Parents of over 50,000 students in the Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley School districts and over 3,200 teachers in both districts are bracing for inevitable program, staff and support next year. According to a Kansas City Star article, A long list of proposed budget cuts — including eliminating 82 teaching positions in the Shawnee Mission School District and 74 in the Blue Valley School District — were unveiled Monday.
Also under consideration in Blue Valley budget reductions were a broad range of popular programs, ranging from middle school athletics to elementary band and middle school French.
Shawnee Mission administrators proposed eliminating the fourth-grade strings program, a counselor at each of the five high schools and 33 positions in building maintenance and support, many of those janitors. Supplies would also be slashed.
Blue Valley has 1,400 teaching positions and Shawnee Mission has 1,850.
Administrators in both districts made it clear that unlike last year, students and parents will notice the reductions starting this fall as the school boards struggle to deal with declining revenue from falling property values and cuts in state dollars.
Class sizes could increase, they added. To see the full list of Blue Valley cuts or send e-mail suggestions to the board, go to www.bluevalleyk12.org/ budget and to Shawnee Mission at www.smsd.org.
