Worldwide financial crisis started at Wall Street, but now it’s oppressing the economy of Kansas as well.

For instance, Cessna aircraft, headquartered in Wichita, cut over 2,700 jobs. However, most high school students have hardly even thought about this recession. Starting next year it could become a big deal to high school students as a result of the education budget cuts.

According to USD 331 Superintendent Scott Carter, the district budget will be cut this year by about $127,003, which is over 1% of all education budgets. It is a lot of money compared with Conway Springs’ budget cut, $69,283.

However, this is just the beginning. Mr. Carter expects that there will be more significant cuts next year. More than 5% of budgets could be cut, which means that we could lose more than $500,000. Also, he stated that there is an ominous possibility that hovers over the school which could cut more than 10% of our budget.

The rescission for this year doesn’t cause a lot of problems because there is already a 1% cushion in the budget, about $100,000, but it could be a serious problem for next year. Indeed, cuts of $500,000 or more will require significant changes that will affect current operations and plans including athletics, academics, clubs, transportations, and other programs.

Specifically, such a slash in funds would require cutting out new uniforms, field trips, and maybe JV games. Some schools are even considering only going to school 4 days a week instead of 5, which USD 331 hasn’t considered yet.

Even with these depressing future changes, Mr. Carter stated that he can make cuts without hurting students and the school too much unless it cuts more than 10%.

In addition, it is possible the district could gain $800,000 due to President Obama’s new construction economic plan. If this occurs, the district will have resources to make needed building updates although these funds can’t be spent on other items needed.

In the meantime to try and help the school maintain valuable resources, the students and staff should try to save goods in school, such as electricity, water, and paper. If the students and staff are willing to do this it could save some money from our budget used to pay bills and purchase supplies which can in turn pay for other needs and wants of the school.