During their Feb. 24 meeting the Great Falls Public School board voted unanimously to approve the reduction in force process should it become necessary.

The board budget committee meets in March to develop budget recommendations and the board may have to cut programs, non-essential activities and/or staff.

The board has to declare the process ahead of the budget, should a reduction in force be necessary, according to district officials.

GFPS board adopts annual reduction in force policy in preparation for budget process [2022]

A reduction in force is a layoff of tenured, non-probationary employees, separate from retirement, resignation, non-renewal, discharge, dismissal or termination according to the document adopted by the board.

A reduction in force may be necessary for the upcoming school year due to revenue reductions, budget shortfalls, “insufficient budget growth to match increasing costs,” statutory mandates, changes in student population to include declining enrollment, realignment of operations, budget caps and/or changes in the education program, according to district officials.

Through February and March, under the adopted RIF process, the district will develop the budget any any cuts necessary, seniority lists are finalized, administrators determine if a RIF is necessary and, if so, who it will affect, the board acts on non-renewed staff in temporary positions and receives retirements, resignations and leave requests.

In April and May, the district sends letters to employees who have been identified as potentially part of the RIF, contracts delivered to those not identified in the RIF, a board hearing for those affected by RIF wishing to be heard, official board action if needed to non-renew employees under the RIF and reasonable assurance letters sent to classified staff returning for the school year.

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June 1 is the statutory deadline to notify non-tenured and tenured teachers of non-renewal, termination or layoff, or be considered rehired for the next school year, according to GFPS.

To determine employees for a RIF, the district will use the procedures outlines in each collective bargaining agreement; if no collective bargaining agreement exists, then PK-6, 7-8 and 9-12 will be considered separate units so that layoff procedures for one unit won’t apply to the others; each position classification on the non-union classified personnel list is a unit and RIF rules will be applied to each unit separately; and the board shall consider performance evaluations, staff needs and other reasons deemed relevant by the board to determine the order of dismissal, according to the adopted criteria.

The district will also consider accreditation standards in the RIF process.

In October, the board set their budget timeline for this year.

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The budget is driven in large part by student enrollment.

There are two student enrollment counts annually, the first is the first Monday in October and the second is the first Monday in February.

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The two counts are averaged to determine the student count, which determines the budget, according to GFPS.

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Current state law allows for a three-year average for enrollment, when enrollment is declining, and the ability to ask voters for additional funding up to the state maximum budget, or 100 percent, or to maintain the previous year’s budget, according to GFPS.

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The current school funding formula is that the state funds 80 percent of the total budget and local jurisdictions are left to fund the remaining 20 percent through levies, but those require voter approval.

GFPS will use the following budget development schedule, which is similar to that of recent years:

• December-February: inform the public of budget issues including legislative updates through email lists, Facebook, district website and press releases. District will also analyze the impact of legislative action related to school funding. Background information is available with School Budgeting 101 and District Budget Information 2024-2025
• March 6 at 5:30 p.m.: community town hall to review revenue and expense projections, asked/answered responses and community input
• March 18 at 3:30 p.m.: board budget committee meeting
• March 24 at 5:30 p.m.: regular board meeting to review the budget committee’s recommendation and board action if the board decides to pursue any levies

During the Feb. 24 meeting, Bill Bronson, school board member said that he attended the consensus building meetings the district organized to gather ideas going into the next budget, which has a projected shortfall of about $2.5 million.

He said March is “really where the rubber hits the road,” in terms of budgeting and decisions.

Bronson said they’re hoping to have more information from the Legislature by then on school funding.

GFPS sets May election details, three seats open

Kim Skornogoski, school board member, also participated in the consensus process and said a common theme was that participants hoped the school board would listen.

She said the consensus group included community members who gave three full days to the meetings bringing ideas for cuts, analyzing and discussing those options.

Skornogoski said that she heard feedback that participants appreciated having the opportunity to learn and talk about the decisions that are ahead of the district.

A lot of details are still up in the air between the federal budget and Legislature, she said, so “we don’t have all the puzzle pieces quite yet” of what the budget will look like, but the current state public school funding formula isn’t working.

Filing for the GFPS board is open. There are three seats currently open for the May election and so far, three people have filed, incumbents Gordon Johnson and Paige Turoski, as well as Craig Duff.

If only three people file, the district has the option to cancel the election and declare those three winners by acclamation.