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Exchange Students

Charlotte Kreklau

Sina Kilian

Broncho Express

Volume 2 Issue 7          

April 2010

Editor: Macy McClung

Reporters: Brett Wilson, Isaac Hale, Macy McClung, Sina Kilian, Charlotte Krekau, Petie Bensin, Jennifer Reyes Sawyer Wilson, Tori Cordova, Linda Mercado

Advisor: Mr. Klug

The Broncho Express newspaper may contain facts, views, opinions, statements and recommendations of staff, students and third party individuals. The Broncho Express news staff does not represent or endorse the accuracy, currentness or reliability of any advice, grammar or opinion.

Economic Times

Macy McClung

We all know our school district is having problems with their budget, and to be frank what district is not? What people fail to realize is, how severe these cuts are and how greatly they impact the students and the schools. Teachers and aids are getting cut, the majority of sports programs are cut and small luxuries, like tissues, are taken out of the equation entirely. So, if you were planning on blowing your nose with a school Kleenex next year, think again.

When interviewed, Wendy Wood, the district’s Manager of Business Services, revealed what exactly was happening within our district. “It’s

really bad, it’s really bad. Its not that our expenses are growing at a terrible pace, but we can’t control how much our rates go up for expenses like gas, phones, and electricity. Our expenditures are going up and we have no control of the revenue going down.”

Also, she explained how the state’s policies and budget crisis greatly affect our district’s budget. Personnel costs go up every year no matter what, we have no control over that. The state is in major crisis so they have to cut back. “They say they are saving education, but in reality that is one of the biggest areas they cut from.” The money the school receives from the state comes in the form of restricted resources (money that can be used only for certain expenses). “Last year the government started to allow the district to move the money around, changing it from a restricted resource to an unrestricted resource”.

The Board of Education is already taking action to reduce the school’s expenditures for the coming years. The goal is to increase revenue and decrease expenditures. “It’s the little things that were cutting back on, like Kleenex. Notes have been sent home at the elementary school stating that the school just doesn’t have the money to buy these supplies.”

So far, the board has voted to lay off these teachers and activities: the elementary school reading specialist, the garden coordinator, the English Language coordinator, the school will also have three days cut from the school year. There will also be cuts in working hours of some of the district’s employees. Probably the most devastating hit in budget cuts affects the student’s sports programs. So far, the sports that are cut for next year are: baseball, cheerleading, tennis, softball, and all middle school sports. The students here are very active in participating in sports and are very upset over the matter. I am a graduating senior this year, and even though I will not attend this school next year, I am angered that they have decided to cut from the one thing that many of our students find as their only, healthy release in life. Unfortunately, this is the only way for the district to reduce money loss without cutting instruction, and cutting instruction would be an injustice to the students in this district.

The good news is that we are in a lot better shape financially than other schools in our county. The extra income the district has received in the past was put away and used wisely, and this is what has kept us ahead of other schools financially. In the wise words of  Wendy Wood, “We are still in business for now and the near future, but we are really hurt.”