Politics & Government

Lakeville's School Board to Dig Deeper Into Budget Cuts This Week

The community can expect more dialogue from board members over items listed on the district's budget adjustment draft.

Lakeville’s School Board will be holding two work sessions this week to dig deeper into the  for the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years that were presented last week by district administrators.

The first work session will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 18, and the second will be held on Thursday, Jan. 20. Both meetings start at 4:30 p.m. and will be held at  auditorium. Both are open to the public.

It’s expected that school board members will begin the process of tweaking the  and possibly saving programs, but Superintendent Gary Amoroso has alluded that there isn’t much room to work with.

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In addition to the slashing of nearly 100 teachers—or 13.3 percent of the 703.3 classroom staff in Lakeville—and the possible closure of an elementary school, programs such as music, high school debate, gymnastics, golf and lacrosse, and many middle school activities are all in line to be eliminated.

In wake of the district’s budget cut recommendations, programs on the chopping block, such as high school debate, have provided administrators and the school board with reorganization plans that could go a long way in saving dollars and the activities. Education Minnesota-Lakeville, the district’s teacher’s union,  they say would cut half the jobs and save many of the programs currently in line to be eliminated.

Find out what's happening in Lakevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The school board will be voting on the final draft of adjustments on Feb. 8.

Also this week, Lakeville’s City Council will hold their regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at . The meeting will feature a public hearing on the proposed 2011 road improvement projects in the city. The council will also hear monthly reports from the Lakeville Police Chief Thomas Vonhof and Parks and Recreation Director Steve Michaud.


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