Sports, arts may be saved by donations

BY JOSEPH BUSTOS SVN REPORTER jbustos@svnmail.com STERLING - With a daunting $1.1 million budget deficit staring the Sterling school district in the eyes, the Sterling Schools Foundation is preparing to keep high school sports and fine arts off the chopping block. Foundation Executive Director Jim Spencer will present the school board with details on Wednesday of a fundraising plan to help the administration concentrate its efforts on the academics of the district, Superintendent Wil Booker said. The Foundation will donate money to preserve high school sports and fine arts for the 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years. The district has guaranteed it will pay for sports and fine arts next school year. Sports and the arts cost the district about $785,000 a year to run. The district already planned $300,000 in budget cuts, and is prepared to run a $700,000 to $800,000 budget deficit during the 2007-08 school year. Those cuts included an administrative position and some staff development activities, among other things. In December, the district plans to present additional cuts that could include nurses, counselors, and involvement in the Whiteside Area Career Center. Any program required for graduation by the state or federal government, or needed to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, will not be considered for cuts. The cuts are necessary because voted down a tax hike referendum in April. The district has already cut $4.7 million worth of programming and positions over the last four years. The district cut middle school sports, reduced music education and participation in the Whiteside Area Career Center among many other things.