Breaking News
North Daviess schools face $300,000 in cuts
ODON — North Daviess Schools Superintendent Robert Bell expects $300,000 in state funding cuts during the next 18 months.
Bell told the North Daviess School Board Monday night he doubts whether the reduced funding will ever be restored.
A week ago today, Gov. Mitch Daniels announced state spending on public schools would be cut by $300 million over the next 18 months. This latest budget-cutting proposal was made after a new revenue forecast predicted the state treasury would receive $1.8 billion less from now through July 2011 than had previously been forecast.
The State Board of Education met Thursday to discuss how the budget reductions ordered by Daniels would be accomplished without reducing the number of classroom teachers. Two basic assumptions which will guide any state board’s recommendations are: No state tax increases and no school funding formula changes through next year.
Bell told the school board he did not know if the funding reduction would be 3 percent of the general fund or $300 per student. North Daviess has 632 students in elementary school and 463 in the junior-senior high school. A cut of $300 per student would equal a funding cut of $328,500.
Saturday morning, Loogootee Superintendent Larry Weitkamp said he expected his corporation to also see funding reduced by $300,000. However, with student enrollment dropping for several consecutive years at Loogootee, he believes the budget can be trimmed through attrition, by not replacing teachers who retire or leave for other reasons.
However, Bell said that is not an option at North Daviess, because enrollment has been steady in recent years. He said the corporation does have reserves built up in its general fund, which will be used to cover the funding cuts. The school budget has already been set through the end of the school year.
During the summer months, when the school board determines the budget for next year, Bell said tough decisions would have to be made. He said an involuntary reduction in force “is always a possibility,” but he hopes to avoid that.
In other business
Retirement
The board approved the retirement, effective today, of junior-senior high language arts teacher Janet Singleton, who has been at North Daviess for 35 years. The board also approved hiring Lori Gilham to replace her for the second semester.
School calendar
The 2010-2011 school calendar, with classes beginning Aug. 17, 2010. Christmas vacation will be from Dec. 23, 2010 to Jan. 3, 2011, with graduation set for May 27, 2011. Several snow days are built into the calendar, but if more than six are needed, Bell said the school year will be extended into June, and graduation would be moved back to June 3, 2011.
Library board
Glenda Scudder was appointed to a four-year term, beginning in January, on the Odon Winklepleck Public Library Board.
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