Superintendent John L. Hasten

It is spring. It is a wonderful time of year. The warming days bring hints of what is to come, which then bursts into full-fledged rainbows of color. Unfortunately, it is still dismal in Springfield. The legislature is debating the budget for next year. Since Governor Blagojevich expanded the entitlement programs in our state, the treasury has been behind in payments to the programs that were in place before his time. This year, schools have been particularly hard hit. Most districts have been reducing staff and curtailing programs in an effort to stay afloat. We have done the same. As teachers retire, some will not be replaced. Mrs. Kidwell will retire at the end of the year and Ms. Waldrop will move to the High School as principal. The school does not intend to employ teachers to replace them.

The dollars continue to shrink from the State. This school year, the money sent to schools for the transportation of students was cut in half. Schools were forced to use money intended for educating students to provide buses. Next year, the plan is to allow districts to pay for the missing half of the money by making transportation optional. Local school districts will be free to decide whether to provide transportation for students or to allow parents to bring them to school each day. If the district decides to provide busing, the district will be allowed to increase the property tax for transportation and/or charge a fee to the parents of students who ride the bus.

What is next? We can only wait and see. We do know that the Governor wants to shift the State’s portion of the payments for the teachers’ retirement fund to the local districts, too. This may cost our District $100,000. Where will that money come from?

Some think that the Governor wants to force consolidation by bankrupting smaller districts. I think that is possible. Just this year, our District has lost over $350,000 in money from the State. I also believe that the Governor does not see any town not named Chicago. Keep your ear to the sounds coming from Springfield. Let your representatives know what you think.