You've heard it before, but the budget cuts the Eau Claire School District has to make are going to have to be big.

A budget reduction list has been created by the district and it's accepting input from the community.

The Eau Claire School District is trying to cover a 5.1 million dollar shortfall and it's looking to anyone for help.

Some of the most notable suggestions were closing Northstar Middle School and combining both the Memorial and North High School sports teams.

Ron Heilmann, the Eau Claire School District Superintendent says right now all these ideas are in the discussion stage. He says, “Well it's an idea, what people need to understand are all ideas are being pursued.”

However Heilmann says there are several disadvantages to closing Northstar. He says while Northstar has the lowest enrollment of the three middle schools, it's also by far the newest school and the most energy efficient.

Northstar's Principal Michelle Golden says she realizes a Northstar closure is just an idea, and admits the district has to start somewhere. She says, “There's a lot of things on that list that are scary, and how we are going to operate on that deficit is a reality, so we need to face those tough choices.”

Golden also says cutting more from the budget hurts because it feels like it's already been pinched as far as it can go. She says, “We've been cutting so much over the years, it’s almost impossible to not hurt the kids in some way shape or form.”

And that's exactly what Heilmann says he doesn't want to happen. He says personnel cuts will likely happen throughout the district as 80 percent of the district's budget is used to pay salaries.
He says, “The fact of the matter is we need to be having these discussions with our community right now, because I don't want anybody to be surprised.”

Some of the other ideas for saving money include increasing fees for extra curricular activities, leasing roof space for cell phone towers, and even selling the naming rights to school facilities.

Heilmann says there's still a lot to discuss, and he welcomes community input on the districts website.