This past August, the Redwood Area Board of Education heard from its administration that its budget for the current year looked to be in the red to the tune of about $74,000.
That number got quite a bit worse recently, and, according to Rick Ellingworth, RASD superintendent, the deficit number for the current school year looks to be more than $240,000.
The budget change, said Ellingworth, has to do with a reduction in federal aid coming to the school from the stimulus package approved earlier this year by Congress.
That $170,000 re-duction puts the school district more in the red and looking for ways to address its budget deficit for this year.
Ellingworth added the news does not get any better for the up-coming year, either, as the deficit increases by more than $208,000 for the 2010-11 school year meaning it is looking at a deficit of nearly half a million dollars at the end of the 2010-11 year.
Ellingworth said the time to address this is right now.
Ellingworth likened the current situation to standing at the edge of a cliff.
With the state facing a deficit in the billions of dollars again, school officials are not expecting any help, either.
“What we need to do is start looking at ways we can reduce our expenses without making any knee jerk reactions,” said Ellingworth, adding if there are ways to keep the programs currently in place and still save money the school district is willing to do that.
The budget issue was discussed this past Monday by the board of education. In other action, the school board:
• Accepted the resignations of Dianne Bjerke from her position as an elementary school math paraprofessional, Libby Joyce from her position as middle school girls volleyball coach and Cynthia Abboud from her position as an elementary reading paraprofessional.
• Approved the employment of Jennifer Eberhard as a long-term sub in general music for 10 days at $105 per day and 10 days at $174.31 per day, Bobby Kubesh as an elementary school math para and Stacy Angermeyr as a high school special education para.
