District 46 Board Approves Budget Cuts, Spares PE Reduction

The Grayslake District 46 board voted Wednesday night to approve nearly every budget cut recommendation on their list with the exception of the reduction of 2.5 physical education teachers in the K-4 buildings.

Board members expressed concern about the physical education proposal, which would have seen students having 10 minutes less gym class time. The reduction would have saved the district $125,000.

"First of all, it's really hard to look at this list," said Board Secretary Sue Facklam. When looking at the proposed physical education reduction, Facklam said she was concerned about the health problems that are on the rise, including childhood obesity, diabetes and the limited activity that some children get.

"I do not think at this time that this is a good idea," she said. The motion to approve the measure failed 4-2.

The board also struggled with reducing the number of Spanish teachers by 1.2. Doing so would eliminate the Spanish program, keeping it next year only for the 7th-graders who are enrolled in the program this year.

"I think this is really detrimental to these students," said Board Member Michael Carbone.

The measure ultimately passed 4-2.

Other budget cuts approved Wednesday night included:

• Reduce 14.5 FTE teachers, $725,000
• Reduce 4 FTE teachers special education teachers at Woodview, Park, Frederick and Grayslake Middle Schools, $200,000
• Reduce 2 social workers, $151,921
• Reduce building budgets by 10 percent, $52,000
• Reduce tech budget by $50,000
• Eliminate position of pre-K coordinator, $30,000
• Adjust substitute pay, $20,000
• Reduce board budget by $19,250
• Reduce business office budget by $10,000
• Reduce superintendent budget by $5,000
• Eliminate NWEA testing for kindergarten, $5,000

Board Vice President Keith Surroz said even after these reductions, there is still a deficit of about $790,000 remaining.

"Those are going to be some tough decisions," he said.