A deflated 2013-14 budget left Northeast School Corp. trustees with no other alternative but to terminate five teachers and demote one principal amid cries against closing schools.
Trustees unanimously passed NESC Superintendent Mark Baker’s recommendation that also reduces staff, restructures its special education program and freezes filling retiring teachers’ positions effective at the end of the current school year.
“I mean, there’s not a great solution to any of this,” Baker said.
The recommendation also eliminates the technology integration specialist at North Central High School unless a grant is obtained to pay for it. The position — held by former North Central social studies teacher Bryan Strain — was created when the corporation implemented iPads in place of textbooks.
Finally, as part of the recommendation, the board will begin restructuring the special education program in the corporation.
To correct the ever-tightening budget, the corporation plans to create a referendum that would raise taxes to help offset lost funding. Trustees and Superintendent Baker hope the referendum will be ready by November for voters to accept or deny.
Copyright Kelk Publishing