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School for Deaf and Blind takes drastic measures | Spartanburg, South Carolina | GoUpstate.com | Spartanburg Herald-Journal
After taking a $2.1 million hit to its operating budget, the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind is moving forward with, admittedly, "some pretty extreme measures," including a mandatory five-day staff furlough and closing its local adult education program and an outreach center in Rock Hill.
Interim President Carol Mabry said the approved actions are simply what's necessary to keep the school's core programs afloat.
The Spartanburg-based school that serves vision- and hearing-impaired students around the state received a 10.8 percent, or $1.7 million, budget cut from the state last month. That followed a $400,000 cut in the spring.
The school's new $13.7 million budget is permanent, meaning the money won't be reinstated.
Mabry said the severe cut was a surprise, largely because she expected the school to be treated as a K-12 program instead of a separate state institution. While state Department of Education employees must take five unpaid days off as part of budget cuts, the furlough does not apply to teachers or school district workers.
"We made the assumption that everyone recognized SCSDB as a K-12 school, and that was a wrong assumption on our part. We will do a better job of communicating that," Mabry said. "We are a K-12 school, and not only do we provide education and school programs on our campus, we deliver education and school-based services throughout South Carolina to many children who are deaf or blind."
To avoid future budget cuts, Mabry said the school is communicating with state legislators and community leaders that the school's mission is the same as any other K-12 school in the state. About 300 students are served at the SCSDB main campus, with another 900 served though outreach centers and in 55 of the state's 85 school districts.
State Rep. Mike Forrester, who is newly elected to the House, agreed that SCSDB should be categorized as any other K-12 school. He, however, expects the funding situation to get worse before it gets better. December might bring a 2 percent across-the-board cut, Forrester said.
"It's going to be a tough time," Forrester said. "There will be some tough decisions to make."
Extreme measures
The mandatory furlough and program cuts are a second, more severe phase, deemed necessary after lesser money-saving actions weren't enough. The first phase, which is still in effect, includes a freeze on nonessential hiring and travel, including field trips. The school is only purchasing basic supplies, and substitute teacher pay scales were modified.
Mabry said all cost-saving measures were approved collectively by key administrators and the school's board.
The five-day furlough will be taken during winter break, when students and staff are not on campus, to avoid a loss of instruction time. This action alone will save the school an estimated $250,000. Payroll deductions will be staggered over five pay periods to lessen the financial impact on staff.
Closing the Rock Hill outreach center, one of six statewide aimed at early intervention and interpretive services, will save $35,000 in lease costs and overhead. The center's four staff members will be transferred to a branch in Columbia, where they will continue to serve students in the Rock Hill area.
Reducing contracted services, such as custodial and grounds, will save about $85,000. Further savings will come from a halt on technology spending and modified security schedules on weekends.
Closing the adult education program, which is housed on the main SCSDB campus in Spartanburg, will save about $20,000. While the program will close at the end of December, as will the Rock Hill outreach center, students will be able to complete their current courses, which go through May.
The adult education program offers post-secondary students specialized career training. In addition to classroom instruction, the adult students are paid to fulfill contracts with local businesses as a means of preparing them for the working world. Among other jobs, students fill and seal teacher packets for SmileMakers and new hire packets for Denny's.
SCSDB high school students also have the opportunity to participate in the job training and still will be able to work after the program closes.
"Now, it may mean that we have to cut back on the contracts that we signed," said Sara Kollock, director of career and technology education at SCSDB.
Kollock said that while the adult program usually accepts about 10 students, only four are currently enrolled. Two students are in the first year of the two-year program.
"We didn't push recruiting because we heard about some budget cuts, and we didn't want to make any promises we couldn't keep," Kollock said. "We're doing our best to push two years into one."
While Kollock said she believes the closure will limit students' opportunities, at least locally, she said most area colleges and adult education programs do have disability counselors on hand.
"I know it was a hard decision," Kollock said. "Of course, we have to do what we have to do. Our hope is we won't have to do any additional cuts and lose any more programs."
Mabry said that while leaders are doing their best to protect the school's core mission - K-12 education and the residential programs - they're still looking for ways to save. Classroom and residential positions are being fiercely protected above other things, and staff members are taking on additional duties, including being reassigned to fill any "critical" vacant positions.
"We're not finished yet," she said. "It's unfortunate that we spend such an inordinate amount of time reacting to these budget issues daily when we would really like to be focused on innovative programming and continuous improvements."
Funding alternatives
Given the sudden budget crunch, alternative funding sources are being explored. A full-time grant writing position was created, and the school's Walker Foundation is launching a fundraising campaign titled "Carolina Hearts."
Residence hall improvements now will have to be done using raised dollars, not budgeted money. The school is registered as "Carolina Hearts" at several local businesses, including Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target and Toys "R" Us for residence hall items such as comforters and pillows.
"We're hoping that people with the Christmas spirit will go out and help us do this for the kids," said SCSDB spokeswoman Katie Rice, "because it's something we don't want to cut back on."
