D90 board OKs budget cuts

By BILL DWYER

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

The River Forest school board voted Feb. 27 to implement more than $1.2 million in budget cuts in the event a March 21 property tax referendum fails. Those cuts would take effect this September at the start of the 2006-07 school year.

The move underscores the seriousness of the argument being made by referendum proponents that a failure to pass a property tax increase of 27.5 cents per $100 of a home’s equalized assessed valuation would drastically change the educational experience for River Forest’s 1,300-plus elementary school students.

"The fact is if the referendum fails, we need to make immediate reductions," said Dist. 90 Supt. Marlene Kamm. In the event voters reject that referendum, the school board will meet the following day, March 22, to formally begin implementing those cuts.

"The board will meet on March 22 ... to begin dismantling many district programs if the referendum fails," said Kamm.

Part of that process would involve informing a number of teachers and other staff whose contracts would not be renewed. Class sizes would be expected to rise some 23 percent, with a 10-percent reduction in overall material purchases next year, and elimination of all technology purchases.

In addition, numerous cuts would be made in various artistic, sports and other extracurricular activities, as well as staff and professional development programs.

Kamm said additional cuts, totaling $3.8 million in all, would need to be implemented over the next three years. Those additional cuts would include eliminating 16.5 more teaching positions, cutting foreign language instruction in the seventh and eighth grades, and elimination of all arts and music curricula. Class sizes would increase a total of 67 percent over that period.

Among the cuts to next year’s budget:

• Elimination of two fourth grade classroom teachers

• Elimination of art, music, physical education, technology, and library teaching positions, as well as a STAR (Students Taking Academic Responsibility) position.

• Elimination of a Humanities-related, academically talented teaching position.

• Elimination of Italian, French and Spanish teachers for fifth and sixth grades.

• Elimination of a social worker, special education staff position, and all Library Learning Center aides.

• Elimination of one district clerical position, a summer school principal position, and one custodian position.

—Bill Dwyer