Parents & School Officials Fuming Over Planned Education Cuts in IL

CARMI - Parents and school officials in Carmi, Illinois are no stranger to big budget cuts. But this latest push, for some, is a push that's just too far.

"We've got a cost containment strategy where we're trying to whittle away at this the best we can and still provide our kids with a quality education," says Carmi District 5 superintendent Brad Lee.

Lee says the pension reforms the governor is proposing has the potential of taking hundreds of millions of dollars out of the school system. And he warns the consequences could be extreme.

"Cut another 6 percent, that's going to put schools at just offering the bare minimum of things. I mean, just in class sizes continuing to go up."

School officials say education budgets in the state have been cut enough. Some say too much. And Lee says, if Quinn gets the cuts he's proposing, it will put an even bigger dent in an education budget that's already suffering.

One parent i spoke to didn't want to be identified but she says she's furious with the state and the governor's budget decisions.

"There's been classes cut that were, one-time, optional that aren't going to be options for our kids in the future. Just due to budget cuts. That's before this announcement so now what are they going to do to cover the new losses?"

Now, with her youngest son starting school in the fall, this mom is already thinking of other alternatives.

"It would be my preference to home school him if I have that ability and, yes, that will concern every parent in this area."