United Superintendent Jeff Whitsitt discussed a recent school board meeting for District 304. The first point that Whitsitt touched on was the district’s budget for the 2017-18 school year after recent legislation for a new educational budget was passed in Springfield.
“We were able to present a balanced budget. Not a huge surplus by any means. When I say balanced, it’s pretty balanced. We are going to spend pretty much what we bring in, but that’s a lot better than what it has been the last few years when we’ve been digging into savings and trying to make ends meet year to year,” Whitsitt said.
Another topic that was explored at the meeting was the review of a second drawing idea for a new auditorium at United High School. Whitsitt is a huge fan of the idea, and he believes the move would only strengthen an already great music program and possibly increase numbers for their drama program.
“Now we’re at the point where we’re sending it back and asking them to put a cost analysis together. This isn’t something we figure we’re going to do this spring and be in next fall, but this board and all the boards I have worked with at United have been pretty progressive. We realize that if we don’t make plans and have some sort of plan of attack, it never happens,” he said.
written by Jackson Kane
To hear more of Whitsitt’s interview and about the latest developments at United High School, click here: