ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. (WHTM) -- After nearly three hours of public comments mostly advocating for no budget cuts and debate amongst the board, seven board members raised their hands deciding not to make any cuts on Tuesday night with some blaming poor options given by the administration.
The Elizabethtown School Board asked the administration for a list of items that could save the district $1 million. That list included potentially getting rid of all transportation except for special education students. another possibility was eliminating all extracurricular activities at the middle and high school.
"Not even the administration wants this. The teachers don't want it. The kids don't want it. The community doesn't want it," parent Alisha Runkle said.
Even before the meeting began, protesters made their voices heard outside. "Basically any of that being taken away is a net loss for the community even if the district gets to say no tax increases this year," said Adrian Grosh, an 11th grader at Elizabethtown Area High School.
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Those who say they don't want tax increases also say they don't want to cut key programs. "There's no way you can cut all the sports and music and all the extracurricular activities and the school buses and have a school district, but we have to dig deep and say are there other areas that we could cut?" Douglas Lamb said.
Some place the blame on the board while others place it on the administration. "The administration needs to stop spending our money frivolously. Stop throwing it away like you want to buy an Apple computer instead of buying a Dell," one parent said.
But the majority of people who spoke up say if it means keeping classes, teachers, sports, and the arts. "I am, as a taxpayer certainly willing to absorb a 3% increase. So other children, students can benefit," a resident said.
Keep in mind, the board asked the administration for potential cuts that did not involve cuts to programs outlined in the regular budget. That is a separate process. So on some level, it seemed hours were wasted over miscommunication between some members of the board.
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