Some good ideas from Chad Novak

MEDIA RELEASE
MARCH 20, 2007

In light of the current round of school closure considerations, province wide, here are some cost saving ideas that will be presented by Chad A. Novak, CMA to the Prairie South School Board on March 24, 2007, that should seriously be considered in order to save all provincial schools from closure:
1) End the practice of rehiring retired teachers on a contract basis. Savings of $2.8 Million per year.
2) Look at other financing options for capital expenditures (Lease, Loan, etc.). Savings of up to $5.4 Million in current year.
3) Offer early retirement to teachers in communities that can afford it, to a maximum of 80 teaching/aid staff. Savings of up to $5.6 Million per year.
Summary of Operating Fund for Prairie South School Division:
Current Fund Balance After Accounting for 2006-07 Shortfall: $2.0 Million
Projected Fund Balance After Above Savings (by 2010-11): $43.9 Million

Further long term savings can be achieved by:
4) Offer further early retirement incentives on an ongoing basis over next 10 years, and offer those positions to brand new teachers to keep our young people within Saskatchewan, and more importantly, in rural Saskatchewan. Savings to be dependent on number of positions affected, but potential exists of $5-10 Million per year due to salary difference alone (not factoring in benefits).
5) Review central administrative positions for redundancy, and combine duties over three or more school divisions to share costs of common positions. Potential savings of $2-5 Million per year, or more depending on result of review.

Other Interesting Facts:
- By closing the five rural schools under review in the Prairie South School Division, the division stands to receive an extra $2.8 Million in transportation funding due to the calculation of the current formula.
- Based on the current formula of $185/km, children could theoretically be bussed for hundreds of kilometres and the School Divisions still receive $185 for every km driven.
- We must discourage School Divisions from bussing our children past a reasonable distance. This can be achieved immediately by cutting funding past a certain reasonable distance, to be determined.

Where to Go From Here:
- Immediate Moratorium on School Closures.
- Independent detailed review to achieve savings such as outlined above, and continual annual independent review to ensure maximum efficiencies.
- Review of funding formula to determine reasonable equalization factor and adjustment to transportation funding to end incentive to bus children further.


Potential Benefits:
- Keep young people in Saskatchewan, working where they are being educated and where they want to stay.
- By keeping rural schools open and finding savings elsewhere, we are keeping the rural communities open and welcome for people moving back to Saskatchewan.
- By achieving cost savings in School Divisions, the potential exists to reduce education property taxes on a local level.
- It is vital that we have an infrastructure setup to attract new businesses and people to rural Saskatchewan, as there is huge potential in these areas for young families to make a future. Let’s build our communities, by not only keeping rural schools open but by building and/or reopening more rural schools and showing that Saskatchewan is innovative and has forward thinking. This will entice more people to move to rural Saskatchewan to get away from the negative aspects of larger urban centres. The potential snowball effect is huge, in that local businesses will need to be setup to accommodate the influx of people, such as restaurants, gas stations, medical practices, and on and on. There is truth in the statement “Build It and They Will Come”.

If you wish to contact me regarding the above, please email novak.c@sasktel.net or call (306) 691-5638 and leave a message. It should be noted that I will be in Regina on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 for the Provincial Rally at the Legislative Building. For further information on the above, visit www.saveourprairiesouls.com .