Rochester, IL (WAND) – The Rochester CUSD 3A Board of Education approved a plan for major cuts Wednesday night, which will result in closing the elementary school.
In fiscal year 2026, the district incurred a revenue loss of $1,253,134. School leaders added that the district ran into problems by heavily relying on COVID money, which has now run out.
The revised reduction plan cuts down to $2.2 million. The new plan would close a Rochester elementary school, cut 22 staff positions, combine some positions and cut pay for some administrators.
The plan requires closing the second through third grade building. Second graders will be moved to the current K-1 building, while third graders will be moved to the fourth through sixth grade building.
Co-President of the Rochester Education Association Matt Carlson said that these cuts will not only affect the staff, but also the students.
“In our mind, the impact on the kids is the first and foremost. Starting at the elementary and working my way up, class sizes are going to be increased, and that’s going to be an issue,” Carlson said.
Although teachers have received support from the community, Carlson said he felt that the comments made by parents, staff and union members at the forum and at meetings “fell on deaf ears.”
“We were very disappointed that our Board of Education didn’t have more dialogue in front of us in their meeting. We wish they would have taken the time to go through some of the cuts that were made and have more dialogue, so we as a community and as a union could understand better where they were coming from,” Carlson said.
In a presentation to the board, Interim Superintendent Rolf Sivertsen said that without intervention, by the end of fiscal year 2028, the ed fund will be at $1,935,558 for a fund balance, which would be nearly insolvent.
Labor and benefits in Rochester make up 70% of the budget, and enrollment has been on a consistent downturn while staffing has increased. This year, the enrollment is 1,995, with 147 staff members, and the enrollment was 2,322 with 144 staff members in 2016.
“We’re losing social workers. We’re losing guidance counselors, nurses. I mean, across the board, every time you lose a person, kids are going to be impacted because there’s less people to take the time to help them with whatever they might need,” Carlson said.
In the presentation to the board, Interim Superintendent Sivertsen said that reconfiguration would generate positive cash flow, build fund balances, enable the district to recapture lost revenue and allocate money directly to student programs, and prevent wage freezes for staff.
WAND News and WTAX News both reached out to Interim Superintendent Sivertsen for an interview, but he was not available.
