U-46 task force vote shows members want fewer budget cuts

An Elgin Area School District U-46 Budget Advisory Task Force vote reveals that several members are in favor of less aggressive cost-cutting measures next school year.

Of the 20 individuals who attended a meeting late last week, 19 voted on ways to make $25 million in cuts.

But only a dozen voted on ways to slash next year's budget by $40 million - the number deemed necessary last week by Chief Financial Officer Ron Ally.

"I chose not to participate in the $40 million exercise," task force member and teachers union President Tim Davis said. "I'm a supporter of a measured response instead of an Armageddon response."

The Budget Advisory Task Force is chaired by Ally, and composed of parents, teachers and union and local civic leaders. It was formed this fall after U-46 predicted a $53.5 million deficit by the end of the school year.

While $4.9 million in reductions have already been made, U-46 is still $48.6 million in the hole. That number could rise to at least $63.6 million without additional budget cuts, according to an outside audit.

To vote, task force members anonymously took computer surveys, selecting various types of potential cuts until they reached the $25 million or $40 million amount.

Moving to a four-day workweek and reducing contractual services each received some of the most votes on both the $25 million and $40 million cut lists.

Increasing class sizes, along with items that would require union contract negotiation - upping employee contributions for insurance and reducing pay - also were on both lists, but ranked far below the other items.

Like task force members, community members also will get a chance to take votes on ways to make cuts during forums planned at each of the district's five high schools Feb. 9-16.

After taking in both sets of suggestions, Ally is expected to make his recommendation to the board Feb. 22.

The largest source of cuts, Ally has hinted, will almost surely come from eliminating staff positions mid-March.

Staff salaries represent approximately 60 percent of the district's $400 million budget. Benefits take up another 20 percent.

The Elgin Area School District U-46 board Monday night signed off on notices informing 134 staff members they'll be let go at the end of the year.

The move is not due to impending budget cuts, district and union officials say, but rather the annual reductions of staff who lack certification, are on limited contracts, serve as long-term substitutes or are in grant-funded positions.

In 2003, to trim $40 million from its deficit, the district let about 800 nontenured teachers go. Class sizes rose to 35 students per teacher.