Superintendent Seeks More Staffing for Next Year

With next year’s school district budget process moving along, Shorewood Superintendent Blane McCann asked the School Board Tuesday to consider two staff increases as additions to the budget recommendation.

McCann is proposing changing the status of an instrumental band teacher at Shorewood Intermediate School from part time to full time at a cost of about $21,500, and adding a one-day-a-week art teacher to work with art students at the middle school, which would cost $14,500.

“Band is one of our strongest programs in the district and, of course, we want to be able to support it,” McCann said.

McCann said the full-time band teacher was something requested from the music department.

“It’s hard for me to recommend one way or another because the budget is the way it is, but this is best practice as you look at how band is being taught,” McCann said.

McCann said hiring a permanent, full-time director of instruction, which had been included in the most recent version of the budget, is pretty much off the table at this point.

“I believe we want to keep the status quo,” he said referring to the current interim position held by Dean Schultz. Making the post permanent would have cost the district about $35,000.

McCann and the School Board have talked for months as they attempt to erase . A glance at their latest budget picture shows a $67,563 shortfall, after a number of cuts and additions.

At a previous meeting, McCann eliminated a proposal to at all the district's schools. Instead, he recommended the district add $30,000 to fund technology equipment and said he hopes they can use some of those funds to increase wireless access at Shorewood High School. He added the district has been saving funds to keep technology up to date.

School Board member Michael Mishlove said there should be some kind of a report conducted on whether teachers can educate using technology like smartboards and laptops without wireless Internet access.

"I want to know if science teachers can teach science without us funding the wireless, and if they can't, I want to know what it's going to take to use their computers and online capability to the extent that they need," Mishlove said.

McCann said the board will likely move to for preliminary approval of the budget recommendations at a June 14 meeting.