CHAFFEE SCHOOL BOARD IS SERIOUS ON FINANCES

Because they rely heavily on local tax revenue, most school districts in Missouri find themselves financially strapped from time to time. The latest among schools in that condition in the region is Chaffee.

The Chaffee School District last year built additional classrooms, a cafeteria and activity center at the high school, spending $1.3 million in the process. The project reduced the district's reserve balances of $1.68 million to what is expected to be about $450,000 at the end of this fiscal year.

That may not sound bad, but the balance would be about 4 percent of the district's projected expenditures for the current fiscal year. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recommends fund balances not fall below 10 percent of expenditures to ensure there is enough cash to cover expenses for at least a month.

Should a district drop below the 3 percent mark, it can be placed on a state watch list for financially stressed schools. The designation means the school board would be required to freeze salaries and administrative costs until the district could build a 3 percent reserve fund in the incidental and teachers funds. If the situation didn't improve within a designated period, the district could be declared insolvent, and students would be distributed to neighboring districts -- a highly unlikely prospect for Chaffee, but a chilling thought nonetheless.

Under the direction of interim superintendent Dr. Arnold Bell, the board has eliminated eight staff positions, including four high-school teachers, one elementary and special-education teacher and three support staff. It also declared a moratorium on teacher salary increases other than incremental pay raises for years of service and advanced degrees. And no grants requiring a match of district money will be accepted outside of those included in this year's budget.

Bell thinks the budget-cutting measures could get reserves back up to 10 percent within three years, putting the district back on solid financial ground.

With such immediate, tough, cost-savings measures, the school board showed it is serious about not letting the Chaffee school system slip into financial jeopardy.

The board didn't take valuable time to complain to taxpayers about the district's financial plight, but rather enacted correctional measures much like a private business would do under similar circumstances.

That's refreshing to see in an elected public board.