Those who want to express their opinion about potential budget cuts to Kalispell Public Schools have until Sunday to sound off.

That’s when the survey will be taken down and school officials will start to consider the input they received from staff and community members.

The survey is available online at http://sd5.k12.mt.us.

As of Monday morning, about 220 people had taken the survey, according to survey administrator and assistant to the superintendent Heidi Hickethier.

The questionnaire includes cost-saving options that could alleviate the deficit Kalispell Public Schools faces in 2011-12. The actual shortfall won’t be known until the state Legislature decides how much money schools will receive, but Kalispell school officials estimate the deficit will be at least $500,000.

The survey contains money-saving suggestions Superintendent Darlene Schottle collected from staff, trustees, parent groups and community members. The items are not prioritized; the survey is a “brainstorm list” of ideas, she told the Inter Lake earlier this month.

The survey divides suggestions into categories, including revenue enhancement; staff reductions; materials, supplies and services; noninstructional programs; school and instructional design; and other.

Options listed on the questionnaire include eliminating the separate site for the district’s alternative high schools (Laser School and Bridge Academy are housed in the Linderman Educational Center), instituting a pay-to-play option for sports at Kalispell Middle School and running an annual operational levy.

Many proposals have staff members and administrators worried about the impact the cuts could have on students. They say that even noninstructional programs such as sports, or elective courses that aren’t required, play a valuable role in keeping youths in school who might otherwise find a reason to drop out.

The fact that the options have multiple sides to consider is one reason the district decided not to include price tags in the survey, Schottle said. Officials hope survey-takers will consider how each item will impact students rather than what might save the most money.

“The real issue is, what do you see as important for services for students?” Schottle said.

The survey also includes a place for participants to list their own cost-saving suggestions, along with the positive and negative impacts those suggestions could have.

One option that has been discussed in the district but is not included in the survey is reducing or eliminating raises to base salaries. The preliminary budget estimates do not include such raises.

Teachers automatically receive annual raises for accruing additional experience and education, but increases to base salaries and benefits must be negotiated.

Negotiations between the district and Kalispell Education Association, the district’s teacher’s union, haven’t started yet, but the district has received a request to open talks from the association, said Karen Glasser, the district’s human resources director.

The district also will have to negotiate with its classified staff, custodians, groundskeepers, nurses and tutors. Maintenance staff have already worked out the details of their contracts and will accept whatever salary increase the classified union negotiates, Glasser said.

The negotiations will play a crucial component in next year’s financial situation. Salaries and benefits made up 90.5 percent of this year’s elementary budget and 84.07 percent of the high school budget.

The survey is not a voting process, which means the item that receives the most votes for elimination won’t automatically be cut, Schottle said. It is rather a tool to help district officials gather information about what staff and community members believe is important in the district.

For those without Internet access, paper surveys will be available at schools. Those also must be returned by Sunday; the district office will not be open that day, but surveys may be returned through the mail slot. The office is located on the north side of the library building, 233 First Ave. E. in downtown Kalispell.

For additional information, call 751-3434.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.