They need to hear from you! You may have read some proposals about this in the State Journal (and here) or Channel 3 on Friday (yup, bad news Friday), including closing 3 elementary schools, but that is way down on tier four.
The proposed cuts are here.
School Board President Arlene Silveira send out emails saying there would be public hearings:
Last night the Board received recommendations from the Administration on cuts/efficiencies to address the budget situation we currently face. The MMSD must address for 2011-11 a $29.8 million budget difference.
The Board had asked the Administration to provide options for addressing the $29.8 million budget difference. A summary of the recommendations can be found at:
http://drupal.madison.k12.wi.us/files/summary%20of%20all%20tiers_0.pdfPlease take some time to review these recommendations. Many have serious implications for the schools and the community. Detailed impact statements for each of these options can be found at:
http://drupal.madison.k12.wi.us/node/6365
$28.6 million of the budget difference can be filled with property taxes, if we so choose. If we were to tax to full authority, the property tax increase on the average $250,000 home would be an ADDITIONAL $312.50. For approximately every $7.2M we cut from our budget, the $312.50 number would decrease by approximately $77.00.
What is the right balance? We have 2 public hearings scheduled to hear input from the community:
March 22
6:00pm
UW Space Place at the Villager MallApril 18
1:00pm
Warner Park Community CenterWe also encourage feedback by email: board@madison.k12.wi.us This email will reach the entire Board and the Superintendent.
Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.
Arlene
This could be a long painful process, but it starts here and it starts with you, feedback is important. I think we all know we need to keep our schools strong to keep our City strong, but how?
