Thursday May 9, 2013 Vol. 1, No. 12 HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! THANKS MOM!
The Weekly Post
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Governor’s budget short-changes schools again By BILL KNIGHT
Rural school districts like Brimfield, Elmwood and Williamsfield are required to transport students that live farther than 1.5 miles from school at no charge to parents, but that expense isn’t covered in a proposal expected to be debated in Springfield this month. That unfunded mandate is just one of several significant financial strains schools already face, affecting their overall financial conditions (See Accompanying Chart). Possible consequences statewide could be larger class sizes, fewer course offerings, longer bus rides, an For The Weekly Post
inability to implement new technology or programs and the elimination of extracurricular activities, according to the state Association of School Administrators. “With nearly 3/4 of school districts in the state now experiencing deficit spending, any reasonable person could assume that at some point, changes will be inevitable that reduce expenditures,” says Elmwood Superintendent Roger Alvey. “Enrollment in Elmwood is down. As a result, funding for General State Aid is down, because GSA is largely dependent on average daily attendance. Decreased enrollment coupled with an EAV (Equalized Assessed
School Report Card Chart School
Long-term Debt (6/30/11)
Est. Operating fund (6/30/13)
GSA* loss
CPPRT** loss
Brimfield
$12.2 million
$5.5 million (down $441,481 in 1 year)
$114,124
$12,497
Elmwood
$2.7 million
$2.3 million (down $810,768 in 1 year)
$172,527
$21,235
Williamsfield
$0
$3.5 million (down $146,709 in 1 year)
$15,042
$8,610
NOTES: * General State Aid
** Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax
SOURCES: Illinois State Board of Education; Illinois Association of School Administrators
Valuation) that has now leveled off means further revenue decrease. “When you combine [that] with the current 11 percent proration of state aid, along with the additional 10 per-
cent proration proposed for next year, along with a potential proration of transportation reimbursement of 80 percent – this means an 80 percent cut Continued on Page 2
Theater faces digital woes
SIMULATED CRASH
By JEFF LAMPE and GABBIE SLOAN
ELMWOOD – The Palace Theater will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year. But the venerable Elmwood movie hall may not live to see another birthday. That’s the latest word from Palace owner Vern Reynolds, who faces financial woes stemming from Hollywood’s ongoing conversion to digital movies. “Film distributers don’t care about us,” Reynolds said. “They are pushing the little guys into either going digital or they are making it so we fail one way or the other.” By the end of 2013, the Lawn & Garden film industry plans to no Be sure to check longer use traditional film. out our special Lawn The switch to digital in& Garden insert. See stead of 35 mm film is Pages 7-10. cheaper for larger studios and their distributers, but not for smaller movie theaters. Digital equipment is expensive, costing more than $50,00 for a projection system that requires a new sound system, projector and other equipment that most small town theatres have trouble affording. The Palace Theater is no exception. Actually the problems are already being felt. Reynolds said 35mm prints of first release movies are increasingly harder to come by. And the prices they fetch are prohibitive, he said. So while Reynolds would like to have shown the popular film “42” already this spring, he has been unable to find an affordable way to do so. Weekly Post Staff Writers
A reminder to drive safe By JEFF LAMPE
WILLIAMSFIELD – Prom and graduation season usher in a greater incidence of drivingrelated problems for highschool students. Emily Sellers and others at Williamsfield High School hope to minimize that problem. As part of a week-long recognition of Teen Safe Driving Week, Williamsfield students staged a mock two-car fatal crash last week with the help of area emergency services personnel. At first when a tarp was pulled off two vehicles in a mock crash, there were some Weekly Post Staff Writer
Emily Sellers urges Williamsfield classmates to drive safely (above) on the scene of a simulated fatal crash in which Tim Lynn played the part of the deceased driver (top). Photos by Jeff Lampe.
smiles in the crowd of students assembled in a field north of the school. But as the demonstration continued – ambulances arrived and classmate Tim Lynn did not move from the hood of the car on which he was splayed out – the mood grew more sober. Lynn was fine, of course, aside from a gruesomely effective makeup job. But the longer he stayed still while blood-covered passengers were treated by emergency personnel, the more clear the point became. That’s important to Sellers, who played a passenger in Continued on Page 3
Continued on Page 2