INOLA, Okla. – Things are looking dim at Inola Public Schools, both figuratively and literally.

“The halls in the school buildings are dark because the district has removed half the light bulbs to save money,” KTUL reports. “And teachers like (Melissa) Powers, with their own refrigerators, will have to help with the electricity bill.”

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Powers told the news site it takes 337 kilowatts, or $41 a year, to run the fridge.

“I am willing to do that,” she said. “We need a refrigerator in this part of the building.”

The cost cutting measures are part of the district’s effort to shed $100,000 from its budget, a move that also includes laying off custodians and other support workers. Teachers may now have to clean their own rooms and empty classroom trash cans to pick up the slack.

“That’s ok. I’m willing to do it,” Powers, a science teacher, told KTUL. “I love it here. I love teaching. I love being a part of this district.”

District superintendent Kent Holbrook said the layoffs should save about $30,000, but officials are also planning to outsource cafeteria services and go to a four-day school week next year to save cash.

Holbrook told KTUL in December that the shorter school week could potentially save the district 5.5 percent of its roughly $5 million annual budget.

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“If I have to address even a $200,000 cut total, which would be at the low end of what I’m being projected, average teacher pay is about $35,000 a year, I’m looking at seven teachers I’d have to dismiss to cover that,” he said.

“Just on gas and drivers, we spend $1,000 a day on busses,” Holbrook said. “I’m weighing out what would be more harmful to a child, having 38, 40 kids in their classroom, or going to an extended day. And at the moment, I don’t want to put 38 to 40 kids in their classrooms.”

Parents and other locals who commented online had mixed reactions about the drastic cost cutting measures.

“I am a custodian and I can honestly say that laying us off won’t put a dent in the money that has to be cut,” Dana Troutman posted to Facebook. “In the last five years they have cut so many extracurricular activities so students can be in the classroom more. So we cut the lowest paying jobs and the teachers cleaning their own rooms will be taking teaching time from our children.

“They will also have to pay unemployment, makes zero sense to me. We need to go to one superintendent per county in my opinion.”

“They had better rethink this,” Lynne Martin posted. “They owe our kids an education, that’s why we pay high property taxes. We need custodians to keep the place clean and we need the teachers, but there is usually too many wheels at the top. The kids come first.”

“How about the kids contribute to their education,” Cheryl Wilson suggested. “They are capable of cleaning the classroom, taking out trashing and such. However, I am saddened that schools budgets are being cut, because Oklahomans pay out the nose in taxes that should be going to school budgets.”