North Suburban Teacher Cuts Infuriate Parents
SKOKIE, Ill. (WBBM) -- Some parents are up in arms over a plan by the Niles Township District 219 school board to cut 10 tenured teaching positions at its two high schools.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Regine Schlesinger reports, the school board is expected to approve the cuts Monday night.
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"It's never easy making reductions," district Assistant Supt. John Heintz said.
He said the proposal before the board is about more than saving $1 million a year. He says the district is looking to reallocate resources, in order to put more money into basic educational needs such as math, science and reading.
Those in the positions that would be eliminated would come from physical education, and family and consumer science – what once was known as home economics.
"The need to redirect resources toward areas of need, as opposed to areas of, kind of, tradition, is always difficult," Heintz said.
A parents' group says with District 219 in good financial shape, there is no reason for teacher cuts at Niles North High School, at 9800 Lawler Ave. in Skokie, and Niles West High School, at 5701 Oakton St. in Skokie.