April 2011
Phone: 260-463-4901 • Fax 888-439-6528 • The Hometown Treasure
Letter On Pending Legislation From The Westview School Board
by Westview Board of School Trustees
The Westview Board of School Trustees voted unanimously on February 25 in public session to approve the content of
the letter below and distribution of the letter to elected representatives and to Westview patrons.
Dear Senator Glick, Representative Yarde, and Representative Wolkins:
We, elected school board of Westview Schools in per student.
SB 575 includes a binding arbitration clause that
LaGrange County, appreciate your time and effort
to read our concerns about pending legislation. As takes away the local school board’s final control in
elected officials you and we understand the difficulty matters of staff pay. Staff pay is, of course, the largest
in anticipating all the ramifications when drafting new single budget item for schools. Placing final and binding
public policy. We wish to comment, from the local financial decisions in the hands of an appointed board,
standpoint, on how some proposed state legislation instead of leaving these decisions in the hands of
locally elected officials, will seriously harm our ability
will impact our schools.
Certainly times are difficult financially. Westview to continue with our conservative spending practices.
schools, by conservative spending and careful planning,
HB 1002 has provisions that could, very possibly,
have been able to function reasonably well through bankrupt our transportation fund. This unfunded
financial shortfalls and tightened budgets. Our staff mandate to expand transportation services, would
has adjusted and helped by agreeing last year to a pay disproportionately impact rural districts where a
cut, suspension of increments and reduced supply proportionately greater budget percentage goes to
budgets so programs could be maintained. Our concern transportation due to miles traveled. It would result
is the addition of new and expensive programs in in greater local taxation and/or reduction in current
proposed legislation. A further concern is that proposed transportation services.
We urge you to consider the potential financial
legislation removes the local school board’s ability to
impact of HB 1002, HB 1003, and SB 575 and not support
control spending in their districts.
The proposed 10 million dollar appropriation in this legislation as it is currently written. With local
HB 1003 will result in a $20,000 reduction to Westview control we have maintained a sound fiscal position and
Schools with no guarantee that the program will not programs that have produced successful educational
continue to grow. It opens the state to pay for the outcomes. We urge you to take great care not to erode
education of students not currently supported by the control of our schools by locally elected officials
public dollars with no ability to add additional money and their constituents. We appreciate your efforts
for education and thus less state education monies on our behalf and for the betterment of education.
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