Monday night the Argos School Board approved the reduction in force of certified and classified personnel due to the fact that referendum failed in the May 3 election.
Board President Brett Sanders said, “During the presentations for the referendum prior to the election there was information shown as to where the school would have to go to make up the shortfall if the referendum did not pass, with one of those being a reduction in staffing.” He continued, “As a way to close the gap between the income and the expenses the board spent nearly 3 and a half hours last week looking at our options to get a balanced budget.”
Sanders asked school board members to put students first and making decisions that would be best for the students, making the least impact for them and their educational process. He also asked members to look 2 years down the line, not just one year like we’ve been doing for a while. He said, “Looking 2 years out will help us stabilize. In this time period the board can look for additional funding or where the corporation is going to head.”
The reductions approved during Monday’s School Board meeting included a PE teacher who is retiring, an elementary teacher who is moving to the Plymouth School Corporation, 2 secretaries, the accounts payable position, the technology custodian and a cafeteria worker.
The Argos School Board also approved a change in transportation costs. The cost will be pulled from the actual athletic fund helping the general fund.
