As part of “Charting Our Course,” Charleston Community Unit School District (CUSD) 1's long-term fiscal strategy, the Community Unit School District met on Feb. 17 to consider the district’s financial options.
Potential reduction areas consist of lowering building maintenance budgets and technology expenditures; postponing textbook and other instructional purchases; cutting adaptive physical education classes from the curriculum; and reducing paraprofessional and secretarial staffing.
Additional possibilities include eliminating the position of energy education manager, in addition to reducing staff levels in certain departments at the high school and elementary levels.
Financial summaries of Charleston Middle School and Charleston High School activity were displayed in chart form during the meeting, along with the comparative costs of athletics, extracurricular and co-curricular activities for the district, including transportation.
It was suggested that reconfigured scheduling at Charleston Middle School could save up to $35,954 by transferring staff to fill positions as needed. Another significant scenario would involve transferring Ashmore Elementary School’s entire incoming fourth grade to Jefferson Elementary School. Data was presented on relative class sizes based on variations of the concept.
Those in attendance at the meeting were told that approximately $165,813 in health insurance savings could be culled from staff attrition, resignation or reductions. They also learned that increasing driver education fees and parking fees could generate up to $26,400 and $10,000 in annual operating revenue, respectively.
Ticket prices for events were also considered, specifically increasing special event fees by a couple of dollars apiece. Finally, shifting or reducing certain staff positions and athletic eligibility, shifting from a middle school model to a junior high structure, and cutting summer school were laid out as potential savings opportunities.
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