BY MORGAN SCHAMING
Internet Editor

With Baldwin-Whitehall joining other districts nationwide facing a budget crunch, the dance team and photography club have been eliminated this year.
“We have had to make tough decisions this year, but the alternative is an even bigger financial crisis down the road,” Principal Dr. Walter Graves said.
The school board and district administration are in charge of allocating funds to each school, then together they decide how their budget will be broken up, Graves said.
“We really as a school had to look at where we were spending, why we were spending, and how we could make changes to balance the budget,” Graves said.
Cuts and unfilled positions were based upon enrollment. The clubs with the lowest interest were the ones that were considered to be cut, Graves said.
One result was that when dance team sponsor Krystal Wilhelm resigned, the dance team sponsor position was not filled, and the club was cut.
As a result, there will be no halftime dance performances at the girls and boys basketball games in the upcoming season.
Dance is the main activity for many of the team’s members. Not having that activity to put on transcripts is a concern for the dancers, they said.
“I dance all the time. It’s what I do, so it is sad that I can’t do it through Baldwin anymore,” junior Natalie Weida said.
Meanwhile, the elimination of the Photography Club left 70 members disappointed.
To provide some kind of program, former sponsor James Wodarek has encouraged Photography Club members to join the DaVincian Society arts appreciation club, which Wodarek co-sponsors along with English teacher Dr. Lisa Klein.
“A lot of us are disappointed with the cut, but we are making it a point to get as much experience through the DaVincian Society,” senior Julie Mull said. Also, the reduction of two sponsors to one for Student Council led to a confusing start to the year, members said.
Past sponsors Katie Jarocki and Steve Sinning both resigned before the school year started, which left administration with the task of looking for a new one.
At the start of October, social studies teacher Karl Geisler took on the role of the new sponsor.
“The officers did not really know what the status of our club was, since we did not have a sponsor. We thought that both of our sponsor positions were cut, and therefore the club was too. We couldn’t use our leadership positions for a month and we were unable to participate for Homecoming, which we normally had a big part in,” junior Marisa Manning said.
Also cut were assistant coaches for boys volleyball, wrestling, swim team, marching band, and track and field, Graves said.
“We tried to make the cuts not in one area. We spread it out based on enrollment sizes and whether it was athletics, music, or clubs,” Graves said.
Graves is hoping that after the budget situation is alleviated, these positions and clubs can be reinstated.
“The administration and I understand that these cuts are affecting a multitude of students, but everyone needs to understand that the situation could get worse if we do not start making adjustments now,” Graves said.