BRODHEAD - The Brodhead school board Wednesday continued the process of determining which district employees would be laid off in the event the April 6 referendum fails.
If the referendum doesn't pass, the district would have to make about $260,000 in staff cuts to help make up the expected $393,000 deficit for the 2010-11 school year.
Formal lay-off notices will have to be approved at the March 22 school board meeting so district staff can be notified by April 1, the date specified in the teachers' contracts.
The board unanimously decided to eliminate one elementary school teacher; one part-time middle or high school English teacher; one middle school or high school math teacher; one of the three district guidance counselors; and reduce the Family and Consumer Education and agriculture education teacher positions to part-time.
The decisions were made after much discussion Wednesday.
None of the cuts will be easy, and all of the cuts will have an impact on the students, board members said.
In some cases, class sizes would increase, and students may have fewer choices when it comes to class sections. In other cases, students who planned to take some classes would have to make alternative class choices.
Originally, the entire agriculture program was on the chopping block, but board member Carol Kloepping said she couldn't support that.
"This is an agricultural community," she said. "Agriculture is important."
If the board eliminated all agriculture classes, the district would also have to eliminate the FFA program, Superintendent Charles Deery said. He said districts need at least one agriculture class in order to offer an FFA program.
Eventually, the board decided to cut the agriculture program by 50 percent, and cut the consumer education program in half.
The board also discussed how to get information to the public for the April 6 referendum.
A public meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday at the high school to discuss the referendum and its impact on district residents.
District voters will be asked to allow the school system to exceed the state-mandated property tax revenue caps by $393,000 in 2010-11; $567,000 in 2011-12; and $797,100 in 2012-13.
The tax rate for 2010-11 would be $8.27 per $1,000 of equalized property value, which is lower than this year's rate of $8.45. In the second year of the referendum, taxpayers will pay $9.52. In the third year, the tax rate will increase to $10.16.
Kloepping suggested the board print material and circulate it, in addition to making it available on the district Web site, for people who don't have access to the Internet. She said the people she has talked to have told her they want as much information as possible to make their decision. Kloepping said it would be a good idea for the board to provide the information to voters beyond what's on the district's Web site.
The board also discussed how the meeting will proceed.
Board President Peggy Olsen said Monday's meeting should last as long as necessary for residents to ask questions and voice their opinions.
If the referendum doesn't pass, the district would have to make about $260,000 in staff cuts to help make up the expected $393,000 deficit for the 2010-11 school year.
Formal lay-off notices will have to be approved at the March 22 school board meeting so district staff can be notified by April 1, the date specified in the teachers' contracts.
The board unanimously decided to eliminate one elementary school teacher; one part-time middle or high school English teacher; one middle school or high school math teacher; one of the three district guidance counselors; and reduce the Family and Consumer Education and agriculture education teacher positions to part-time.
The decisions were made after much discussion Wednesday.
None of the cuts will be easy, and all of the cuts will have an impact on the students, board members said.
In some cases, class sizes would increase, and students may have fewer choices when it comes to class sections. In other cases, students who planned to take some classes would have to make alternative class choices.
Originally, the entire agriculture program was on the chopping block, but board member Carol Kloepping said she couldn't support that.
"This is an agricultural community," she said. "Agriculture is important."
If the board eliminated all agriculture classes, the district would also have to eliminate the FFA program, Superintendent Charles Deery said. He said districts need at least one agriculture class in order to offer an FFA program.
Eventually, the board decided to cut the agriculture program by 50 percent, and cut the consumer education program in half.
The board also discussed how to get information to the public for the April 6 referendum.
A public meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday at the high school to discuss the referendum and its impact on district residents.
District voters will be asked to allow the school system to exceed the state-mandated property tax revenue caps by $393,000 in 2010-11; $567,000 in 2011-12; and $797,100 in 2012-13.
The tax rate for 2010-11 would be $8.27 per $1,000 of equalized property value, which is lower than this year's rate of $8.45. In the second year of the referendum, taxpayers will pay $9.52. In the third year, the tax rate will increase to $10.16.
Kloepping suggested the board print material and circulate it, in addition to making it available on the district Web site, for people who don't have access to the Internet. She said the people she has talked to have told her they want as much information as possible to make their decision. Kloepping said it would be a good idea for the board to provide the information to voters beyond what's on the district's Web site.
The board also discussed how the meeting will proceed.
Board President Peggy Olsen said Monday's meeting should last as long as necessary for residents to ask questions and voice their opinions.