FUHSD receives community input on budget

Residents of the Fallbrook community gave members of the Fallbrook Union High School District (FUHSD) their ideas to help balance the 2012-2013 academic budget at a community meeting held by the district on Jan. 9.

According to FUHSD superintendent Dale Mitchell, approximately 20 community members attended the meeting.

“We had 20 community members attend as compared to 21 last May,” he said. “It is about what I expected.”

Some of the ideas that were suggested included that the district reduce or eliminate sports; reduce or eliminate extracurricular activities; reduce staffing, especially in classes with low enrollment; add ROTC; substitute a loss of electives with internships; have paid time off pay for athletics; keep quality teachers; eliminate courses/services that the community offers, such as drama; decrease high administrators’ salaries; and increase taxes to support schools.

“The Board of Trustees very much appreciated the valuable insights provided by community members,” said Mitchell. “Thoughtful consideration of this input will be made as the board makes decisions about District goals for 2012-2013, about budget decisions for 2012-2013, and the disposition of the Gird Road property.”

Mitchell stated his goal is to have all the input to the board as an agenda item for the Jan. 23 meeting.

“How the Board and District utilizes this and other input remains to be seen,” he said. “The Board asked for input regarding what the community thought should be District priorities, regarding areas of possible expenditure reductions, and regarding the disposition of the Gird Road property.”

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