Cary District 26 to Discuss Potential Cuts, School Closing Timeline

The Cary School District Board of Education plans to meet Monday night to discuss the for next school year and a potential school closing timeline.

However, there will be no action taken regarding closing a school.

For the past few months, the May 1 deadline has been placed on the district as the day to close a school if an agreement wasn't made between the Board of Education and the Cary Education Association.

The board has asked the teachers' unions for $2.5 million in wage and benefit concessions.

Superintendent Brain Coleman said he will present a timeline about Tier 2 cuts and a timeline for a possible school closing at the regular Board of Education meeting tonight.

The administration recommended the May 1 deadline to give time for negotiations between the board and the association to continue and progress, and the date also gives the district about a month to plan for staff and student placement for the next school.

"At some point as a district, we have to know what direction we are going to be moving," Coleman said. 

If the district does close a school, Coleman said the administration has to notify the staff before they go home for the summer.

District 26 meets with the Illinois State of Board of Education on a quarterly basis.Coleman said the state board said the district has to stick to the five-year financial plan and if not, that will raise red flags to the state.

"They want balanced budgets for the next four years," Coleman said.

The five-year plan outlines reductions of $5.5 million and are aiming for the district to operate in the black by 2015. 

Other Agenda Items

The Board of Education will have its public hearing for the 2010-11 amended budget.

T.Ferrier, director of finance and operations, said there will be a surplus of $9,881 in the amended budget, which does not include proceeds of the working cash bonds because the state does not recognize bond proceeds as regular revenue, so those funds are placed under the other financing source category.

The board will give recognition to outgoing board member Vicki Pesch, and welcome newly elected board member, Floyd Myers.

Elections of the 2011-2012 permanent officers to the Board of Education will be held, as nominations and appointments, are planned to be made for the president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer and recording secretary. 

The board will also appoint board members to be representatives’ on the finance, policy, community engagement and curriculum committees' for the 2011-2012 school year.

The regular Board of Education will meet at 7 p.m. April 25, at the , 233 Oriole Trail.