NORWICH – The Norwich High School cafeteria was a sea of purple Monday night as well over 100 people gathered to hear how school leaders propose to close the district’s $3 million budget gap.

Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan began by reiterating the district’s goal of developing a budget for the 2011-12 academic year which is both fiscally responsible and maintains instructional integrity. He then launched into the specifics of the plan, which keeps district spending flat at $37,090,193.

“I’m proposing a 1.87 percent tax levy increase,” he reported. This translates into approximately $186,000, which still leaves a more than $2.8 million gap between the district’s revenue and expenses.

To close it, O’Sullivan has proposed eliminating a total of 32 positions. 25 of which will be vacated through retirement or resignation, he says. Seven additional jobs will be cut, two others will be reduced to part time and secretarial hours will be “realigned” under the plan.

All told, these staffing cuts will mean a “savings” for the district of $2,274,914 in salaries and benefits. But it will come at a cost of the district’s athletic director, an art teacher, two cleaners, a custodian, five elementary teachers, an English teacher, a hall monitor, two keyboard specialists, a library media specialist, a LOTE teacher, a math teacher, two music teachers, two physical education teachers, a reading teacher, two school bus drivers, three science teachers, three special education teachers, a technology teacher and a teaching assistant. The positions which will be reduced to part-time are that of another elementary teacher and the teacher who provides instruction at the Chenango County Jail.

These staffing cuts alone will not be enough to completely close the budget gap. The superintendent has also proposed $25,295 in cuts to the athletic and extra-curricular programming budgets. This will mean a 5.3 percent reduction in athletic spending, primarily in equipment, supplies and contractual expenditures. Two teams – Freshman boys’ basketball and one of the cheerleading teams – will be eliminated. Expenditures on marching/field band and the high school and middle school musicals will be reduced by 4.6 percent.

An additional $340,515 in cuts will be made by reducing academic field trips; eliminating a computer technician position provided by the Broome Tioga BOCES; limiting weekend use of the school buildings; and eliminating department chairperson positions on the secondary level. The district’s elementary summer school program will also be eliminated under the superintendent’s plan. And the school will no longer make use of the instructional support services offered through DCMO BOCES, rather it will begin doing all of its staff development “in house.”

O’Sullivan defended the need for the cuts, saying the $3 million gap would have translated into a 30 percent tax levy increase.

“It’s just not going to happen,” he said.

According to the superintendent, the proposed reductions will not sacrifice the instructional integrity of the district. He reviewed enrollment projections and classroom sizes at the elementary, middle and high school levels to underscore this point.

Even with fewer sections in some grade levels at the intermediate level, class sizes will only increase by one or two students, O’Sullivan explained. In some cases it may even decline based on enrollment.

He painted a similar picture at the Middle School, where he said the current team structure will remain in place. In addition, current electives – including the Going Green and Photography classes added this year – will continue to be offered.

The high school will see the largest change, with class sizes for both core and elective courses increasing from the high-teens to mid-twenties in many instances. The school will maintain its current Advanced Placement offerings, according to the superintendent, with the exception of AP European History. This, he explained, is because the designated teacher will not be available.

“We’ll run the same slate of electives next year, depending on student enrollment,” he reported.

According to O’Sullivan, a greater number of Norwich High School students have enrolled in both BOCES Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes and the New Visions program next year. This year 86 Norwich students are enrolled in CTE programs. Next year, that number will be 120. The superintendent explained that this will have an affect not only on course enrollment at the high school, but also finances.