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District 86 previews 7.3 FTE reduction proposal and directs shuttle pilot to preserve low-enrollment courses
Summary
Administration presented preliminary SY27 certified-staffing recommendations showing modest decreases across campuses and a combined proposed reduction around 7.3 FTE; trustees asked administration to sharpen projections, directed a pause on filling vacancies until the incoming superintendent reviews staffing, and endorsed development of a shuttle plan to allow students to take courses across campuses.
District administrators presented their preliminary certified staffing recommendations for 20262027 on March 12, proposing modest classroom FTE decreases at Hinsdale Central (down about 1.9 FTE) and Hinsdale South (down about 1.8 FTE) and a small projected change at the transition center. Combined with proposed below-the-line building-support reductions, administrators estimated a preliminary 7.3 FTE reduction overall in the initial proposal.
Administrators explained that the recommendations were built from February data tallies, Infinite Campus extracts and department sectioning. They noted enrollment declines at South that account for much of the Central/South divergence and underscored the sensitivity of per-student ratios to small enrollment shifts; the transition center27s projected enrollment range (105to119 in the report) was later narrowed in the meeting to a current estimate near 96to101 pending family confirmations.
Trustees discussed course-level choices, including nine courses with fewer than 15 requests that administration recommended running, and other electives proposed not to run. Board members debated whether certain low-request capstone offerings (AP art history, AP music theory, journalism) should alternate year-to-year or be preserved using cross-campus travel. Several trustees proposed recruiting juniors earlier into capstone sequences to stabilize enrollments.
A working consensus emerged in favor of piloting cross-campus shuttle service so students can take courses offered at the other campus; the board asked administration to return with a plan that minimizes instructional loss (for example, travel during lunch paired with two classes at the partner campus) and to present tiered options for small, medium and larger staffing tweaks. Trustees also directed administration to hold on backfilling vacancies that will occur at the end of the year until the incoming superintendent (Dr. Pettit) and administration finalize a staffing plan and review A&O committee observations.
Administrators said the earliest final actions would come after additional "pencil sharpening" of divisors, section-splitting thresholds and vacancies, with a planned return to the board on March 26 for refined recommendations.
