By Jeff Vorva
Beecher School District 200U is not messing around when it comes to residency scofflaws.
At the Sept. 11 meeting, Superintendent Jack Gaham said that there will be severe action taken against those families who are out of the school boundaries who try to illegally try to have their kids attend school in the district.
“I have asked the police to persecute and press charges against people who falsify their residency,” he said. “I’m making it abundantly clear that from here on forward, that at Beecher 200U if you falsify that document, the superintendent will press charges.”
He said the police are working with him on that and if he appears to be the villain on this issue, so be it.
“I’m the bad guy and I’m fine with that,” Gaham said. “Not mentioning how many didn’t register because of the new process, but we have removed two families so far.”
He said that some critics may come at him for taking it out on the kids but he insisted that’s not the case.
“We’re trying our best to make sure that Beecher schools continue to be for Beecher kids,” he said. “I respectfully ask for people not to play kids against the school when it’s the adults making the choices.
“Adults make the choices, not the kids. I empathize with the children. I will not keep the kids out of school until they receive the letter that they will no longer go here. That is on the parents.”
Budget banter
Gaham said the budget that will soon need to be approved will have $17.8 in revenues and $18.5 million in expenditures.
More than $2 million is going into one-time projects such as roof, tile and HVAC upgrades plus a new match curriculum.
He said that with grants and other factors and adjustments during the year, the deficit could shrink from $730,000 to the $350,000 neighborhood.
“It’s always prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Gaham said.
He added reserves are in good shape,
“If something happened and the state dried up you can still survived 2 ½ years,” Gaham said.
Coming and going
The board approved Anne Jacob as a full-time bus driver, Amanda Higgason as full-time bus monitor, Robert Hipke as the junior high soccer coach and Lindsay Kokos as the junior high cheerleading coach.
The board acknowledged the resignation of Martin Gianotti as junior high assistant track coach.