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Hacking Away
Consequences of local funding cuts already obvious in education
By Iman G. and Sara J., Associate Editors
With the impending budget from the state government, Washington High School has been plunged into additional woes over its district budget.
For the current school year, assuming the passage of the Governor's education proposal, Washington High School will need to sustain over $800,000 in cuts, ranging from the environmental education program to teachers' salaries.
Although legislative action was planned to remove the cap through a constitutional amendment, the opposing party withdrew support, citing it was not a practical measure. With the bill's cancellation in the House, there is little refuge remaining, save state aid, for the Washington school district.
Meanwhile, the school board has been searching for potential cuts. The district's comptroller said, "Given the impending budget difficulties, we have been forced to make some tentative cuts, based on the likelihood that the Governor's budget will pass, as will the levy. As such, the Superintendent has instructed his cabinet to make cuts from their departments that they felt would create the least impact on the quality of our children's education."
The levy has not capped out for the high school district. It has reached, however, an all-time high of nearly 93 percent of budgetary revenue. As such, the Washington high school district may pass only approximately two additional mills, for a total of around $1.5 million, before it reaches its Constitutional law cap. The head of the school board said, "We plan to take full advantage of the cap while it's still there. We are the only high school district who has not yet reached our fiscal cap, thanks to our policies of fiscal conservatism in the past several years."
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