On Friday, Feb 26, the West Bend School Board sent a letter to all employees in the District explaining their position on having to make $2 million in cuts for 2010-2011 and the additional effect salary negotiations could have.

From the Daily News:

Teachers in the West Bend School District received a letter Friday afternoon from School Board members explaining the effect salary negotiations could have on the upcoming budget.

    The two-page letter, signed by each member of the school board, states that the “current collective bargaining process is going to directly impact the amount that has to be reduced for next year’s budget.”

    According to the letter, costs associated with the current proposal from the West Bend Education Association would result in what equates to the loss of five more teaching positions in the 2010-11 school year, and eight to 10 positions in the 2011-12 school year. Those cuts would be in addition to reductions the district is already anticipating.

    School board vice-president Kathy Van Eerden said the letter was designed to connect directly with staff to talk about the budget as discussed earlier this week at a School Board work session. School board president Joe Carlson was unable to be reached in time for publication.

    “We wanted to share our concerns directly with staff members so it was clear to them the impact the reductions could potentially have,” she said.

The full text of the letter can be found here.

The School District has additional information regarding teacher negotiations on their website.