The Orion school board will vote Wednesday, March 17, on a plan to deal with a budget shortfall of $725,000.
According to state law, possible staff reductions have to be announced in March.
Hoping the district will learn more this spring about how much state aid it can expect in 2010-11,
Superintendent David Deets said the school board will make final decisions in May.
The district will finish preparing the budget in June and July. After the public has a chance to review it in August, the board will vote on it in September.
District officials want to “identify and implement staff adjustments that will have the least impact on the quality of education provided to our students,” according to a document Deets released on the district website and in an e-mail to Talk 223 subscribers.
“As all of us are aware, the State of Illinois is facing some of the most difficult financial challenges in decades and recently,” Deets wrote.
Gov. Pat Quinn confirmed a likely reduction in state aid, the superintendent wrote.
About 30 pecent of Orion’s funding comes from the state, Deets wrote. The district expects to receive $320,000 less from the state.
At the same time, contracts obligate the district to pay $245,000 in salary increases during 2010-11, the superintendent wrote.
The projected deficit for the current budget is $160,000, Deets wrote. Because the district spends conservatively, the deficit may be less than that.
“We do have some reserves in our fund balances that can offset some of this gap, but I am recommending that the board consider possible reductions equal to this amount so that we can balance our budget next year,” Deets wrote.
“One reason is that we may not receive all of our anticipated revenue this year, and it is prudent to maintain our reserves as long as possible, because the Illinois funding crisis may take years to correct,” the superintendent wrote.
Despite the cuts, district officials hope to continue providing “one of the best school systems in the Quad City area,” Deets wrote.
“We will learn to adapt without some staffing resources, and I know that our district employees are up to the challenge of doing more with less in these tough times,” he wrote.
Education and safety are the top priorities, Deets wrote.
“Community support of our schools is one of the strongest assets of our district,” the superintendent wrote. “I am confident that you will help us rise to the challenges of the next few years, and we will emerge better than ever.”
