There’s still work to be done on the 2016-2017 budget for Durango School District 9-R, but one change will be eliminating three elementary-level teacher positions at the district’s smaller schools and beefing up staff at the two middle schools.
“The board has said a priority is a lower caseload, a smaller class size in middle school,” said Dan Snowberger, 9-R superintendent. “Any changes will be linked to the strategic plan.”
The three smaller schools that would be affected are Sunnyside, Fort Lewis Mesa and Florida Mesa elementary schools.
Snowberger and School Board President Andy Burns presented the budget to the Finance Advisory Committee on Friday, and while they did not endorse it, they were pleased to see the budget will not include deficit spending.
Snowberger has found himself serving as both superintendent and budget director over the last month after Finance Director Jason Austin resigned for a job in the private sector and new Finance Director Jennifer Macho-Siekens does not start until July 7.
The budget will be fine-tuned, and an executive summary delineating all the changes will be presented at the board’s work session June 7. The board has to approve the budget by the end of June before the start of the next fiscal year July 1.
abutler@durangoherald.com
9-R draft 2016-2017 budget (PDF)