Silvis school cuts - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

Silvis school cuts

By: Kate Pabich
kpabich@cbs4qc.com

The Silvis school district announced Wednesday night that because of a half a million dollar budget deficit, and declining enrollment, some teachers have to go.

"I just wish education was a bigger priority in our state"

Kathy Bear has been teaching at George O Barr Elementary for 35 years, and she says she's not nervous her job will be on the chopping block, but says pink slips take a toll on the entire teaching staff.
 
"That's a hard process it's very unsettling, it's hard to make plans, you don't know if you're going to have a job in the fall or not, you're not sure if funding from the state is going to come through or not."

And Superintendent Bergles agrees, he says it's not ideal but when the state cuts funds, the districts have to adjust.
 
"At some point your reserves shrink to the point where you can't do it anymore."

He says the state cut $600,000 in funding and the district just cant afford it.

"When you lose staff members, everybody brings strengths to the district and
so in a small school like ours it means all that extra work is spread around to everyone."

But Kathy says more students per class is never easy.

"Kindergarten is hands on, they need a lot of attention so if I were to have 33 students just think about how that would cut down on my time for each student."

And parents fear their children could lose out.

"I think she might miss out whether it's an extracurricular activity, she'll miss out"

The superintendent says even after the layoffs the district is still $350,000 in the red, and they're now looking to cut books and supplies.