By Michael Howell
It was a lonely meeting at Lone Rock School last Thursday. The meeting was scheduled to discuss with the community the pending retirement of Superintendent Dr. Rogers Samples. Samples and some administrative staff were there. Most of the school board members were present. A couple of people representing the Three Mile Community Center were present. But conspicuously absent were any parents or members of the general public. This did not go unnoticed by those present and actually became a central topic of discussion after the presentations.
Dr. Samples, who is retiring at the end of the school year, gave an overview of the school’s funding. He said from 85% to 90% of the general fund is spent on salaries and wages. One year it went as high as 96%. That leaves little for all the rest, which includes such things as building and grounds maintenance, extracurricular activities, food services and utilities. State funds cover about 80% of the school’s operational costs and the rest is covered by levies.
“But it’s pretty difficult to pass a levy,” said Samples. He said as a result the school is facing the kind of problems that people living on fixed incomes face. The cost of living keeps going up, but the revenues don’t.
Three years ago the school district was facing a huge deficit and emptied its Reserve Fund to keep operations going. Painful cuts in maintenance and in staffing followed.
“Some people say that the schools are wasting money,” said Samples, “but it’s not true. Absolutely no money is being wasted in this school.” He said they have instituted recycling programs for all paper and cardboard to save money. Lights and computers are shut off when not in use and they have found an internet provider for half the previous cost with twice the speed.
However, the student population has been dropping, which leads to a drop in state funding as well.
But Samples was not pessimistic. He said the school board and administration need to focus on the budget, on safety issues, on the facilities and on community outreach and find the best way to move forward. He said it may involve re-thinking the roles of the superintendent and the principal. Are both needed full time? Perhaps the positions could be melded into one. It also means integrating the school and its facility with the general public.
A meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 8 at 6 p.m. in the Middle School Library to discuss the search for a new superintendent.