Carpentersville School District To Cut $8M
CARPENTERSVILLE, Ill. (STMW) - A northwest suburban school district will cut $8.3 million from its budget for the 2011-2012 school year.
The District 300 Board of Education set that number — and the timeline to meet it — at its regular meeting Monday night. Board members Chris Stanton and Dave Alessio voted against the measure.
"That doesn't mean we'll make these cuts right now, but it does mean these discussions will take place and these reductions will be voted on this school year," District 300 Superintendent Kenneth Arndt said.
That vote follows a presentation showing the Carpentersville-based school district's budget will be at least $8.3 million in the red next school year. And that follows about $15 million in reductions the school board made before the start of the 2010-2011 school year to make up for $12 million the state then owed District 300.
The state of Illinois now owes the school district about $4.5 million, which could double in the next week because two more payments are due, according to District 300 CFO Cheryl Crates.
The last round of budget cuts included about 111 teachers; 10 percent from each building's budget; and $1,444,487 in transportation, including busing to the district's Preschool for All, Elgin Community College and Ombudsman Alternative Education programs.
Like the cuts made from this school year's budget, one of the largest proposed cuts to next year's budget could come from transportation — $200,000. That could come from consolidating bus routes, changing bell times and negotiating new contracts with vendors, such as Warrenville-based Durham School Services, according to District 300.
Other possible reductions, based on priorities set by administrators through the school district's annual Educational Program Review Technique process, include $300,000 from eliminating secretarial positions and $135,598 from intramural sports and extracurricular activities. The single largest cut suggested is $450,000 from maintenance and operations, mostly from laying off all building managers and a night custodial supervisor.
The school board will vote on reductions at its meeting Monday, Feb. 28.
For a complete list of all the proposed reductions the District 300 Board of Education will discuss, view Monday's board packet at d300.org.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
