While Rome burned Nero fiddled.
Blatantly copied from: http://dilbert.com/strips/ March 15, 2009 Strip
And since Nero loves the arts its worth looking back at her decision which was reported in March 10ths Trib.
Duluth School Board trims $3.6 million to reach budget approval
Under the approved budget, Ordean Middle School and Piedmont Elementary School will close in June, a year earlier than originally planned.
By: Jana Hollingsworth, Duluth News Tribune
The Duluth School Board voted Monday to close both Ordean Middle School and Piedmont Elementary School at the end of this school year, a year earlier than first planned.
It was one of several cuts — totaling about $3.6 million — approved by the board as it set the final budget for the 2009-10 school year.
Others include:
· A reduced instructional day for elementary schools, in which 15 minutes are cut from daily 45-minute art, music, physical education and media classes, saving the district $892,000 and reducing the number of teachers for the classes.
· Nearly $1 million in cuts from the Secondary Technical Center, including the eighth-grade section with about 100 enrolled students.
· Eliminating $550,000 worth of staff development time, pending teachers union approval.
· Cutting $200,000 from the co- and extracurricular budget, possibly including fewer coach bus trips, raised participation fees and increased entry fees to games.
· Combining the teen parent and habitat programs to save $84,000.
All but board member Gary Glass voted to approve the budget.
