The District 300 School Board voted unanimously last evening (Feb. 22) to adopt about $4.6 million in budget reductions, as recommended by Superintendent Ken Arndt, but emphasized that the state is to blame for these and future D300 cuts.
As was provided after the past two Board meetings, a full word-for-word transcript of last evening's budget discussion will be posted to the D300 Budget webpage within a week. This is meant to encourage public awareness and assist those families/staff who cannot attend the meetings.
The Board decided last evening to postpone its decision on Dr. Arndt's recommendation to furlough all year-round employees up to 12 days, with higher paid employees furloughed the higher number of days. The Board is concerned about the proposal's impact on school operations and completion of the summer workload. There will still be furloughs days. Administrators and all other year-round employees will be making financial concessions. But the Board would like more time to refine this cost-savings plan.
The Board plans to discuss March 8 and vote April 26 on an additional $1.2 million in cuts, all related to transportation. These cuts would include preschool transportation (not special education students), busing for the dual language program, bus loading supervision, busing for the partnership with Elgin Community College, and special mid-day parochial shuttles. Public/staff feedback can be sent to board@d300.org. Please be sure to include your name and address. Your email is public record and may be published; as a courtesy, your email address and street address will be removed.
The next stage of D300 employee group negotiations will begin shortly.
Governor Pat Quinn had originally planned to present his budget address to the public and the Illinois General Assembly this week. This presentation was delayed until noon on Wednesday, March 10, and will be streamed live at http://www.ilga.gov/ . (UPDATE: On Feb. 24, 2010, Gov. Quinn presented a plan to cut $922 million from Illinois K-12 schools, on top of the failed payments to districts this year and the potential for even greater state reductions for education next year. Quinn is looking for feedback on these proposed cuts. Please visit his special website for feedback.)
The District continues to urge D300 staff and community members to follow up as often as possible with their state legislators, political candidates, and General Assembly leaders until a realistic solution is forged in Springfield and the political stalemate finally ends. Please visit the Budget webpage at www.d300.org for legislator contacts and maps.