Post by title1parent on Sept 10, 2009 6:07:11 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1762848,2_1_AU10_CUTS_S1-090910.article
Batavia schools weigh cuts in sports, extras
September 10, 2009
By DENISE LINKE For The Beacon News
BATAVIA -- If the Bulldogs make it into the playoffs this season, the Batavia School District won't have money to send them to postseason games. Musicians at Rotolo Middle School will play in fewer concerts this year. Elementary school libraries will get no new books or magazines.
Those are just a few of the sacrifices the district must make to balance its $65 million budget in the face of plummeting revenues, the School Board learned Tuesday in a Committee of the Whole meeting. Board members will vote on the spending plan Sept. 22.
"Are there any alternative funding sources?" board member Matt Winkle asked halfway through a presentation of line items on the chopping block. "Believe me, nobody up here wants to cut anything. We all have to be creative to get through this very difficult time."
Last month, the board told principals at all eight district schools to cut their buildings' discretionary budgets by 25 percent. The discretionary budget covers day-to-day operating expenses such as equipment repair, extracurricular programs, classroom supplies, teacher training and field trip transportation. It does not include salaries or building maintenance, said Assistant Superintendent Kris Monn.
Elementary school principals slashed their supply funds to meet the reduction amount, said Hoover-Wood Principal Lew Grimscheid.
"Art supplies, copier paper and office supplies were cut back," he said. "The next hardest-hit were the (libraries). New books and magazines were cut. My equipment repair budget is almost gone."
Rotolo Principal Stephen Maciejewski said his building's cuts included laboratory equipment repairs and replacements; art supplies; educational games; and after-school activities, including a planned expansion of intramural clubs.
"This 25 percent cut is basically a restriction of hands-on student activities," Maciejewski said. "Children learn by doing; when we remove that, we lessen what we do here."
Batavia High School eliminated its participation budget for athletes who qualify for Illinois High School Association playoffs, as well as cutting all teams' budgets by 25 percent, said Principal Lisa Hichens.
The school will have to look for other revenue sources if students advance to postseason, she said.
Beginning next year, band and orchestra members probably will have to pay a new fee to cover the cost of repairing district-owned instruments. Most of the library's online research database memberships will be discontinued. The school will no longer print programs or posters for performing arts events and will reduce print runs for the school newspaper. Damaged textbooks will not be replaced.
Board members will evaluate all budget items proposed to be cut and search for ways to restore items they feel are the most important, said board President Ron Link.
"We need to go through this line by line to see if we can move some money around to benefit the kids," he said.
The Batavia School District is not alone in what board member Jayne Resek described as a nationwide school funding crisis.
"A lot of schools across the country have had to cut all their extracurricular activities. A lot of schools have to turn the lights out as soon as the school day is over. We're sitting pretty good compared to a lot of the schools I've read about."
Batavia schools weigh cuts in sports, extras
September 10, 2009
By DENISE LINKE For The Beacon News
BATAVIA -- If the Bulldogs make it into the playoffs this season, the Batavia School District won't have money to send them to postseason games. Musicians at Rotolo Middle School will play in fewer concerts this year. Elementary school libraries will get no new books or magazines.
Those are just a few of the sacrifices the district must make to balance its $65 million budget in the face of plummeting revenues, the School Board learned Tuesday in a Committee of the Whole meeting. Board members will vote on the spending plan Sept. 22.
"Are there any alternative funding sources?" board member Matt Winkle asked halfway through a presentation of line items on the chopping block. "Believe me, nobody up here wants to cut anything. We all have to be creative to get through this very difficult time."
Last month, the board told principals at all eight district schools to cut their buildings' discretionary budgets by 25 percent. The discretionary budget covers day-to-day operating expenses such as equipment repair, extracurricular programs, classroom supplies, teacher training and field trip transportation. It does not include salaries or building maintenance, said Assistant Superintendent Kris Monn.
Elementary school principals slashed their supply funds to meet the reduction amount, said Hoover-Wood Principal Lew Grimscheid.
"Art supplies, copier paper and office supplies were cut back," he said. "The next hardest-hit were the (libraries). New books and magazines were cut. My equipment repair budget is almost gone."
Rotolo Principal Stephen Maciejewski said his building's cuts included laboratory equipment repairs and replacements; art supplies; educational games; and after-school activities, including a planned expansion of intramural clubs.
"This 25 percent cut is basically a restriction of hands-on student activities," Maciejewski said. "Children learn by doing; when we remove that, we lessen what we do here."
Batavia High School eliminated its participation budget for athletes who qualify for Illinois High School Association playoffs, as well as cutting all teams' budgets by 25 percent, said Principal Lisa Hichens.
The school will have to look for other revenue sources if students advance to postseason, she said.
Beginning next year, band and orchestra members probably will have to pay a new fee to cover the cost of repairing district-owned instruments. Most of the library's online research database memberships will be discontinued. The school will no longer print programs or posters for performing arts events and will reduce print runs for the school newspaper. Damaged textbooks will not be replaced.
Board members will evaluate all budget items proposed to be cut and search for ways to restore items they feel are the most important, said board President Ron Link.
"We need to go through this line by line to see if we can move some money around to benefit the kids," he said.
The Batavia School District is not alone in what board member Jayne Resek described as a nationwide school funding crisis.
"A lot of schools across the country have had to cut all their extracurricular activities. A lot of schools have to turn the lights out as soon as the school day is over. We're sitting pretty good compared to a lot of the schools I've read about."
