The Hinsdale High School District 86 Board has signed off on a plan that drastically slashes administrative and support staff at the school as part of a larger plan to save money for infrastructure repairs deemed to be more critical.
The district moved on Dec. 10 to impose the cuts, which the Chicago Tribune has reported include four administrators and five support staffers, insisting that the estimated $1.1 million saved from the reorganization is much more needed in the areas of general school improvements.
After a funding referendum was voted down in the November general election by 54 percent of voters, school officials warned more cuts could be looming in athletics and other extracurricular activities.
Pay for all nonunion employees has also been frozen, and early-morning and after-school bus services for students could also soon be on the chopping block; all music tutor positions have already been eliminated.
Altogether, WBBM Radio reported, the district has more than $40 million tied up in various projects that, according to the Tribune, include roof and heating repairs that won’t be finalized for at least the next six years.
All the cuts and even proposed ones seem to be having an effect, with the Tribune now reporting some area residents appear to be rethinking their anti-referendum positions.
“To the community, this is a call to action,” Kari Galassi of Hinsdale told the Tribune. “We are in serious crisis mode.”
Neighbor Stacey Tantillo added, “You have awoken a sleeping bear. We fought hard for that November referendum, but you ain’t see nothing yet.”
The vast majority of the cuts can be avoided if a new referendum is approved by early April, according to the Tribune.
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