News : Growing smaller: VS School Board discusses current, future staffing changes

By Vinton Today · April 10, 2013, 11:06 am

The Vinton-Shellsburg School board spent part of Monday’s meeting discussing the difficult topic of reducing staff as the district’s enrollment continues to decrease.

“If we have fewer kids we have to have fewer teachers,” said Superintendent Mary Jo Hainstock. The district’s enrollment has declined by 120 between 2010-11 and 2013-14.

The school board approved a list of staffing changes for the 2013-14 school year, while also discussing potential changes for 2014 and beyond.

Below is the list of anticipated changes, as Hainstock presented it to the board:

Elementary sections will be similar to this year’s, with the exception that we will reduce a first grade and second grade section at Tilford while adding a third grade section. We are reducing a first grade section at Tilford while adding a second grade section.

We will reduce two special education teacher positions, one at the middle school and one at Shellsburg. Both will be done through attrition via the early retirement program.
We will make adjustments in our special education associates based on student enrollment.

We will adjust how we serve students in music including general music, choir and band. We anticipate we may reduce one position and it will be done through attrition via the early retirement program. At this time we anticipate students will begin band during the summer between fifth and sixth grade or at the beginning of their 6th grade year instead of during the last trimester of 5th grade.

We will finalize the staffing assignments after a discussion with the department and administrative team.

We will reduce the number of sections offered for French based on enrollment numbers. There is a potential reduction in force.

We will adjust high school teachers’ assignments. Some may include providing technology support if we move forward with the 1:1 initiative. Other options include providing a math or language arts lab for struggling students, providing additional support at the alternative high school, etc. We are currently in the process of developing the final schedule prior to student registration.

If there are additional retirements or resignations, we will consider if we can fill the position internally instead of hiring.

A few parents at the meeting expressed concerns about the impact of cutting the music department, and the impact of the cuts on excellence as well as student participation.

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ss April 10, 2013, 1:01 pm That\'s strange, so why again did we need a new high school?

CY April 10, 2013, 2:26 pm Any insight as to the reasons for declining enrollment? Is this the case in neighboring communities\' school systems, too? An article on this situation (trend?) would be interesting, with school board and community association input.

AC April 10, 2013, 3:41 pm As a student I would like to say that cutting down the fine arts is a bad idea. Anyone who has been following our fine arts this year can testify that we have some of the greatest groups, whether band or choir, in the state. It greatly angers me that everyone but our administration can realize what great heights we have reached and the great status it gives our school. There are too many achievements we have made to start cutting these groups. The fine arts are no different then the athletics, so why don\'t we look at cutting those groups down before we start cutting the programs that are going to great heights too? I think these things need to be thought over once again. Why do we need to change these things when they are so great?

SA April 10, 2013, 3:55 pm So it sounds like they are going to get rid of the music teacher at Shellsburg and try to \'force\' some teachers into early retirement?! Yet they just HAD to build that new high school. Great thinking...

JZ April 10, 2013, 4:28 pm Because time does not stand still. Our buildings were aging, no matter how many students they held. Our numbers will go up and down, but our infrastructure will from time to time need refreshing no matter what.

TH April 10, 2013, 6:13 pm As the parent of a high school and elementary student, making cuts to anything that will affect children is hard to take. I understand that enrollment is decreasing in our district. However, it seems to me that continual cuts to the fine arts is not the way to go. It is hard to see some extra-curricular activities with 3 or 4 coaches, yet the district can cut a music teacher. Music education is life long and will stay with my children long after they have stopped playing sports. Please don\'t take my comment as someone who is against athletics, as this is not the case. I support all functions where a child can benefit. I would simply like the district to seek alternative methods of budget control. Thank you.

JH April 10, 2013, 7:12 pm First, this situation has no connection whatsoever with building the new high school six years ago. The building has nothing to do with lowered enrollment and nothing to do with any financial struggles the district is having.

Second, no one is being \"forced\" into early retirement. That\'s a very disappointing example of misinformation.

Those points being said, any decision to cut back on music and other fine arts is incredibly short-sighted and poorly thought out. We spend ridiculous amounts of money on athletics in the this district (yes, I actually said that), and any cuts that are made should be across the board, not just in one area. And making cuts to the elementary music program just shows how out of touch some people are.

BS April 11, 2013, 12:10 am Sad to see these cutbacks, but understand the present state of the economy.

What makes it more sad is knowing that the \"rock star\" CEO\'s of the Fortune 500 companies are pulling down millions while the rest of us are trying to make ends meet and educate our children.

Capitalism run amok.

AV April 11, 2013, 7:49 am Declining enrollment is likely a product of the poor economy in the early 2000s. Kindergarten classes beginning this year would have been born in 2007, and I recently read in US News and World Report that the US birth rate declined noticeably in 2008. Combine that with families unwilling or unable to relocate due to the economy and the declining enrollment is largely explained.

KK April 11, 2013, 11:51 am As a current student in the choir program I have a couple of things to say. I understand that the budget is short, and that things need to be cut. But the fact is that our choir program can not afford the cuts that are apparently being made. When our new director comes in next year he is going to be spending half the day with the high school, and the other half at the middle school. That will give students an hour and a half to try and get lessons in to better themselves vocally. Even though I\'m going to be graduating this year, I feel strongly about this subject. The choir and band department have grown tremendously in the past few years, and now they are going to get cut.. That will not help the program to continue growing. As a student I feel that we should try and find another way to fix budget, without cutting the fine arts budget.

