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Galesburg Budget Committee Gets Underway

T.J. Carson
Supreintendent Ralph Grimm tells his budget reduction committee what the district's finances are and what their task is in reducing a $2 million dollar deficit.

The second time was the charm for a committee dedicated to reducing a $2 million dollar deficit in the Galesburg School District.

The first attempt at forming a committee was disbanded this month after complaints were raised about how much information would be available to the public during meetings.

A new, 24-member group made up of members from the community met for the first time recently to find out how bad the financial situation is in the district. Committee members include a farmer, a banker, and even a student from Galesburg High School.

Superintendent Ralph Grimm spoke for most of the two-hour meeting, detailing how the district has been affected by declines in local revenues, general state aid, and  enrollment.

“We needed to share a lot of information about how we operate the district, how the district’s finances, where the money comes from, where the expenditures go, because there’s a certain amount of that everyone needs to have as a base. So that they have a basic understanding of how we fund our schools,” Grimm said.

Grimm also talked about how he wanted to use this process to make Galesburg as a whole -- not just the school district -- a place that is viable and a destination for people to come to and stay. He said he felt the committee was given enough information to move forward and make tough decisions about the budget.

“I hope they can come back and can articulate what the ideal school district looks like. And then, what are the non-negotiables? If we have 10 items on our list of priorities and we can only fund eight of them, what should those eight things be? And then work to identify what those are and take that information forward,” Grimm said.

The committee will meet again on October 29 to discuss priorities.

The committee’s recommendations are expected in January.