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Amid enrollment slide, District 150 tackles deficit

Cass Herrington
/
Peoria Public Radio

District Superintendent Sharon Kherat says enrollment is down at least 444 students compared to this time last year. That number wasn’t part of last night’s official budget presentation.

Enrollment is at 12,824, compared to 13,268 last year and 13,354 in 2013, Kherat said. 

Staff skirted answering exactly how large class sizes would be, saying more firm numbers are expected after Labor Day.  The district also started the year with 53 fewer teachers compared to last fall.  School board member Dan Adler says lower enrollment numbers would affect the final classroom tally.

“It’s good that there’s manageable class sizes for the teachers, it’s unfortunate that we don’t have as many students in them,” Adler said.

Nearly 30 percent of the district’s funding comes from state aid. Much of that assistance is based off of student attendance. This year’s proposed budget aims to cut the district’s $13.6 million  deficit in half by next June.  

The board is scheduled to vote on the budget during its September 28th meeting.

Kherat says there is still an excess of programs and initiatives that could be cut.

“There’s some things we’re paying for now that we could get for free,” Kherat said.

Kherat cited the costs of staff training and conference travel for professional development. The School Board is set to approve the budget during its meeting late next month.  Kherat also introduced her cabinet members during  Monday night’s meeting. That includes a new Director of Technology responsible for developing alternatives to travel and in-person training.