Topeka ? Those annual “what I did on summer vacation” essays may take a much more solemn tone this year if school administrators write them.

Delays in state aid payments, new budget tightening and unsettling staffing situations are not typical activities on superintendents’ “must-do” lists, they say.

Yet they must face them. They also know they could be looking at creative math exercises that won’t be completed until at least summer 2003.

“We have weathered the late payments this year,” said Randy Rivers, superintendent of Mill Creek Valley in Alma. “But as we access our carry-over funds to help cover the gaps this year, cash flow will become a greater concern next year.”

Slumping state tax collections mean the 303 school districts will get only about 50 percent of the $228 million in aid they are owed for June on time.

It will be the fifth time the state has delayed sending funds to districts since December.

“Teachers who normally get their summer checks ‘lump sum’ are upset that those checks won’t be available until early July,” said Beloit Supt. Greg Renter, noting that the delays also have caused hard feelings with some suppliers.

Budget Director Duane Goossen said districts eventually would get the rest of their money. The payment is the last due for fiscal year 2002, which ends June 30, but revenue collections play a key role.

“If they come in on target, then the rest of the aid payment can go out by the end of the month,” Goossen said. “If not, then it will be on July 1st.”

Through May, the state collected about $180 million less than expected in revenues for the fiscal year. For Goossen, it was an indication that the state’s economy had not yet hit bottom.

Superintendents say they and their local boards of education have few places they haven’t looked for savings. They say any cuts now approach the bone of their programs.

“The delays are clear evidence that we had better not spend the $20 added to the base state aid by the 2002 Legislature because it will never be funded,” said Halstead Supt. Tom Bishard.

He referred to an increase in state aid to $3,890 by legislators, who tapped into the state’s portion of the national tobacco settlement.

Bishard’s concerns are echoed by Goossen, who said continued shortfalls in state revenue collections would force cuts to the state’s 2003 budget, which already is slightly smaller than the current one.

Bishard said districts still would be forced to make sizable cuts because of increased personnel costs, such as negotiated salary increases and insurance premiums.

The delayed payments during the 2002 school year compound the problem, forcing districts to tap contingency funds and miss out on much-anticipated interest gained by banking the state aid.

Some districts tried to cut more than necessary to give them a cushion for the next year. That was the case with Supt. Thomas Alstrom in the Peabody-Burns district.

“I see us declining more next year and facing the same problems we had this year,” Alstrom said. “We might have a year to look at issues, but we still have keep up with salaries and insurance to keep teachers in our district.

Few places have seen cuts as large as the Shawnee Mission school district, which is seeing its enrollment decline, despite the population growth of Johnson County.

Tim Rooney, budget and finance manager for the district, said the district had cut 161.5 full-time equivalent positions in trimming nearly $8.4 million from its budget. Those cuts included a reduction in its staff of nurses and counselors.

The district is expecting much of the same for the coming year but has taken the step of asking county officials to place a quarter-percent sales tax for schools on the ballot.

While districts continue to search for places to cut, at least one will be closing its doors for good at the end of the month.

Emery Hart, superintendent of West Graham-Morland, is preparing for the district’s final days. The district received state approval last fall to dissolve, sending a majority of its students to Hill City.

Hart is also superintendent in Utica, which offers only kindergarten through eighth grade. High school students are sent to Healy, Ransom and Ness City to save the district money. Declining enrollments and tight state revenues are giving small districts few options short of closing.

“To us, it was the right move,” Hart said.

Opinions are mixed on whether legislators will give credence to a recently completed study on the cost of suitable education.

Consultants determined that the state needs to increase aid to $4,650 per pupil to adequately fund education, a figure many say the state will never match.

“Realistically, we have to understand budget limitations,” said Chuck Schmidt, superintendent of Wabaunsee East schools in Eskridge.