For Yale School Superintendent Ken Nicholl, savings are savings — which is why no reductions ever are considered chump change. The school district’s preliminary 2012-13 budget shows about $16 million in revenue and about $18 million in expenditures. Although next year’s expenditures are about $200,000 less than this year’s, the revenue cannot keep pace, Nicholl said. If nothing changes in the preliminary budget, the district will have about $500,000 in its fund balance by June 30, 2013. It had about $3 million just three years ago, he said. “That’s concerning because we cannot maintain that level by doing everything the same,” Nicholl said. This year, the district offered an early retirement incentive program for all full-time employees who had been with the district for at least 11 years. The plan offered $15,000 for teachers, $6,000 for secretaries and custodians, and $7,000 for maintenance employees. Four teachers, one secretary and a custodian accepted the offer, Nicholl said. Three of the teachers were replaced, but the fourth teacher — an elementary physical education teacher — was not. The district still has one physical education teacher for kindergarten through fifth grade who will handle the responsibilities. The district saved about $30,000 per teacher and $40,000 on the teacher who was not replaced, Nicholl said. The secretary and custodian were replaced with part-time employees, which will save the district money by not paying for a benefits package and paying for fewer hours, Nicholl said. The legacy savings are about $65,000, he said. He said the district did not have a goal for the number of employees accepting the plan. “It’s unfortunate we’re at the position where everything matters, so if we needed it for any savings that we could find, we would certainly take it,” Nicholl said. The district’s Title I director and curriculum and instruction director retired this year, so Nicholl has consolidated the positions into one, he said. Their retirements were not part of the incentive program. The move saved about $50,000, Nicholl said.