Edwardsville board votes to cut 60 teaching jobs

[NNN0LHI]

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local/illinois&id=8579011

March 13, 2012 (EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) -- The school board in Edwardsville has approved a cost-saving plan that will eliminate up to 86 jobs -- including 60 teaching positions for next fall. snip

Superintendent Ed Hightower says the cuts are needed because property tax revenue has dropped and the state has reduced funding. Hightower says the district is making the cuts rather than increasing property taxes because officials didn't want to put more of a burden on families.

[Roy Ellefson]

1. Ed Hightower

Ed needs to spend less time reffing Big Ten Basketball games and get back to work fixing his school district...those layoffs will be a bigger burden on families than a small property tax increase.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Note they won't even CONSIDER a tax increase

I recently volunteered to sit on a task force looking at our county budget. We were asked ONLY to make recommendations for cuts. The possibility of asking for a tax increase - which is necessary to maintain current services - was not even considered. Blew me away.

So I spoke up. 75% of the people on that citizens task force agreed with me that the county should ask for a tax increase. But the county commissioners there said no way, they had already voted not to increase taxes. I asked why the commission has the power to deny a vote of the people who actually pay the tax. Blank look from commissioners.

It's just an accepted platform that they won't ask for tax increases. Damn.