PERRYVILLE WILL HAVE TO STICK TO GUNS ON SPORTS

Little wonder Perryville schools are in dire financial straits.

Voters in the Perry County School District haven't given themselves a school levy increase since 1974.

Yes, they've allowed the shifting of money here and there, but nothing cost them a levy increase.

In the meantime, think about how prices have risen and education has changed in the last 27 years.

People barely knew what computers were back then. Now they're considered standard issue in classrooms.

There weren't so many expectations of school districts in the way of classes for the developmentally disabled, adult education or high school course offerings.

Still, Perry County has been chugging along, paying the bills, listening to residents insist that the schools have enough while the district slipped almost to the bottom of the state's list of school district tax rates.

Maybe officials did too well at getting by. But it's not working anymore.

The district saw six-figure deficit spending last year and will again this year. Fifteen positions were slashed from the budget, most of them teachers.

There were no raises.

And still, voters downed a levy increase of 25 cents for each $100 of assessed valuation. It failed by only 63 votes on Aug. 7.

Now district officials see only one solution to the budget crisis. And that solution is finally grabbing some attention.

Superintendent Steve Doerr says extracurricular activities will be gone in the 2002-2003 school year if nothing changes.

That means no football.

No basketball.

No marching band.

Nothing that costs the district money. It would save $230,000.

Pass a 50-cent levy increase on Nov. 6, the superintendent and the board members say, or sports will be gone.

Among the activities that pull the community together pep rallies and Friday-night games and fund-raising car washes will be gone.

The Perryville Pirates will be gone.

And that's where the school board has to be careful.

Making idle threats will destroy the credibility of school officials. If the ballot issue fails in November and the district has sports in 2002-2003, they will have an even tougher time getting a tax issue passed. Why should voters do so when obviously the board will always find a way to pay for everything?

That will be the message.

Board members admitted they ran a low-key campaign in August. The time for low-key was over years ago. People have to know how tough things are. They have to have the facts about school operations and what happens if they don't support district needs at the polls.

And they have to realize that strong public schools mean strong communities, and somebody has to pay for that.