Jen Gibson, Times-Union Staff Writer

NORTH MANCHESTER - Manchester Community School Corp. faces a $900,000 deficit in the budget, due to state cuts in funding.

At its February meeting, the Manchester School Board approved a motion cutting 17 jobs and reducing hours for seven more. The jobs eliminated were made up of classroom aides and custodians.

Now administrators at the school corporation are working on a list they hope they will not need to use.

"We are moving ahead with the RIF (reduction in force) list," said Superintendent Dr. Diana Showalter, adding that she hopes the list is short or not needed at all.

Until the exact amount of the budget reduction is known, the school corporation is working to reduce spending in whatever way possible.

According to Business Manager Steve Shumaker, the reduced budget is about what the school was spending in 2006, but that amount is being used to pay 2010 prices for gasoline, equipment and other expenses.

Manchester Community Schools also is looking at a strategic planning proposal with Wabash City Schools. The school corporations are trying to find ways to share expenses on regularly used items to save money. The proposal is still in the planning stages, but the two corporations are looking at their options.

The board also heard about a summer lunch program that Manchester Community Schools now qualifies for. The USDA-funded program provides free lunches for children ages 1 to 18 during the summer months. The program is 100 percent funded by the USDA at no cost to the school.

In order to participate in the program, students must eat on-site and parents are not allowed to eat the children's food. Food also is not allowed to be taken home.

School systems with elementary schools that have at least 50 percent of students qualifying for free or reduced lunches are eligible for the program.