District 301 slashes $1 million from budget

The numbers may not be as staggering as in neighboring Elgin Area School District U-46, but Central Community Unit District 301 is also facing financial troubles.

The school board has approved $1 million in cuts for the upcoming school year in order to erase an anticipated deficit.

Superintendent Todd Stirn said Thursday that "every area" of the district's budget has been touched. Those cuts include the equivalent of 10 teachers - four at the elementary level, one at the middle school and five at the high school. The district has also eliminated several administrative positions - its assistant director of transportation, its literacy coordinator and instructional technology coordinator.

Stern said that the cuts are expected to raise class sizes a bit.

Classes, he said, will remain within the teacher contract guidelines - with a 26:1 student-teacher ratio in kindergarten; 28:1 in the elementary grades; 30:1 at the middle school level and 31:1 at the high school.

Sports budgets will be reduced, along with the number of assistant coaches. Spending will be cut on capital outlay and part-time maintenance staff, and building operating budgets will decrease by 10 percent.

The district's fledgling orchestra program - now in its second year - will be discontinued.

Stern said the 100 students in fifth and sixth grade orchestra will be allowed to continue the program through their eighth grade year, and the school board plans to re-examine the situation annually.

"The reality is that two years ago we were still experiencing rapid growth," Stirn said. "We were in a position that we were going to roll out an orchestra program."

Now, developer fees in the once booming district have dried up, and the state is roughly $1.8 million behind in payments.

While the cuts hurt, the district is in far more stable financially than U-46. District 301 receives less than 14 percent of its funding from the state. U-46, on the other hand, receives roughly 32 percent of funding from the state.

Late payments, in addition to expected cuts to funding next year prompted U-46 officials in mid-March to announce $30 million in cuts, including 732 teachers.

To help supplement its budget, District 301's foundation has increased this year's grant awards for elementary, middle and high school teachers from $6,500 to $9,000. Teachers who have implemented innovative learning strategies will be surprised with checks for classroom grants next week, school board President Rose Diaz said.