If nothing else came from Monday night's meeting of the School District of Rhinelander's board of education, it was that the priority of the school's administration and the board is to pass a referendum to exceed the state levy limits on Feb. 16, 2010.

   "Our (administration's) recommendation is to pass the referendum; not to close schools, cut more programs and staff or increase class size," said school superintendent Roger Erdahl. "[Making cuts] is the fallback position that we have devised if we are faced with the difficult position of losing on both questions next February," he added.

   The board then heard from members of the audience and discussed the merits and the order in which proposed cuts could be made but did not make final decisions on any of them, postponing those decisions until a meeting next week on Dec. 14. At that time the board is expected to finish up the legal wording of the referendum questions.

   Darlene Machtan, who teaches at one of the district's four charter schools, suggested that the charter schools be united under one roof so that students from kindergarten to 12th grade could learn from one another. "This would provide a potential for growth in all the students, sort of like the old one-room school houses," she said.

   Terry Fondow, principal at the high school, encouraged board members to think creatively when considering housing students in four buildings instead of six. He said that it was possible to continue with curricular objectives even if students were not segregated physically by age.

   But board member Judith Conlin worried that changing the "philosophical" direction, imposed by grouping different ages of students non-traditionally might prove difficult with the current staff.

   Proposed cuts included:

·        Reduce clerical, $15,000

·        Reduce extra-curricular activities, $49,000

·        Reduce bus routes by using staggered start times and implement K-12 bussing, $150,000

·        Reduce custodial staff by ending the use of a second shift, $300,000

·        Reduce regular education paraprofessional staff, $150,000

·        Reduce School-To-Work by .5, $45,000

·        Reduce library by .5 FTE, $40,000

·        Close South Park building and move NCSS (staff savings & maintenance/utilities savings, $220,000

·        Close Cassian-Woodboro building and move NCES (staff savings, maintenance/utility savings and transportation savings), $300,000

·        Close and mothball swimming pool, $150,000

·        Administrative draw-downs already authorized by school board but take effect in 2010-11, $150,000

·        Raise class sizes from the low 20s to low to mid-30s in grades 4-12 or reduce electives or some combination of larger class sizes and reduction in electives which results in a drawdown of 12.5 FTE, $1,000,000

·        50% moratorium on textbook adoption, $50,000