Dresden Academy

Who: Irene and Jillian Hulett
When: Monday, August 1st
Where: The Headmistresses' Office
What: PLOT. Irene speaks with her sister about possible budgetary cuts.
Rating: SFW

Outside of school the Hulett sisters didn't discuss business. They arranged a weekly meeting in Jillian's office. Over the summer these weekly meetings turned into monthly meetings. Irene took her seat in an ancient leather chair and passed a piece of paper across the desk, a letter which she was certainly not meant to read.

Jillian's frown deepened. "Where did you come across this?"

"It found its way into my inbox," Irene replied with an air of mystery. There was no use revealing her sources so soon. All that Jillian needed to know was that there were faculty in the school who wanted both sisters in the loop.

"I imagine you read its contents." Her lips became a thin line as she waited for her sister to comment.

Irene ceased to be flippant. The New York Association of Wizards was slicing their funding. "How much have they cut from our budget?"

"They're forming a committee to decide." Jillian needn't mince words with Irene. "They've conveniently suggested that we ask for funding from other northeastern states that our school services."

It was a tactic former headmasters and mistresses tried before with little success. Jed Hulett decided to charge a slightly higher tuition for students from out of state. In a roundabout way it worked; those students received loans from their states to attend Dresden and the money found its way to keep the school running.

"Politicians," Irene commented dryly. "No ones wants to draw first blood."

"They'll draw it," Jillian confided, forgetting for a moment that her sister wasn't necessarily on her side. "I can't in good conscience raise tuition. You know how many students we have here on loans or grants. Every state has cut funding for school tuition this year."

"Might be time to make some cuts." It was a very light suggestion. Irene wouldn't dare suggest where those cuts be made.

Jillian didn't take it lightly. "Before today you haven't shown an ounce of interest in how this school is run."

"Perhaps it's just that before today you didn't notice."

She didn't have a pretty retort to that idea and simply glared at her sister. "I have it in hand."

"The way Salem did." Irene pointed out, all snark and bite.

"We're not Salem."

"No, we're not, but that doesn't change the situation. They closed two years after NYAW cut their funding."

"Perhaps you don't remember, Uncle Kiefer was headmaster at the time. NYAW cut our funding too and we're still standing."

Irene didn't bother to point out that Uncle Kiefer was wise enough to let go of most of the auxiliary staff and introduced the concept of self-sustaining to the student body and remaining faculty. The school saved so much money that they got extravagant with their programming and sports. They even built extra buildings and the staff grew larger as elective classes were added to the curriculum to match the new facilities.

All that extra money started to dry up in recent years. Jillian had been avoiding the tough decisions and she hated being called out on it.

"I remember his contributions," Irene replied. "I'm quite curious to see what yours will be." She stood before this statement could turn into a fight. It would get ugly quickly and Irene wasn't in the mood for it.

Jillian had plenty of things to say, but Irene had dismissed herself. She picked up the letter again and without much thought set it on fire with a wandless incendio. She felt a momentary relief followed immediately by the realization that she couldn't burn this problem away.