ANNA-JONESBORO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS PROTEST BUDGET CUTS

ANNA, Ill. -- A group of about 200 Anna-Jonesboro High School students launched a walkout last week in protest of teacher layoffs for the 1992-93 school term.

The high school's board of education recently approved budget cuts of about $290,000, which includes releasing seven teachers.

Bob Brutcher, superintendent of A-JHS District 81, said Friday that eight teachers in the district won't be on the payroll during the 1992-93 season.

"We have to cut spending," said Brutcher, in discussing the school district's financial woes, "We have to trim almost $300,000 from the District 81 budget."

The students will not be penalized for missed classes during their protest, say school officials.

The students displayed "respect, honor and dignity" in their protest," said the school principal.

Brutcher explained that the state's educational budget cuts resulted in a loss of $105,000 in funds to the A-J district. "That was in July of last year," he said. "In January of this year there was another cut of about $5,000 in state funds. We have to find means to increase our revenue."

The latest attempt to pass a school tax increase failed during the recent primary election earlier this month, when voters rejected a referendum which proposed a 40-cent increase in the district's education tax rate.

"Voters not only turned the tax down, but in a big way," said Brutcher. "The vote was more than 2 to 1 against the tax measure, and it failed in every precinct."

The vote totals were 2,385 against an increase and 1,101 for the measure. Percentage-wise that's 68.4 percent against, and 31.6 for.

Brutcher said it surprised him that the proposal failed in every precinct.

"That tells me one of two things," he said. "Either the voters are speaking loudly against a tax increase, or they don't understand the ramifications. I feel there were some of both in this case."

Brutcher said the timing was poor for the tax referendum, and that it should have been presented better.

"There will be another tax proposal on the November ballot," he said. "We'll be better prepared for this one. If it doesn't pass in November, it will be on the ballot again and again.

"I have made a promise to the people of this community that a tax referendum will be on every ballot as long as I am here, or until it passes," Brutcher emphasized.

Following the election March 10, the A-JHS District 81 Board of Directors voted to dismiss seven teachers. An eighth teacher had already announced retirement.

Brutcher has also promised a quarterly meeting to discuss the budget.

"It (budget picture) is bleak," he said. "we see project fund losses in education, transportation and building funds. "When all this is combined with the state cutbacks, we're looking at a deficit in the range of $375,000 by the end of the fiscal year."

Brutcher said the original proposal to the board was to cut costs by about $304,000. The final decision pared cuts $290,000.

"That proposal included cutting eight certified teachers from the staff of 41," he said. "That's a lot of people to lose. The cuts as proposed basically leave the school program intact at the academic and extracurricular level."

Brutcher said he knew of the district's financial condition when he accepted the superintendent's job last summer.

"I did my homework," he said. "I knew there were some financial problems here, and that they have to be fixed. But this district has a good reputation around the state."

Other cuts? "We're looking at reductions of assistant coaches, all teachers on nine-month contracts some have extended contracts for summer work," he said. "We also are looking at a couple of titles dean of students and athletic director which have some remunerations."

Brutcher said he promised the teacher's association that if "we have an influx of money, either through the state or the taxpayers, the first thing I would do is recall teachers. We're in the business of educating children.

"This is a sad time for many schools in the country," said Brutcher. "Everybody is having to adapt to smaller budgets, and about the only way we can change that is to get more active politically."

Brutcher says he is advocating that student councils throughout the state write letters to legislators.

"Meanwhile, we just have to do the best we can with what we have," he said.