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Oswego Superintendent Unveils Budget Plan With 2.5% Tax Levy Hike, 59.4 Job Cuts

March 16, 2010 Steve Yablonski

Superintendent of schools Bill Crist presented his proposed spending plan for 2010-11 to the board of education Tuesday night. The $74.4 million budget increases the tax levy by 2.5 percent Ã¢â‚¬â€œ and includes moving the central offices into the Leighton school building. Leighton’s students would be dispersed to the other four remaining elementary schools and Oswego Middle School. The plan would also cut 59.4 full-time positions, district wide.

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Hannibal Students Protest Possible Loss of Sports, Music, Art With Silence

March 10, 2010 Contributor

Students mass along the square in Hannibal for a protest against possible cuts to sports, music and arts. Photo courtesy NewsChannel 9.

Dozens of students in Hannibal High School taped their mouths shut for the day Wednesday and staged a silent after-school protest in the village square against possible budget cuts that could claim their sports teams, bands, choruses and art classes.

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Hoefer Supports Superintendent’s Plan For Oswego District

March 10, 2010 Steve Yablonski

The Oswego School Board member says the superintendent is trying to do something right. Instead of cutting him, the board should give him a chance. “I want to see if he can pull this (budget) off with no tax increase,” Hoefer added. The superintendent will present his proposed spending plan next week.

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Fulton School Budget Holds Spending Line, Cuts 18 Jobs

March 10, 2010 Contributor

Fulton’s school budget picture looks a whole lot better than it did a week ago, though it will take as many as 18 lost jobs to do it.

The Board of Education Tuesday night reviewed the first official draft of the budget for 2010-2011. It is the product of months of work, including several public work sessions by a committee of administrators, board members and members of the public.

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Oswego School Board Meeting, Workshop Set Tuesday

March 8, 2010 Contributor

The board is expected to address resolutions relating to spring coaches and a possible extension of the contract for the superintendent of schools.

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Public Lobbies Hannibal Board To Save Threatened Programs As Board Invites Unions To Concession Talks

March 4, 2010 Contributor

There were many items on the agenda for Hannibal’s Board of Education meeting Wednesday night, but the discussion kept coming back to the one issue that matters most: the upcoming school budget.

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Fulton Schools, Teachers’ Union Starting Contract Talks, But Not In Time To Help Cut Budget

March 3, 2010 Contributor

The Fulton City School District and its largest union are about to begin talks towards a new contract at the same time as the district is trying to squeeze every penny of savings out of a budget that so far contains a massive deficit.

“We don’t have money.Ã‚Â We’re not shy about saying that,” Lynch said.

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Leighton Supporters Turn Out In Force

March 3, 2010 Steve Yablonski

The Oswego School Board Room was jammed packed Tuesday night with supporters of Leighton Elementary School. Many of them took the opportunity to voice their opposition to a plan that would close the west side school.

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Budget Sweeps Provide More Cause to Worry

March 1, 2010 Contributor

This sets a bad precedence and is terrible budgeting policy. Simply put, if money is collected for a specific purpose, it should be used solely for that purpose.

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Cuts To The Bone Won’t Fill Hannibal Budget Gap; Board Will Ask Unions For Givebacks

February 25, 2010 Contributor

Members of the Hannibal Board of Education and a large audience listen as Superintendent Mike DiFabio presents his budget presentation.

Go ahead.Ã‚Â Cut Hannibal’s school budget for 2010-11.Ã‚Â There’s a deficit, so make the cuts necessary to fill the hole.

Cut everything. Cut it all.Ã‚Â It isn’t enough. Not even close.

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