School and administrative jobs and programs are on the chopping block and some fees could increase as Colorado Springs School District 11 prepares its budget for the 2012-13 school year.

In an email sent earlier this week to staff, Superintendent Nicholas Gledich said the district is preparing for the worst while hoping for the best.

The state budget has shown some improvement, but K-12 education funding is expected to fall short, said D-11 finance Director Glenn Gustafson. District 11 is expecting a cut of $7 million to $9 million.

It’s the seventh year of deep cuts for the district. Last year, the district dug into money set aside instead of cutting more programs.

“We used our savings to buy some time,” Gustafson said. “We should have cut more.”

Many school districts will make tough decisions in coming months as the state finalizes its numbers.

The budget-focused part of the District Accountability Committee and the D-11 administration are working on pages of proposals that will go to the school board in April.

“Of course the decisions are hard,” Gustafson said. About 90 percent of the district’s costs are tied to salaries and benefits, he said, because education is labor intensive.

The other big cost is running schools. And while no closures are proposed this year, the topic is likely to be on the table again for the 2013-14 school year.

Some proposals in the 2012 budget documents are familiar, such as freezing wages across-the-board and two furlough days to extend Thanksgiving break.

One of the district’s proposals to the board would cut about 17 positions at schools and make a slight cut in special education assistants’ hours. It could save about $1.4 million.

Gledich said at the DAC Budget Subcommittee Tuesday that he has asked the school leaders to find positions to cut instead of increasing class size across the district. D-11 is moving to staffing based on school needs instead of a formula, officials said.

More than a dozen people, mostly executive professionals, in the central administration office could be cut, to save a little more than $1 million.

Another possible cut would eliminate all literacy resource teacher positions, or reading coaches, in the district. The savings from the proposal is more than $2.4 million, district spokeswoman Devra Ashby said Tuesday.

Since 100 to 200 positions open up in the district each year due to attrition, the district views the idea as a realignment of resources, she said. Most of the literacy specialists are highly qualified teachers and hopefully would be retained in other positions, D-11 officials said.

Some money would also be set aside to give stipends to teachers who pick up additional literacy duties.

Gustafson said if positions aren’t cut, the district would have to decrease pay and boost the employee cost for benefits.

The D-11 night school programs at Doherty and Palmer high schools could be consolidated into one, saving about $250,000. Gustafson pointed out during a DAC Budget Subcommittee meeting that much of the savings comes from cutting one position.

Proposals could also have families digging into their wallets. High school parking fees may increase, with each $10 bump raising an additional $10,000. The DAC subcommittee suggested an increase from the current $10 to $30, while the district is thinking about a hike to $50. Parking fees were at that level years ago.

Athletic fees could increase, although details and projected savings are being worked out by D-11 personnel.

Some cuts were considered and dropped, such as cutting positions and supplies at Wasson High School that support the state-approved innovation status.

The school district and DAC are looking ahead, mulling the possibility of closing schools in the 2013-14 school year. Although no details were discussed at Tuesday’s DAC meeting, closing a high school could save about $3 million, a middle school closure saves about $1 million and each elementary school closed saves about $400,000.

DAC members also discussed ways to increase revenue for the district, including pursuing more sponsorships and donations for programs like sports.

Gustafson said the district could consider an an online course requirement as a money-saving measure. A class, such as health, could be taught to a large number of students across the district with one teacher.

“This is an area that could be explored,” he said, adding that online classes allow for greater economies of scale.

The DAC and the superintendent will present their recommended budget cuts, based on funding assumptions, to the District 11 board at the April 11 meeting.

The board will likely vote on a preliminary budget on April 25, but it won’t be binding.

“The board can always add back in June,” Gustafson said.—Contact Kristina Iodice: 636-0162 Twitter @GazetteKristina Facebook Kristina Iodice