Brett Wallace, Chronicle-Tribune
The board of Marion Community Schools on Wednesday night approved a budget proposal from the superintendent that saves the district about $1.958 million from its general fund in 2010.
The proposal forced MCS to immediately dismiss 15 workers and reduce the hours for seven more. However, no teachers were cut as a result of the budget decreases.
The positions eliminated include eight custodians, two food service workers, two maintenance workers, two employees from the educational service center and the property manager for the Asherwood Environmental Science Center.
“This is certainly not what I came to Marion to do as superintendent,” Steve Edwards said before detailing the proposed position eliminations. “I’m disappointed. However, the state left us little choice.”
Edwards said the cuts were made easier by the previous contract negotiations with the Marion Teachers Association that allowed him to reduce this year’s health insurance expenses by $991,721. That accounted for more than half of all cuts the school district was forced to make Wednesday.
All the positions were eliminated effective today. Edwards said the action was taken quickly to allow those who have lost jobs full access to temporary COBRA health insurance plans. If those cuts had been made after March 1, he said access to COBRA would have been more limited for these recently unemployed people.