The school has been going over its paper copy budget for the past three years.

According to Principal Wynne Satterwhite, the school holds a contract with its copier providers, and if the school exceeds the amount listed in the contract, the copiers will charge more money. This year, a $42,000 budget is reserved for photocopying, and another $15,000 is saved for paper.

However, even with a pattern of straining the copy budget, the school still does not place limits on the number of copies a teacher can make. Instead, each department pays for its own copy costs.

“I give the department coordinators a spreadsheet of the copies that are made and each department is responsible for paying for their copies,” Satterwhite said in an e-mail. “Departments may talk to a teacher who makes more copies and I usually talk to departments who make a lot more than expected.”

A few science teachers are considering posting assignments online, though the idea itself has not been proposed to the district yet.

“It’s a way to reduce paper usage,” biology teacher Greg Stoehr said. “And it increases availability to students.”

According to chemistry teacher Danielle Paige, the Science Department is trying to limit the number of copies it makes in order to save funds for technology resources.

Extra money set aside for emergencies is drawn upon when the school overruns its copy budget.

Paper copies are one of the largest costs the school has to pay for. Money for student-related expenses comes from a site budget based on the number of students attending the school. For the 2007-2009 school year, the school received $271,680 for the site budget.

According to Satterwhite, the school has been looking into getting counter limits on machines, though “that hasn’t happened thus far.”