Opt out may be in Faulkton School’s future

Faulk County Record

The Board of the Faulkton Area Schools met on July 8. The biggest topic of discussion was the consideration of a general fund opting out as soon as the 2015 fiscal year.

During the budget meeting and then later during his superintendent’s report, Dr. Joel Price outlined the reasons why the school would opt out locally.

Simply put, the general fund, and any surplus funds to support it have been year after year whittled down. By 2015’s fiscal year, the numbers projected will hit the low point. By then, if the school doesn’t opt out, then the board will need to look seriously at cutting programs and staff.

Dr. Price said that two-thirds of the schools at the state level have at least attempted the opt out process, so that our school is hardly alone in thinking about the option.

Originally the opt out option was to allow schools to expand their general fund programs, but instead it’s being used all over the state to simply maintain the staff and programs the schools have. In Faulkton the reasoning behind an opt out would be the same.