Marshfield School Board Discusses What Programs Will Be Cut if Referendum Fails
Thursday, September 15th, 2016 -- 8:05 AM
(Mike Warrens, WDLB) -The Marshfield School Board will decide next month what gets cut from the district budget, should a November referendum get voted down.The Board of Education last night discussed a possible list of cuts that would need to be made if voters say "no" to a 12-million dollar budget override referendum November 8th. If the referendum fails, the board has identified a list of cuts totaling three-point-one-million dollars. That list includes one-point-two million dollars in cuts to the instructional staff budget, including the elimination of the district's gifted and talented coordinator costing 87-thousand dollars. The proposed reductions list also includes the elimination of all Middle School sports, to the tune of 140-thousand dollars. There would also be the elimination of high school sports with the lowest enrollment, and drama and musicals would be cut at the high school as well.
The Board is now scheduled to vote on the proposed reductions list at its next meeting October 12th. In the meantime, school district officials hope to schedule several public listening sessions to gather input from residents before voting. The Marshfield Board of Education voted last month in favor of asking district residents to vote "yes" or "no" on exceeding state revenue limits by three-million dollars for four years. Without the referendum dollars, the district is looking at a budget deficit of three-point-six million dollars. That's because an existing 10-million dollar override referendum expires next year.
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