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Bonner Springs-Edwardsville USD 204 should get ready for more cuts to its already-depleted budget, superintendent Robert Van Maren told members of the district's Board of Education this week.

Due to such factors as a significant increase in at-risk students and lowered property valuations, Van Maren said state districts are facing an additional $150 cut per full time equivalent student in the 2009-2010 year. For USD 204, that will translate into $524,580.

Additionally, Van Maren said another $699,440 could be cut if the state chooses to offset one-half of its expected $258.8 million deficit by way of cuts to education.

Though Gov. Mark Parkinson has yet to say exactly what the state cuts will be, Van Maren said the upcoming rocky road would come sooner rather than later.

“I bring this all up because we may have to make cuts as of Jan. 1,” he said.

The district will see about $320,000 in additional funds due to increased enrollment, Van Maren said, making the projected cuts for the year in the $800,000 range. He said this was enough to consider at least one alternative that will most certainly come to bear heavily on the income of district employees and staff.

“The smart thing to do would be to negotiate some kind of across-the-board reduction in salary,” Van Maren said. “Without that, I don’t know what to say … At this point in time, it’s basically easy to say we have no money, and we’re going to have to figure out a way to make these cuts.”

Van Maren said another option would be utilizing funds in contingency reserve to get through the school year. But he warned this could leave the district with a zero balance in the reserve fund next year.

He also said the district would start looking at cutting additional extracurricular activities, but it would be important to look at what activities area districts were cutting as well before making any final decisions. If one nearby district offered a certain sport while USD 204 chose to cut it, Van Maren said, the district could lose students.

“We’re going to try to make some joint decisions,” he said about working with area districts. “We are going to take a more serious look at this.”

Another budget review is scheduled for the Dec. 7 board meeting.

Also Monday, the board:

• Unanimously approved the agenda.

• Unanimously approved the minutes of the Nov. 2 meeting.

• Unanimously approved the treasurer and clerk’s report.

• Unanimously approved warrants totaling $516,243.29.

• Heard a presentation regarding Adequate Yearly Progress interventions at Clark Middle School from principal Steve Cook. He reported CMS was asked to be a pilot for a new national program that will offer a multitiered system of support for struggling students. He said part of the plan had been put into place at CMS about three weeks ago.

Students are divided into tiers of instruction, Cook said. The first tier makes up those students who can understand the material in the first level of instruction, or immediately when the lessons are presented to them. Tier two students are those that need a few more minutes of extra support during the day and tier three makes up those students who are really struggling and need even more support during the day.

Cook said that tier three instruction had yet to be implemented, as the school was focusing on tier two interventions first to get all the kinks worked out. He said tier two interventions involved 25-30 additional minutes each student will have with a teacher to work on reading or math or whatever they are struggling with the most.

For the program to work, Cook said, the ratio of students to teachers had to be a small one, so one teacher has been assigned to every 12-15 students.

“Our goal is to take every kid that’s (struggling) and get them up to speed,” Cook said.

Sixth-grade language arts teacher Sarah Benton was one of three CMS teachers on hand during the meeting to share how the program was working. She said the engagement she had already seen among her students was inspiring.

“I have kids that are talking that have always checked out,” she said. “I have kids that are engaged that have always spaced out.”

• Considered paying the annual fees necessary to be a member of the National School Board Association but made no motion as the general consensus was the fee, at $2,800, was something the district couldn’t afford at this time.

• Heard the superintendent’s update that the district had seen $16,000 in energy cost avoidance over the month of September.

During Van Maren’s report, Edwardsville resident Scott Thompson inquired as to what steps had been taking in regards to the suspicious looking man seen around Edwardsville Elementary on Nov. 5. The man was noticed by students in a wooded area along the school’s eastern property line.

Van Maren said that trees had been chopped down and the camera system had been updated. In addition, he said, Edwardsville Elementary principal Aaron Miller was seeking additional help in the form of Watch D.O.G. volunteers.

“But we’re monitoring it,” Van Maren said.

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