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To balance the budget, the Dryden Community Schools district will have to dip into its fund balance for $115,000, Superintendent Tom Goulette said. That will leave the district with $474,000 in its so-called rainy day fund.

He added for next year, not only will the district receive $200,000 less in revenue, it will also spend that much less. "We made cuts. By not replacing a retired teacher we'll save $100,000. We made $50,000 in administrative cuts by not replacing the high school principal as Todd Bidlack will be principal of both the elementary and high school," he said. "We're not replacing our director of district services."

Goulette said by spending $115,000 in savings, that will leave the district with 8.3-9.9% of the budget as auditors suggest school districts have 12% in savings. Based on the uncertainty of state school funding and rising operational costs that isn't possible at the current time.

The board tabled making a decision on whether or not to privatize custodial services for next year. It did hear two presentations from Coverall Cleaning Concepts of Northville and HiTech of Jenison. "The AFSCME contract for custodians expired this year," Goulette said and added the decision to privatize isn't popular, but may be necessary. "You have to find as many ways as possible to put available funds into kids," he said.

During the special meeting, the board also: