Fulton schools cutting special education paraprofessionals

By Nancy Badertscher

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Fulton County schools will abolish 202 special education paraprofessional jobs and 46 teaching positions, officials said Tuesday.

Some of the positions are vacant and all but one of the 46 teachers are expected to move into jobs where there have been retirements or resignations.

But 116 of the system's 620 special ed parapros are to get word Wednesday they're losing their jobs, a move that some parents called short-sighted and upsetting.

"I don't know how the teachers will be able to handle it," said Stacy Georges, mother of two special needs children.

Heidi Moore, whose 11-year-old son Jacob has Down syndrome and attends school in Fulton, said paraprofessionals serve a critical role in helping special education students develop their full potential and become productive citizens.

"I think we're being very short-sighted if we start eliminating the paraprofessionals," Moore said. "The paraprofessional is the glue in the whole process."

The staff cuts are part of the school system's proposed $1.07 billion budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. They follow a major reduction this year in which 162 teachers and 264 nonteachers were cut from the school system's payroll.

Chief Financial Officer Robert Morales said the system could not justify keeping the special ed parapros and teachers after about $6 million in federal stimulus money that's been paying their salaries for two years dried up.

School board member Catherine Maddox said the staff cuts should not come as a surprise. "Most of them knew it was year to year," Maddox said.

Tim Callahan, spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, said staff cuts are always tough.

“Parapros are very valuable employees and their loss diminishes any program,” Callahan said. “In the challenging environment of a special education classroom, parapros are particularly needed, and their loss will be felt acutely.”

Overall, school board members were upbeat that the budget, slated for adoption June 7,  avoids a repeat of this year's staff furloughs and property tax increase.

"We've acted conservatively," board member Julia Bernath said. "And we're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel."

This year, the Fulton system furloughed employees three days and raised taxes by 1 mill to 18.502, in part to offset a drop in property taxes related to falling home values.

With budget cuts from the state that were less than expected, the school system's 2012 spending plan includes $20 million to cover some textbook purchases that had been delayed and nearly $1.6 million to increase the per pupil allotment to $135 at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

School Superintendent Cindy Loe said the increase in per pupil allotment will allow principals the flexibility to meet needs for custodial and clerical help that schools have gone without.

The budget also includes $655,374 to hire six assistant high school principals, said Marvin Dereef, executive director of budget services.

"This is the best budget I've seen since I've been here," said Loe, who joined the school system in 2008 and will retire in June.