Schools force WACTC to cut budget
Western Area Career and Technology Center whittled away at the original $5.82 million 2016-17 budget it submitted in April after all nine school districts tied to the center rejected it in May.
Fort Cherry School Board tabled the proposed budget in May, effectively rejecting the spending plan, which included no cuts.
“The superintendents whose districts are with WACTC are not supporting this budget because they made no cuts. We’ve made cuts, and we believe if we do, they should as well,” said superintendent Dr. Jill Jacoby.
Dr. Roberta DiLorenzo, superintendent of Washington School District, said the unanimous rejections and follow-up talks made clear that WACTC had to revise its budget. She said districts received the revised budget of $5.69 million May 26 and that she and other superintendents were satisfied their concerns were answered.
“We made several changes (based on) superintendent recommendations,” said WACTC director Dr. Dennis McCarthy. “We eliminated a janitor’s position. We removed our math position, which was paid out of our Perkins Grant. We reduced our child-care program from full time to part time starting in the fall … due to low enrollment, (and) we reduced our consumables that are used in all shops.”
The reductions list child-care services as roughly halved from $105,863 to $52,744. School districts are slated to approve or reject the budget along with their own final budgets for 2016-17 in June.