Wheaton Warrenville Dist. 200 board cuts staff, orchestra

Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 school board members have agreed to slash more than $7 million in spending, but won't eliminate funding for some middle school sports teams.

District officials had met with representatives from the Wheaton Park District to discuss the possibility of handing off the "B" team sports program to the park district. Currently, about 240 seventh- and eighth-graders play on the "B" teams for boys and girls basketball and girls volleyball.

However, several board members on Wednesday questioned whether the park district would have enough time to implement the program before the fall. So the board decided to leave $151,000 for the "B" teams in the 2009-2010 budget.

It was among only a handful of cuts that were avoided during Wednesday night's board meeting.

Meanwhile, a vast majority of other cost reductions, including the elimination of dozens of staff positions and fourth-grade orchestra, were approved as part of an overall plan to address a projected $14 million shortfall in next year's budget.

District 200 already was facing a multimillion-dollar deficit when a finance committee was formed last year to develop a plan for the district to reach a balanced budget within three years. Then the financial picture got worse when officials learned that the district will have less-than-anticipated revenue.

Part of the reason is because the levy - the portion of the district's budget paid for with property taxes - is limited by the state-imposed property tax cap to 5 percent or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less.

So the levy that funds part of next year's budget will be capped at 0.1 percent, not including an allowance for property that has been added to the tax rolls. At the 0.1 CPI, District 200's total levy is expected to increase by roughly $100,000.

To help reduce costs, 12 to 16 teaching positions will be eliminated at the elementary schools. That will save $1.05 million while still maintaining the district's standards for class sizes, officials said. District 200 is expected to save another $600,000 by eliminating six to eight teaching positions at the four middle schools.

Even with the budget cuts, the district is expected to borrow $20 million to help pay for day-to-day operational expenses over the next three years. In order to balance the budget within that time, the finance committee has suggested that the district continue to reduce expenses and explore additional revenue sources.