The worst case scenario

After continuing their review of line items in the 2010-11 school spending plan that has already seen a reduction of $601,00 with no cuts to educational programs, Board of Education trustees and school district administrators offered a stark preview of what a contingent budget — with no spending increase over last year — would look like if voters reject the district's proposed budgets when they go to the polls. The discussion took place during an all-day budget workshop at South Side High School on March 5.

A contingent spending plan with no increase over the 2009-10 budget would mean that the district would have to cut $3.5 million. Reflecting on that possibility, school superintendent Dr. William Johnson said, “We’re working with the concept of preservation of all activities

to keep the integrity of the

program.”

Under such a plan, athletics, musicals, clubs, performances, Red and Blue and Project Great could be cut, and buildings and fields could be closed to all outside groups. That would save the district $1.5 million. The administration's budget could be cut by $300,000, and class size in kindergarten-12th grade could be increased to 30 students. Reducing math, the elementary foreign language program and summer school could cut over $500,000 from the budget and no new textbooks could save $350,000.

District administrators cautioned residents about thinking that implementing cuts under a contingent budget for a year will simply mean one year of hardship. The reality they say, is that the aftereffects of a contingency budget last three to seven years due to the difficulty of reinstating programs after they've been cut.