DeKalb County schools Superintendent Crawford Lewis on Monday laid the groundwork for staff cuts that will affect hundreds of jobs. The plan represents a wholesale change for the system, which has long prided itself in protecting staff from the boot. No layoffs are imminent, but plans for them are under way and will start next summer.

WHY NOW?

DeKalb is feeling squeezed by the dip in enrollment because Georgia pays for public schools by attaching dollars to individual students. Fewer students equal less state funding. An additional aggravation for school officials: The state continues to pay less than state guidelines require. These austerity cuts in state education funding, by the end of next school year, will have cost DeKalb $93.6 million since 2002. Those cuts are expected to continue, given the economy. Letting the numbers dwindle only through retirement or attrition would take too long.

PAY NOW, SAVE LATER?

Officials on Monday released a preliminary study noting which departments needed a closer look. Lewis, in large part for legal reasons, recommended the board hire an outside firm to conduct audits of personnel and pay scales, as well as job functions. One firm that could do the work is Florida-based Evergreen Solutions, which did the preliminary study presented Monday. The firm's estimated cost? $775,000. The savings from making job cuts could be tens of millions annually, although system officials could not yet give an exact number.

WHO'S AFFECTED?

Employees in managerial and support services including the departments of transportation, public safety, public relations, student relations and plant services. Lewis said he wanted to review the number of school administrators —- particularly assistant principals —- on each campus. He also noted the system's athletic department is not self-sustaining, sounding an early warning that some sports may be on the cutting block.

WHAT'S NEXT?

End of November —- that's when Lewis expects to have firm numbers on how many jobs would be cut and how much money it would save. Some functions could eventually be outsourced or eliminated. Meanwhile, DeKalb is under a hiring freeze for "non-essential" positions. An early retirement offer is in the works for central office employees with 30 years experience; at least 170 have been identified as targets.

WHY DOWNSIZE?

Unlike neighboring suburbs, where enrollment has been growing, DeKalb's enrollment has fallen to about 99,000 students from 101,000 two years ago. The system can no longer afford all its employees. Salaries and benefits make up 91 percent of the system's $894.1 million general operations budget. Lewis' goal is 86 percent, which he said can be achieved in three to five years.