DL April 11, 2013, 12:31 pm Hearing about cuts is not only a struggle to the parents of children, or the teachers, but also the students. Hearing possible cuts for teachers in many different areas upsets me. The fine arts department is doing a great job and we have been improving every year. If we want to keep this improvement wouldn\'t you think we should have a teacher who can be here when we need them to have lessons. What upsets me most is that whenever a cut is being made it\'s always to the fine arts department...

KS April 11, 2013, 1:02 pm I agree with Alyssa Cantrell cutting the fine arts program is a horrible idea

MB April 11, 2013, 2:40 pm Very unfortunate. I have seen the fine arts at VSHS blossom in the last several years. The school is making waves in the fine arts arena. When you talk to others you here the school being recognized for it fine arts not it\'s football, nothing against sports believe me, but why are the fine arts programs the first to get cut when there has been so much good coming from it. More booster power? i don\'t know please explain it feels like it\'s not just a dollars and cents issue.

JF April 11, 2013, 4:22 pm I think the reason for the reduction in student numbers is because other schools have better chances for scholarships to the major universities. Parents now days do not have the money to send their children to college, so they are having their children go to districts like Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, and Waterloo. If I had a child in high school and I was in the position to allow my children to get scholarships I would. I just think Vinton needs to offer more for the students and families that can promote a better education while offering those in activities to be as strong as those in the districts above. One thing I see is that the district has loosened their reign because when I went to this school district we had stiffer rules and policies and that led to less Gothic and and thug like students who do not care. I read off all the new technology that you plan on incorporating, but they need to to use books because they will abuse the technology and plus in previous articles there has been mentions of cheating and other issues with cell phone and other devices. Most families have a computer at home and there is nothing wrong to going to the library like I had to do. Save the money and use it for programs.

NG April 11, 2013, 6:20 pm Isn\'t the success of students the whole point of a school? How are we as students supposed to thrive and achieve in life if we are unable to do things because the school decided it wasn\'t necessary. I am a senior here at VS and for the first time in my school career, I am disappointed when I walk through the halls everyday. I am disappointed because the school has gotten to the point where they don\'t feel it is necessary for the students opinions to matter. I am going to Drake University in the fall to major in(you guessed it)music education. And even though this is my last year here, I do not want to leave this school and hear about the downfall of the music department just because of some ridiculous and unnecessary cuts the school decided were necessary. These have been some of the most amazing years here in the music department. I have played with some of the most amazing and talented kids in the state. Our jazz band has been to the Iowa Jazz Championships three out of the four years in my high school career. Our chamber choir is known as one of the top choir programs in the entire Midwest. Our drama and speech programs are also known throughout the state as being programs that excel in what they do. And how do we achieve such high statuses in these groups? Because us students work our hardest to make sure that we can achieve the highest goals possible. I am so saddened with this issue because we have worked so hard for these programs and then to have them cut is just unbearable. We have put to much time and effort into this for it to just be taken away. So my word to administration, take thought of what the students want. We are here to learn and achieve. Not to hear about all this constant bickering about how things should be cut in the programs.

SH April 11, 2013, 6:29 pm Being in the choir department, as well as being in the smaller choir, we have all grown to be a better group of singers. But not just that, we have grown together through out as better people. Choir and band helps students become how they are. It upsets me greatly because I feel that without having performing arts in the high school,or at least having them cut down,that drop out rates will increase. Students look forward to going to band and choir each morning, its where they can be themselves. Both choirs and band have made a great deal of improvement in the last few years. It will be a great disappointment in not just the students, but in the parents of the district and the teachers as well.

JW April 12, 2013, 10:02 am I\'m responding for two reasons. First to the district cuts and the criticism for building a new high school; second to reducing a French position at the high school.

Did anyone read the story on the front page of the Cedar Rapids Gazette yesterday? CR is facing 4.43 MILLION DOLLARS in cuts. Their reasons mirror Vinton-Shellsburg\'s: declining enrollment (which is state wide with a very few district exceptions) and low state-funding levels.

We built a new school and were able to close three older buildings: West, East and Lincoln. Change is necessary (For instance, were those buildings wired for today\'s technology?) and also economically we looked forward.

Dear to my heart has been our French program. I do not want to see French eliminated or reduced in our class offerings. There are any number of former students who have continued in the study of French, who have become French instructors (There were 4 in my graduating class of 77 students!) and who have used French in their professions and travel experiences. It has been a viable program since the 1950s when Madame Masters started this very successful elective. I urge you, if you feel as I do, to contact our school board members and administrators. One of my suggestions is to reinstate the middle school exploratory programs which were dropped several years ago. Many students enjoyed and were successful in these classes. They gave students a \"taste of the language\" and culture and helped them choose a foreign language that they had experienced. With exposure we can continue to have two healthy foreign language programs in our district: French and Spanish. Merci! Gracias!

KT April 12, 2013, 4:43 pm In response to the comment on French. I believe that last year so many 8th grade kids signed up for French, that some of those students had to wait a year or switch to Spanish.