The West Central School Board approved the Reduction in Force procedures that the Corporation will continue to use this year.
“Often these past few years, we’ve had to go through this process and much of the time we’re hiring much of the same people back that we are putting on the reduction in force list,” said Superintendent Charles Mellon. “In case we don’t get the funding we anticipate, and even more so this year if we get the funding that we are anticipating, which is less, it’s even more critical that we notify our teachers by May 1st that this is a possibility. Because of resignations of a few people and retirements of others, we may be able to eliminate some positions, but not necessarily eliminate teachers.”
Superintendent Mellon believes that with the proposed funding formula, he predicts that the Corporation could lose $1.2 million over the next three years. That means that programs could be cut.
“We have to start looking at programs. That would be eliminating music and art in the elementary school and family and consumer science at the high school because of funding being cut from the State for vocational programs. It would be like cutting the program for two years in this budget cycle and then we’d bring it back when the money started coming back. I’d hope at the max it would be two years if it did have to happen.”
