Appleton school district inviting input as they consider $13 million deficit

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Superintendent Greg Hartjes said a combination of high inflation and decreasing state and federal funding has created the massive budget gap facing the district.

"We know we can't afford a 10-15 percent increase in healthcare, but that's what we're seeing," Hartjes said.

The district has already taken several cost-cutting measures, including stopping the filling of empty positions, consolidating two elementary schools and moving a charter school to save money. However, these efforts haven't been sufficient to close the budget gap.

"But we still have a large deficit that's looming," Hartjes said.

The superintendent outlined three options available to school di