No decisions were made about how to proceed on a couple of issues pending at Worcester Central School during the regular Wednesday meeting of the board of education, Superintendent Gary Kuch said.
This includes the school budget that was defeated May 19 by a 207-168 vote and the school's FFA program, he said.
The defeated budget called for a 1.4-percent spending increase and a 2.9-percent tax-levy increase.
Since the plan was well below the 4 percent spending increase allowed under state contingency plan requirements, he recommended the board approve the original budget with a few changes required by state law. A final decision could be reached at a June board meeting, he said.
The contingency plan would have minimal impact on educational programs, and field trips, extracurricular activities and sports would not be affected, he said.
If adopted, among the cuts the plan calls for are 3.5 staff positions, including the school's agricultural teacher, Karen LaBombard. These cuts were needed to reduce the tax-levy increase to what the board considered an acceptable level, Kuch said.
LaBombard previously said she would not comment on the issue.
While Kuch said he did not know why the plan was defeated, a resident previously said it was the result of a grass-roots movement to save the agricultural program.
Kuch presented a plan to the board to use existing staff to provide the agriculture classes needed to continue the FFA program, he said. He will be meeting with students and adult supporters of FFA in June to discuss that option.
One parent who will be attending that meeting is Kathy Owen.
She wants to see how the classes will fit in the curriculum in the hopes of maintaining the program. Owen said she wanted to research the recommendations a little more before commenting on the specifics.
She would have liked to keep the current program as is, Owen said.
The teacher is probably a big reason why so many kids actually participate, she said.
She said about the effort to keep LaBombard, "If kids learn nothing else, at least they will learn to stand up for what they believe in."
She did not want to discuss her position on the defeated budget or any plan that might be presented. She is still getting information on how the contingency budget would affect the school program.
"Everyone should be informed about what is in the best interest of the kids," she said.
