Despite having a new governor in Springfield, school districts in Illinois continue to face uncertaintity in their budgeting.
Cuts once again appear to be on the horizon and Clinton Board of Education candidates recently uesd a "Meet the Candidates" forum to address the issue. Mike Walker says how the money is spent will come down to the new Superintendent, Kurt Nettles. Walker says it is his job to direct the board on how the money should be spent.
[audio:3311562113-33115budgettalk1.mp3] [/audio]
Chris Hammer feels the amount of students per teacher are in a classroom would be his first area of investigation. He says while cutting teachers may not be popular, it is one way to trim the budget.
[audio:3311562116-33115budgettalk2.mp3] [/audio]
According to incumbent Russell Long, there is some good news. While Senate Bill 1 is getting a lot of attention, he notes there is legislation that would incorporate aspects of Vision 20/20, a reform to the education system led by educators in Illinois.
[audio:3311562119-33115budgettalk3.mp3] [/audio]
Evan Severson says cuts would have to come first and then the discussion of raising taxes. He says whatever is done needs to be done with the community in mind and keeping the community informed.
[audio:3311562122-33115budgettalk4.mp3] [/audio]
Incumbent Board member Nancy Stokowski says cuts through attrition have been going on for many years in the district. She says cuts to vocational is not an option because of the amount of students that benefit from them.
[audio:3311562126-33115budgettalk5.mp3] [/audio]
Mitchi Tucker says prior to current Superintendent Dr. Jeff Holmes' tenure, Clinton was well staffed with an award winning ratio of students to teachers. She feels the district must find a way to maintain it's programs in place.
[audio:3311562130-33115budgettalk6.mp3] [/audio]
Each candidate had two minutes to give an answer.
The election is April 7.
Hear the entire candidates forum below:
[audio:3251515949-32415MeettheCandidatesForumSeg1.mp3] Segment 1 [/audio]
[audio:3251515531-32415MeettheCandidatesForumSeg.mp3] Segment 2 [/audio]
