Unit 5 schools to take ‘deep dive’ into its finances for spending cuts

Posted on September 27, 2017
Unit 5
Unit 5 school board members adopted a $168 million budget with a structural deficit of $1.2 million. (WJBC file photo)

 

By Howard Packowitz

NORMAL – Unit 5’s budget for the new school year is in the red, to the tune of $1.2 million.

The $168 million dollar spending plan approved Wednesday night by the Unit 5 school board freezes administrators’ salaries to cut spending.

“The administration is leading from the front with (a) pay freeze,” said Board Member Joseph Cleary.

“That is just the beginning of the things we will have to look at,” Cleary also said.

Cleary said the district will take a “deep dive” into Unit 5’s finances to find other places to cut.

Unit 5 Business Manager Marty Hickman attributed the deficit to increases in salaries and benefits, higher costs for products and services, and unfunded state mandates.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]

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