Evansville City Council to Cut Non-Profit Funding
Last year, city council cut funding to non-profit groups by 50 percent.
This year they will aim to cut funding down another 25 percent to these groups, saving the city about $60,000.
Some council members, like Anna Hargis believe the cuts in funding to these groups should be done gradually. each year.
However, councilman Dan McGinn does not believe council should play any role in helping non-profits find money.
“These not for profits are formed by wonderful caring people,†said McGinn. “But they form groups because they understand and know that government does not want to or can not afford to. So these are outside of government so my personal opinion is we keep them outside of government.â€
City councilman Jonathan Weaver also proposed not paying six of the nine city boards to save about $60,000.
The next city council meeting will be September 26th at 5:30 pm.
Daviess County Town to Hold Wet-Dry Election
Maceo is one of 16 remaining out of Daviess County’s 85 precincts that does not allow alcohol sales.
A petition circulated earlier this year.
The number of signatures needed for wet-dry elections is determined by taking 25% of the total voters in the last general election.
In this case, it was based on Maceo’s single precinct.
Out of the possible 920 registered voters at that time, 218 voted in the 2015 general election.
That meant there had to be 55 registered voter signatures to force the election.
This will be Daviess County’s second wet-dry election this year.
Parents Present Petition for Longer Lunch Periods
Some parents say their kids do not have enough time to eat and they’d like to see the block extended.
Parents behind the petition say their kids have twenty minutes to eat lunch and that includes the time it takes to go through the line and clean-up. They say their kids tell them they cannot finish their food on a regular bases.
Parent Jenni Webster says, “There are currently three EVSC elementary schools that have taken the initiative and have extended their lunch periods on their own. If that was okay for three, why can’t the rest of us do it? I know EVSC is about equality but our schools aren’t equal. We have schools that have two hundred students, we have school that have 972 students. It’s unrealistic to think that those two schools could do things on the same schedule.â€
The moms say the twenty minute lunch is part of a forty minute block that includes recess. Kids can use some of their recess time for lunch but do not want to give up that time.
Superintended Dr. David Smith told the parents during the meeting he was sorry for initially thinking this was a non-issue. Smith says, after seeing the petition, he realized the legitimacy of the concerns and conducted an informal analysis of the cafeteria operations. While he does not think the solution presented by the parents will work, he says adjustments have been made and school principals know they have the power to make decisions.
To see the petition visit https://www.change.org/p/evsc-school-board-give-children-in-the-evsc-longer-lunch-periods
