School improvement and budget cuts were on the mind of the District 428 school board at its regular meeting Tuesday night.

The school district will have to cut between $700,000 and $1.4 million, said MeriAnn Besonen, assistant superintendent of business and finance.

“We have to be conservative at this point with our estimate,” she said.

Budget cuts mean less money will be allocated to staff.

About 80 percent of the district’s budget goes to staff, Besonen said. In the worst-case scenario, the district will have to let up to 13 teachers go.

In future meetings, board members will discuss the updated budget.

School improvement proposals were another topic addressed.

Students are facing challenges in geometry and earth and space sciences and the school is trying to improve that, said Connie Rholman, principal of Malta Elementary School, 507 N. Third St. in Malta.

Brooks Elementary School, 3225 Sangamon Road and Huntley Middle School, 821 S. Seventh St., also proposed to the board improvement plans for their schools.

The school is trying to promote parent involvement to help students do better on state-issued tests, said Mary Haddad, Brooks Elementary School Principal.

“SAT scores have taken over in an emphasis of what we do in the [school] building,” she said.

Board members allowed time for citizens to voice their concerns by adding an item to the agenda.

One DeKalb High School student and two alumni of the high school spoke to the board members about their discontent with the decision to relocate two administrators at DHS.

The school board will hold its next meeting on May 17 at DeKalb High School, 1515 S. Fourth St.