Information on the school's fundraising campaign, including links to gift registries, will be posted midweek on the SCSDB Web site at South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind.
After taking a $2.1 million hit to its operating budget, the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind is moving forward with, admittedly, "some pretty extreme measures," including a mandatory five-day staff furlough and closing its local adult education program and an outreach center in Rock Hill.
Interim President Carol Mabry said the approved actions are simply what's necessary to keep the school's core programs afloat.
The Spartanburg-based school that serves vision- and hearing-impaired students around the state received a 10.8 percent, or $1.7 million, budget cut from the state last month. That followed a $400,000 cut in the spring.
The school's new $13.7 million budget is permanent, meaning the money won't be reinstated.
Mabry said the severe cut was a surprise, largely because she expected the school to be treated as a K-12 program instead of a separate state institution. While state Department of Education employees must take five unpaid days off as part of budget cuts, the furlough does not apply to teachers or school district workers.
"We made the assumption that everyone recognized SCSDB as a K-12 school, and that was a wrong assumption on our part. We will do a better job of communicating that," Mabry said. "We are a K-12 school, and not only do we provide education and school programs on our campus, we deliver education and school-based services throughout South Carolina to many children who are deaf or blind."
To avoid future budget cuts, Mabry said the school is communicating with state legislators and community leaders that the school's mission is the same as any other K-12 school in the state. About 300 students are served at the SCSDB main campus, with another 900 served though outreach centers and in 55 of the state's 85 school districts.
State Rep. Mike Forrester, who is newly elected to the House, agreed that SCSDB should be categorized as any other K-12 school. He, however, expects the funding situation to get worse before it gets better. December might bring a 2 percent across-the-board cut, Forrester said.
"It's going to be a tough time," Forrester said. "There will be some tough decisions to make."
Extreme measures
The mandatory furlough and program cuts are a second, more severe phase, deemed necessary after lesser money-saving actions weren't enough. The first phase, which is still in effect, includes a freeze on nonessential hiring and travel, including field trips. The school is only purchasing basic supplies, and substitute teacher pay scales were modified.
Mabry said all cost-saving measures were approved collectively by key administrators and the school's board.
The five-day furlough will be taken during winter break, when students and staff are not on campus, to avoid a loss of instruction time. This action alone will save the school an estimated $250,000. Payroll deductions will be staggered over five pay periods to lessen the financial impact on staff.
Closing the Rock Hill outreach center, one of six statewide aimed at early intervention and interpretive services, will save $35,000 in lease costs and overhead. The center's four staff members will be transferred to a branch in Columbia, where they will continue to serve students in the Rock Hill area.
Reducing contracted services, such as custodial and grounds, will save about $85,000. Further savings will come from a halt on technology spending and modified security schedules on weekends.
Closing the adult education program, which is housed on the main SCSDB campus in Spartanburg, will save about $20,000. While the program will close at the end of December, as will the Rock Hill outreach center, students will be able to complete their current courses, which go through May.
The adult education program offers post-secondary students specialized career training. In addition to classroom instruction, the adult students are paid to fulfill contracts with local businesses as a means of preparing them for the working world. Among other jobs, students fill and seal teacher packets for SmileMakers and new hire packets for Denny's.
SCSDB high school students also have the opportunity to participate in the job training and still will be able to work after the program closes.
"Now, it may mean that we have to cut back on the contracts that we signed," said Sara Kollock, director of career and technology education at SCSDB.
Kollock said that while the adult program usually accepts about 10 students, only four are currently enrolled. Two students are in the first year of the two-year program.
"We didn't push recruiting because we heard about some budget cuts, and we didn't want to make any promises we couldn't keep," Kollock said. "We're doing our best to push two years into one."
While Kollock said she believes the closure will limit students' opportunities, at least locally, she said most area colleges and adult education programs do have disability counselors on hand.
"I know it was a hard decision," Kollock said. "Of course, we have to do what we have to do. Our hope is we won't have to do any additional cuts and lose any more programs."
Mabry said that while leaders are doing their best to protect the school's core mission - K-12 education and the residential programs - they're still looking for ways to save. Classroom and residential positions are being fiercely protected above other things, and staff members are taking on additional duties, including being reassigned to fill any "critical" vacant positions.
"We're not finished yet," she said. "It's unfortunate that we spend such an inordinate amount of time reacting to these budget issues daily when we would really like to be focused on innovative programming and continuous improvements."
Funding alternatives
Given the sudden budget crunch, alternative funding sources are being explored. A full-time grant writing position was created, and the school's Walker Foundation is launching a fundraising campaign titled "Carolina Hearts."
Residence hall improvements now will have to be done using raised dollars, not budgeted money. The school is registered as "Carolina Hearts" at several local businesses, including Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target and Toys "R" Us for residence hall items such as comforters and pillows.
"We're hoping that people with the Christmas spirit will go out and help us do this for the kids," said SCSDB spokeswoman Katie Rice, "because it's something we don't want to cut back on."
Information on the school's fundraising campaign, including links to gift registries, will be posted midweek on the SCSDB Web site at South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind.