West Chicago Elementary School District #33
Dr. Ed Leman, Superintendent					Board of Education
312 E. Forest Avenue West Chicago, IL 60185					Dave Barclay, President
www.wegoed33.k12.il.us					Katrine Maguire Secretary
(630) 293-6000      Fax (630) 293-6088					Sharon L. Jones
Contact:		Becky Koltz	School/Community Relations Specialist		Deborah D. Ramsey
			(630) 293-6000 ext. 201		Robert Lemon
			koltzb@wegoed33.k12.il.us		Chris Scheck
Date:	22 Jan 2005 Key Communicators Message				Joseph Lach

Special for Discussing the Budget Called

The Board of Education invites you to attend a budget discussion meeting to be held on Thursday, January 27, 2005 at 7:00 PM in the Library Learning Center at West Chicago Middle School, 238 E. Hazel Street, West Chicago. The Board and Administration will share the status of budget reduction discussions for 2005-2006 and will answer questions and listen to
suggestions from the community.

Looking ahead to next school year (2005-2006), the District anticipates that projected expenses will have to be reduced to achieve a fiscally responsible budget. The Board has been openly discussing options for reducing next year's budget deficit since this school year began, and is working with staff and administration to find the best ways of operating responsibly and
effectively. As always, our guiding principle is to make the best use of available funds and do what is best for the children of the community.

Since the beginning of this school year, the Board and Administration have considered and weighed many options and alternatives to reduce expenses to balance the budget. Many reductions such as restructuring benefits, lowering energy costs, tightening department budgets, and administrative reorganization have already been made. However, we do anticipate that class sizes will be larger next year (with instructional aides added to the largest classes), and that staffing of some programs will be somewhat reduced. At the present time there is no proposal to eliminate any programs or special services.

We are at your service, so if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call Becky Koltz at 293-6000 ext. 201, or our superintendent, Dr. Ed Leman at 293-6000 ext. 203, or a board member.

[If you would like to receive these messages by email directly from District 33, send an email to Becky Koltz at koltzb@wegoed33.k12.il.us to request such.]