NEOGA, Ill. (AP) -- Financial
difficulties are leading one small eastern Illinois school district to consider firing
about a fifth of its teachers.
School board members in Neoga have proposed cutting about a dozen of the
district's roughly 55 teachers for next school year. Administrators said the
move would save the school district 60 miles south of Champaign
$450,000.
The district is preparing for the
possibility of future state-funding cuts. Board members also worry the school
district might have to pay teacher pensions as state lawmakers look for ways to
cover billions of dollars in unfunded pension obligations.
School board Vice President Tina Moore says cuts would mean larger class
sizes in Neoga.
School athletic and academic teams would also cut their budgets by 10
percent.
