Charleston school board goes back and forth over budget cuts

By DAVE FOPAY - H&R Staff Writer

CHARLESTON - Charleston Superintendent Jim Littleford summed up Wednesday how school board members were handling how they might trim the Charleston High School athletic budget.

"We're all over the place," he said.

A discussion of perhaps cutting sports budgets by 5 percent or 10 percent led to comments about reducing game schedules and that staff cuts would be the best way to save money. Littleford got what he wanted with the meeting to discuss what the next round of budget cuts might involve, though there seemed to be little indication of a consensus.

At press time, the board had heard from those in attendance about concerns about some proposed cuts and began talking about the athletic program. Members had yet to address possible reductions in teaching staff that Littleford also had prepared for the meeting, which drew a crowd of nearly 100.

At one point, board President Ron Miller noted that the board said it wanted to do the "least harm" to varsity athletics. Littleford came back with the possible 5 percent or 10 percent reduction, and "now you're changing the direction," he said.

"Let's give him direction and let him go," Miller said. "Don't keep moving the target on him."

Wednesday's meeting followed cuts the board approved last month that totaled about $450,000. Those included eliminating high school holiday basketball tournaments, reducing the number of games at the middle school level and for high school freshman, sophomore and junior varsity teams and suspending textbook purchases.

Last month's cuts and additional reductions that likely will be up for votes at the board's regular meeting next week are supposed to help get to Littleford's overall target of

$1.63 million in reductions. That's the amount he said is needed to offset budget deficits projected to start three years from now if no changes are made.

Littleford has said state funding for education is the main reason for the need for the cuts.

Littleford told the board that the total cost of Charleston High School athletics comes to about $263,000 a year. That prompted board member Kevin Oakley to note that more budget reductions still would be needed, "if we cut everything."

Possible teaching staff reductions were to be discussed, along with proposals not to replace retiring teachers and reassigning some teachers to other positions.