School cuts round two: Parents weigh in

HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) - Cutting out field trips, charging students to ride the bus and hiking up the price to play sports are just a few of the things the Hutto school district will talk to parents about this week in an effort to shave $1.2 million off next year's budget.

The district is hosting two public meetings to help prioritize a four-page list of potential cuts and money-making solutions. The meetings are Monday and Wednesday at the Hutto High School Performing Arts Center, located at 101 FM 685.

Community input will help the school district gauge what people want to save and what the district can live without. The additional cuts follow $4.5 million in previous cuts made for the current school year, which resulted in roughly 70 layoffs, the closure of Veteran's Hill Elementary and many other cost-saving measures.

The new list of possible cuts includes eliminating all field trips, charging each student up to $100 to ride the school bus and cutting out all travel for the band, drill team and cheerleaders to out-of-town football games.

The district started charging students up to $25 to participate in extracurricular activities this year. The district is now considering quadrupling the fee to $100 for high school students.

 "We're hoping that tonight our community can first understand where we're coming from in needing to increase these fees but at the same time try and bring suggestions and solutions to the table that will help us provide a better education for their kids," said Hutto Independent School District spokeswoman Emily Grobe.

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