Brookfield officials list 12 cuts

It's certain that pupils will have to pay to play next year.
By MIKE VAN CLEAVE
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BROOKFIELD -- A dozen fewer people will be working for the Brookfield school district when the 2004-05 school year begins this September.
School district officials announced Wednesday the first 12 positions to be eliminated after this school year.
Four classified workers and five faculty members will be let go. The other positions will be eliminated after three school employees resign their positions when this school year ends.
A school nurse, reading teacher, fifth-grade teacher, eighth-grade math teacher and an assistant principal at the middle school are among the positions cut.
Reason for cuts
State budget cuts along with a failed levy forced school board members into a position where they had to begin reducing the work force, board president Louis Saloom said.
"This is the toughest four months that I've had to deal with since I've been on the board," the longtime board member said.
Superintendent Joe White, who has headed the local schools for 13 years, reiterated Saloom's remarks after the meeting, saying the past few months have been "by far the most difficult since I have been the superintendent."
Among other decisions still to come are those revolving around requiring that pupils pay to participate in extracurricular activities.
Though no action was taken at Wednesday's meeting regarding requiring pupils pay to participate in extracurricular activities, White said they will be required to pay to participate starting next year, and the only decision yet to be determined about the issue is how much it will cost.