Douglas School System Cuts 8 Active Positions, Freezes 12

The Douglas County School System is cutting eight employees and freezing 12 vacant jobs to save more than $1.6 million under a plan the Board of Education approved Monday night.

The meeting attracted the largest crowd in about three months with more than 150 people filling the  building’s boardroom.

Most of the crowd came for the multiple board recognitions, with a large contingent present for the crowning of the county-wide grade-level winners in the Young Georgia Authors competition.

But following the various award presentations and honors, the board reconvened its meeting with less than 10 spectators remaining.

The suddenly sparse crowd found themselves a part of a surprise addition to the meeting’s agenda: the $1,634,847 Reduction-in-Force (RIF) Plan for the fiscal year 2012 budget. Superintendent Gordon Pritz cited the state slashing $17 million in austerity funding for next year—roughly $7 million more than the district anticipated—as the reason for the plan.

The plan was discussed prior to the 7 p.m. meeting behind closed doors during an executive session because it involved personnel matters.

A handout shows the RIF plan will reduce eight currently filled positions saving $741,405 and freeze 12 vacant positions for $861,912.

The eight RIF positions, followed by salary information on the handout, were:

• Chief position, $183,491
• Level director, $133,108
• Coordinator of instruction (currently 100 percent locally funded), $116,742
• Coordinator of transportation, $104,065
• Coordinator of facilities, $104,065
• Chief secretary, $61,434
• Testing clerk (10-month), $20,527
• Coordinator of instruction (currently 18 percent locally funded), $17,973

 The 12 frozen positions were:

• Custodians (six: two at New Manchester High, one at New Manchester Elementary, one at Chapel Hill High, one at Douglas County High, and one at ), $190,800
• Psychologist, $92,463
• Student Support Team (SST) facilitator (half at Lithia Springs High, half at New Manchester High), $88,741
• Media specialist (New Manchester High: move one back to Factory Shoals Middle, share one with Chapel Hill High), $84,438
• Transportation supervisor, $70,835
• Financial analyst, $64,084
• Technology specialist, $60,087
• Transportation mechanic, $53,602
• General maintenance, $49,218
• Grounds, $49,218
• Counselor (half at College and Career Institute), $37,295
• Fingerprint technician (.49), $21,131

The reduction-in-force plan would also

• Delay filling vacant positions until Aug. 1 to save $5,065
• Downgrade a student support director to assistant director or coordinator to save $16,000
• Change the district’s College and Career Institute administrative staffing by reducing its CEO to half time for a $60,465 saving
• Add a 49 percent CCI school administrator for a $50,000 expense to save $10,465

At least three agenda handouts from Monday's meeting did not include the district’s RIF plan. When asked why the agenda item wasn’t on the handout distributed at the boardroom’s front door or on the district’s website, Board member Mike Miller of District 1 was surprised to learn “Item C” of the personnel report wasn’t listed.

Miller said Item C was included on the board-member-only website portal of the district-issued laptops.

When Patch contacted Pritz's secretary, Melanie Nicholson, Tuesday morning she said the agenda was updated with Item C for Monday's meeting online on the eBoard Solutions area of the district's website and the change was included on a projected screen at the meeting.

A Patch reporter missed the beginning of the RIF plan presentation because he was taking a photo of an award recipient and didn't know the RIF plan was to be discussed.

The agenda in the Board of Education area of the district's website didn't have the Item C update and was taken down at 9:05 a.m. Tuesday after Nicholson was alerted to the discrepancy. The corrected agenda, printed at 6:28 p.m. Monday, was then updated to the website at 9:35 a.m. Tuesday.

Nicholson said it was a mistake that the agenda printed Friday was distributed at Monday's meeting.

Miller, whose District 1 includes, was vocal in his opposition to Pritz’s reduction-in-force plan during the meeting, which lasted more than two hours.

Miller made a request to table the discussion, but his motion failed to carry the majority as only D.T. Jackson of District 2 agreed with the motion. School Board Chair Jeff Morris of District 5, Vice Chair Sam Haskell of District 4 and Janet Kelley of District 3 voted against the motion.

Morris, Haskell and Kelley then all voted in favor of the reduction-in-force plan over Miller and Jackson’s dissenting votes.

During the debate, Miller revealed who the highest-paid person was to have their job eliminated starting July 1 and some of his duties. Chief Policy and Accountability Officer David Whitfield’s areas of responsibility include alternative education programs, being the collection point for all active and potential grants in the district, and being the legislative liaison with the superintendent, according to the district’s website.

Whitfield’s special projects included dealing with Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) projects, assisting with new school openings, and facilitating the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) re-accreditation process.  

“I’m sad to see (the loss of) Dr. Whitfield, someone who I trust in securing the community’s interest in SPLOST and the SACS accreditation,” Miller said after the meeting. “I’m very uncomfortable in agreeing to RIF’ing a position whose duties are of such an importance without the superintendent giving an alternative solution prior to making a recommendation to RIF that position."

At the end of the meeting during their board member closing comments portion, Kelley and Haskell relayed how tough it was to vote to cut district jobs.

“There’s no joy when jobs are taken away,” Kelley said.

“It’s unfortunate,” Haskell added.