District 220 seeks input at meeting on budget cuts
Barrington Unit District 220 board members will unveil proposed budgets cuts at a meeting on Tuesday, and are soliciting public input before they sign off on the plan.
Board President Brian Battle said Friday that while the board and administration have been very thorough in considering between $1.25 million and $1.5 million in budget cuts, they're still eager to hear other points of view.
"I would never presuppose that we've thought of everything," Battle said.
Continued financial pressure from a weak economy and increased fear that the state's payments will not be timely is what's driving the cuts, Battle said.
While the focus has been on cutting the budget where it's least likely to affect the classroom, it's likely that average class sizes may creep up to where they were about three or four years ago.
The committee of the whole meeting at which specific cuts will be discussed is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23 in either Room C-271 or the nearby Guidance Resource Center of Barrington High School, 616 W. Main St. in Barrington.
After public comment has been considered, a formal vote on the new budget may take place either March 2 or shortly afterward in case significant revisions are needed.
State law requires the school district to notify by mid-March any teachers who will not be brought back in the fall.
In recent weeks, the school board has discussed some likely cuts, including the possibility of eliminating eight classroom teachers and two reading teachers from among the eight elementary schools.
Elementary school enrollment is expected to go down by about 100 students next fall, and some staff cuts may have been inevitable anyway, Superintendent Tom Leonard said.
The board has also talked of cutting a crisis interventionist at each of the two middle schools as well as a teaching assistant from the special education curriculum.
The district may also cut three or four of the 288 faculty stipends to oversee extracurricular activities, though the board has agreed to freeze student fees for such activities.