Batavia Public Schools Talk More Cuts For 2011-12 Budget

The Batavia School Board is committed to a quality education for students, but it will come at a price.

That price is over $2 million in cuts that have to be made to reduce an estimated $5 million deficit for the 2011-12 school year. The cuts could include up to 18 teaching positions, increased classroom sizes, reducing the Elementary Spanish program and suspending the Building Trades program.

took to the podium during Tuesday's Board meeting to talk about how the cuts would affect their children. Board members did not respond to comments directly, but in general assured the public they will find a way to keep the schools strong and that everyone has to work together to make it happen.

The initial plan was to make $2.5 million in cuts, but the Finance Committee proposed reducing the budget by $2.8 million to leave the school board some flexibility to choose what they want to cut.

The district will prepare an early 2011-12 budget for the School Board's July 26 meeting. Then a formal public hearing will be held Sept. 13.

“It’s bothersome to the board member(s) as it is to the community … eventually the deficit spending is going to be an issue, we are going to have to balance the budget,” said Ron Link, school board president.

Parents Speak Out

Batavia parent Kristina Hunecke stepped forward at Tuesday night’s School Board meeting after hearing the board is likely to cut the half-day kindergarten art, music and physical education programs. 

Hunecke fears her twins will fall behind in art, music and physical education since the full-day and the after school enrichment versions of those programs will not get cut. At the kindergarten preview she was ensured that her children would receive the same education as the after school or full-day kindergarten students, Hunecke said.

“In just doing some preliminary research, studies point that music art and P.E. (physical education) enhances core curriculum,” she said.

This proposed cut will overwhelm kindergarten teachers because now they will have to act as an art, music and physical education instructor, Hunecke added.

 Board Member Kathleen Roberts let parents know teachers in Illinois must take two courses that include integrating fine arts and physical education into the curriculum.

“I’m comfortable at the kindergarten level—our teachers are qualified to integrate those subjects into the core curriculum,” Roberts said.

The half-day kindergarten fine arts and physical education programs aren’t the only programs being cut. The Elementary Spanish Program will lose six teachers along with 12 other teachers, said Kris Monn, assistant superintendent for Finance and Operations. Four of those teachers will be laid off due to a drop in student enrollment, he said.

Class Size Crunch

Another parent, Dianne Peterson, spoke to the school board about the classroom sizes increasing due to budget constraints.

Peterson, a parent of an student, spoke at the meeting on behalf of the fourth graders. Since 15 percent of fourth graders at Alice Gustafson have special needs she fears they will suffer.

In lieu of classroom sizes increasing across the board, there will be two classrooms of fourth graders instead of three at Alice Gustafson. And she heard the schools will decrease the number of aides in classrooms.

“Those teachers are going to be double stressed,” Peterson said.

The district is assuming a class size increase of two students at each level:

Searching For Savings

Due to the district’s transportation providers violating the contract, a new contract was secured. This will save the district 17 percent for regular transportation and 50 percent for special education, Monn said.

The district will also save $170,000 in energy costs. 

School Board Member Joseph Purpura suggested they put together a long-term plan to find out when they have to balance the budget and how to balance it.

“We’re all in this together," Link said. "We want to work together. Batavia is a destination people want to come for their careers, we just have to very careful, we don’t want to lose that.”

To read our last full story on the budget cuts, click .

To read more about the latest Building Trades house, click .

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