By Brad Palmer
Du Quoin, IL – The head of a southern Illinois school district was not surprised Governor Quinn's budget plan included strong cuts to education.
Gary Kelly is superintendent of the Du Quoin District 300. He says administrators knew the proposed cuts were coming since K through 12 education had largely escaped severe cuts in recent years.
But Kelly says the possibility of severe cuts along with the state's lagging payments and a loss in federal stimulus dollars could mean a loss of nearly $2 million for his district.
He says that could lead to an announcement of personnel cuts this month. In fact, Kelly says the district met Wednesday night with its faculty and staff.
Kelly says the discussion with its faculty and staff also includes the possibility of program and extra-curricular cuts.
He says the school district hopes Governor Quinn's proposed tax surcharge for education passes to help offset some of the lost funding.
