets one of the chief concerns by board members heard from district residents.

The superintendent noted district funding woes are expected to carry over into next year. Parts of the state funding package this year were propped up by federal stimulus funds which are not expected to be available next year.

The changes at Tekoa were outlined in the school newsletter circulated at the start of this week.

Supt. Massie will also assume the duties of elementary principal, and Becky McHargue, who has been elementary principal for seven years, will fill the second grade teaching position, one of two vacancies which opened in the elementary faculty with the retirement of Joe Heffron, a teacher for 33 years, and Jim Robinson, 36 years.

Wayne Roellich will continue to serve as high school principal.

The district has hired Tim Dater, to fill the other vacancy, fifth grade teacher. He will teach social studies for the fourth, fifth and sixth grades in addition to taking on the fifth grade assignment. Dater has taught at Orting, Cheney and Rosalia.

Another big cutback will be eliminating the extended kindergarten program. State funding covers kindergarten for halftime, and Tekoa has been paying for the extended sessions with its own funds. Massie noted the kindergarten cutback also included cost savings from eliminating the transportation costs from the afternoon bussing of the kindergarten pupils.

Another cutback was elimination of the drivers’ education program. Students in the district will now receive drivers education from a Spokane firm which will provide the service over a five-week period in June.

Massie pointed out the transfer of drivers’ ed has been undertaken by other school districts in the area as a measure to save funds. Students who need driver training will deal directly with the Spokane Driver School.

Massie said the district has made several cutbacks in several other areas of the budget, including transportation and extra-curricular activity travel.