Letter: Don't cut health position

District 833 is looking at budget cuts and at the last workshop meeting the question was asked, “How much should we cut?” Do we need to cut $5 million or $7.5 million? We should have some cuts, but do we need that much? We will need more budget restraints in future years, so starting now is a good sign of balancing our budget, and in the future if monies from the state and federal governments do not sustain their mandates, we will have to have a referendum when our fund balance is “spent down.” 

What alarms me most about the proposed budget cuts for next year was a suggestion by the staff in the “A List.” Some of these budget reduction items are not very well-explained. Special Services Coordinator — DPC is really our District Student Health Coordinator. If you have ever looked at federal regulations or had a child with special needs, you would know that the elimination of this position is both unhealthy and unreasonable for the success of our children.  (And by the way, this position does much more than that!) This isn’t even a question of streamlining our administrators. If that was the case, we would have many more at the District Service Center who should be streamlined. This position directly affects our students’ care and performance, and is unbelievably, on the “elimination list.” 

Please comment to your District 833 Board members to look at each line of elimination on the A list, and not vote for the total A List. It will be a very dangerous situation for our students if our Student Health Services position is eliminated. 

Natalie Seim

Cottage Grove

Tags: opinion, district, student, health, coordinator