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As painful as cutting staff and programs is, the long-term consequences of ignoring the Orion school district’s financial situation are worse, Superintendent David Deets said.
“If you take nothing away from the forum but this,” Deets began a statement to the audience at the C.R. Hanna Elementary School on Wednesday, April 7.
He continued with a list of consequences the district could face in four or five years, if it fails to deal with a $700,000 to $1 million deficit.
• Class sizes of 30 to 40 at C.R. Hanna.
• No music in any of the three schools.
• No sports in any building.
“If this crisis goes on, that’s a real possibility,” Deets said. “If we don’t make timely cuts now, we have to make lots of tougher cuts in two, three or four years.”
Some districts already have cut sports and music, the superintendent said.
If Orion has to sacrifice those programs, or if the property tax rate goes up, potential residents might say, “If you don’t have that, we’re not moving to Orion,” Deets said.
Bill Gombert, a father whose children have attended Orion schools, said he would like to see the district sell the administration building and make appropriate cuts.
But he doesn’t want to see enrollment dropping, houses going up for sale and real estate prices falling.
People won’t want to move into the district if there are no extracurricular activities, one woman pointed out at the Orion Middle School forum.
Gary Heard, OMS principal, said new parents have told him they chose Orion for specific activities.
Natalie Weller, a physical education teacher at OMS, said people come to Orion for the quality of the schools. Her statement drew applause from the audience at the C.R. Hanna forum.
Parents like the education small schools offer, Weller said. They want daily physical education classes, music and other things that big-city schools don’t offer.
If the district cuts extracurricular activities, families will consider the best options for their children in deciding whether to move here, or to move out, said Nathan DeBaillie, athletic director and dean of students at Orion High School.
The district receives $5,600 in general state aid for each student, DeBaillie said.
If people pull their children out of the Orion schools, it will reverse one of the positive trends the district has seen lately.
After declining for years, the district’s enrollment has leveled out during the past few years, Deets said. It is even going up.
As painful as cutting staff and programs is, the long-term consequences of ignoring the Orion school district’s financial situation are worse, Superintendent David Deets said.
“If you take nothing away from the forum but this,” Deets began a statement to the audience at the C.R. Hanna Elementary School on Wednesday, April 7.
He continued with a list of consequences the district could face in four or five years, if it fails to deal with a $700,000 to $1 million deficit.
• Class sizes of 30 to 40 at C.R. Hanna.
• No music in any of the three schools.
• No sports in any building.
“If this crisis goes on, that’s a real possibility,” Deets said. “If we don’t make timely cuts now, we have to make lots of tougher cuts in two, three or four years.”
Some districts already have cut sports and music, the superintendent said.
If Orion has to sacrifice those programs, or if the property tax rate goes up, potential residents might say, “If you don’t have that, we’re not moving to Orion,” Deets said.
Bill Gombert, a father whose children have attended Orion schools, said he would like to see the district sell the administration building and make appropriate cuts.
But he doesn’t want to see enrollment dropping, houses going up for sale and real estate prices falling.
People won’t want to move into the district if there are no extracurricular activities, one woman pointed out at the Orion Middle School forum.
Gary Heard, OMS principal, said new parents have told him they chose Orion for specific activities.
Natalie Weller, a physical education teacher at OMS, said people come to Orion for the quality of the schools. Her statement drew applause from the audience at the C.R. Hanna forum.
Parents like the education small schools offer, Weller said. They want daily physical education classes, music and other things that big-city schools don’t offer.
If the district cuts extracurricular activities, families will consider the best options for their children in deciding whether to move here, or to move out, said Nathan DeBaillie, athletic director and dean of students at Orion High School.
The district receives $5,600 in general state aid for each student, DeBaillie said.
If people pull their children out of the Orion schools, it will reverse one of the positive trends the district has seen lately.
After declining for years, the district’s enrollment has leveled out during the past few years, Deets said. It is even going up.
Families come here because Orion has an excellent teaching staff, OHS teacher Bob Mitton said. His statement drew applause at the OHS forum on Tuesday, April 6.
Parents want their children here not just for academics, and not just for sports, but for both, he said.
It all fits together to make well-rounded students, Mitton said.
Orion is letting quality people go, Weller said.
That is one of the long-term consequences the superintendent expects.
The district will lose quality young teachers who have been laid off, Deets said. Many will not stay in education.
Changes that Illinois legislators made in the pension plan this spring will make it harder to attract talented people to work as teachers, the superintendent said.
In the next 10 to 15 years, a dramatic transformation will occur in education, Deets said.
More students will receive schooling over the internet, he said. More charter schools will start up. A voucher system will let parents choose from a broader selection of schools. Small districts will feel more pressure to consolidate.
