At a special meeting Monday the Board of Education for Zion School District 6 eliminated the district’s art program for kindergartners through 6th graders as a result of the expected decrease in revenue from the closing of Zion’s Commonwealth Edison plant.
The art program, in its third year, funded four teachers in the district’s five elementary schools.
More than 60 parents and teachers attended the meeting to express their dismay at the prospect. A representative of the Zion Teachers Association presented findings indicating that funds exist to continue the program.
“The district does have the money to do this, both in the education fund and in the working cash fund,” said Don Dean, a 6th grade teacher at West Elementary School in Zion.
Commonwealth Edison announced earlier this year that it planned to shut down the Zion plant, though the utility said it did not plan to begin dismantling the facility until 2014.
“This is not a question of the quality of this program,” said James Taylor, school district superintendent and Zion councilman. “Both the board and I want to keep this program, but it’s simply a question of finances and it’s something we can’t do.”
