Decatur schools cut $2 million

Decatur city school board members Tuesday approved $2 million in budget cuts, including layoffs of at least four employees, because of the sour economy and state funding cuts.

The cuts take effect July 1 and will be part of next school year’s general fund budget, which the board is expected to vote on in spring.

The four employees to be laid off are all teacher aides helping in fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms. Other positions may be eliminated, although schools Superintendent Phyllis Edwards has said she will look first to cut jobs that have been left open by attrition or are part-time.

The cuts include an assumption that employees next year would not receive a pay raise. Teachers still could qualify for so-called step increases — salary supplements based on an employee’s years of experience.

Other measures include fewer staff work days in summer, less training and cuts to alternative education and after-school programs. One popular program, a child development center open to the public as well as students and staff, will have to raise fees and become self-supporting.

Edwards has said she does not plan to request an increase in the school millage rate paid by homeowners on property taxes. State funding cuts for public schools, which have been in place since 2002, are expected to persist, if not deepen, in the recession.