Millions of dollars in cuts to the Davenport School District budget are coming, and Superintendent Art Tate and the school board are getting closer to figuring out what can be cut while causing the least amount of harm.
"Some of the concern from the board of where are we going to go? There will be strong, strong discussions about the future. It will impact things like class size, so there are a lot of things that will be considered for the next budget year," Davenport School Board President Ralph Johanson said.
It's been a heavy dose of reality each time board members look at the budget sheet showing cuts to all department budgets and even hours for para-educators, but there's one decision they might make that they're considering for the first time.
The Lincoln Elementary building is only used to about half of its potential since the district ended its regular use in 2012.
Since then, it's cost the district about $60,000 a year to keep open for some school programs and community groups. With thousands of dollars in repairs on the horizon for the 77-year-old building, the board may take action to sell the property.
"We really need to consider what we are going to do. If we're losing money on it, do we want to continue to maintain that," Johanson said.
It's unclear right now what the value of the property would be, or if there's even an interested buyer. Johanson says that this step may not even be on the table if it wasn't for the dire state of their budget.
"Our concern for the community and the different groups in the community is part of why we wanted to re-purpose Lincoln instead of just sell it, but I do think that the budget has highlighted all of our expenditures," Johanson said.
As the budget deadline approaches, board members are looking at every possible option to get the district to a stable financial situation.
The board likely won't make a decision on the Lincoln Elementary building until later this spring. Johanson says they'll take a vote on the budget either March 28th or April 14th.