Taylorville schools plan steep cuts if referendum fails

TAYLORVILLE, Ill. (AP) - A cash-strapped central Illinois school district would face steep budget cuts if voters reject a property tax increase next month.

Residents who live within the Taylorville School District are being asked to pay an additional 85 cents per $100 of net assessed value of each individual's property to help provide funding for the district.

The referendum on the April 4 ballot comes as the district faces a $1.8 million budget deficit.

The State Journal-Register reports (http://bit.ly/2nkR1KN ) the local school board approved about $1 million in cuts last month for the 2017-18 school year.

Those cuts include eliminating several teaching and staff positions, scrapping extracurricular programs and canceling junior high, freshman and junior varsity athletics.

Board members plan to restore many of the proposed cuts if the referendum passes.

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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com