McLean County's largest school district will hold three public forums this month aimed at soliciting community feedback on how the district should address a multimillion-dollar deficit in its education fund.
WGLT sat down with Unit 5 school board members Amy Roser and Barry Hitchins to discuss how they are attempting to manage a budget with a multimillion-dollar gap in education expenses.
Unit 5 leaders are looking at cutting three dozen full-time teaching positions and two administrator roles for next school year, as well as eliminating two programs fifth-grade band/orchestra and eighth-grade foreign language to address a multi-million dollar deficit.
Nearly two dozen speakers aired frustrations during public comments at the Unit 5 school board's meeting Wednesday night, while a sign-waving crowd applauded from their seats in the Normal Community West High School auditorium.
Unit 5 again plans to use working cash bonds to cut into its structural deficit, now at $13 million. But several board members said Wednesday it’s time to stop relying on that kind of temporary fix.