Gwinnett next in line for school budget cuts

By D. Aileen Dodd and Patrick Fox

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The public school budget crisis has reached the state's largest district.

Gwinnett County Public Schools, faced with what officials call a financial “tipping point,” is considering pay cuts, furloughs and the elimination of support jobs to offset a $97 million deficit that they expect to get bigger.

Though Gwinnett Schools will open seven new campuses and welcome 1,600 more students in the fall, officials say fewer teachers will be needed. Current staff will be juggled and some vacancies left unfilled, and some programs could be eliminated.

As of February, Gwinnett expected to lose $62 million in state funding. But officials expect that number will rise as the legislature considers an even tighter budget. Gwinnett Schools also is being hit at home; the district expects to collect $40 million less in property tax revenues due to a 7-to-8 percent decline in the digest.

Gwinnett joins DeKalb, Fulton, Cobb and several other metro area school systems faced with a more difficult than usual budget year. Also Friday, Atlanta City Schools officials said they must come up with $47.4 million in spending cuts for the 2011 fiscal year.

Sloan Roach, spokeswoman for Gwinnett Schools, said the district has become lean,  but more cuts are needed.

“We have cut in the past, deferring maintenance, delaying the purchase of instructional materials; we have reduced staffing allocations at schools and had reductions at the central office,” Roach said. “We have done a lot of things to achieve a balanced budget, but as we look to the future the things we have done in the past won’t be enough.”

A budget bulletin on the district’s Web site alerts parents and teachers that the district will “no longer be able to do more with less.”

"Our commitment is to make the least possible change that can result in the best possible functioning of our public school system," school board chair Mary Kay Murphy said Friday.

But normalcy isn't in the cards for metro Atlanta districts these days. DeKalb Schools officials say they may close four or more campuses and cut jobs, including those of 15 top administrators, as the district grapples with a budget deficit expected to top $88 million. Fulton schools also face cutbacks that could eliminate 1,000 jobs, including teachers, counselors and janitors, and trim $120 million from the budget. Cobb has a $100 million deficit and will slash jobs.

Gwinnett Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks did not respond to requests for comment.

Last spring, Gwinnett's  $2 billion 2010 budget was battered before it left the gate. First, the district had to build its budget months before knowing the full scope of property devaluations. Then, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners pulled $1.3 million in funding for crossing guards and the community schools.

Gwinnett Schools scrambled to scrape up enough money -- $24,873.30 a month -- to keep the crossing guards, but officials say that won't carry through to the next school year. The community school program, which registered 1.25 million people in 13,000 classes in 2009, continues, but plans call for cutting staff hours.

And for the first time since 2001, Gwinnett Schools won't hold a spring job fair in the Gwinnett Center. The event has attracted thousands of teachers from across Georgia and the nation over the years looking for stable positions in a growing system. Gwinnett Schools now has a hiring freeze. Only critical needs positions -- special needs, math and science teachers -- will be filled for the next school year, said Jorge Quintana, a Gwinnett Schools spokesman.

A small job fair for those openings will be held at Peachtree Ridge High School on April 24.

As the budget season approaches, even more juggling and belt-tightening is expected. Roach said over the summer, work weeks also will be shortened to four days before and after summer school.

Administrators have suggested cutting step pay increases, mandating three furlough days for most employees and limiting stellar substitute positions -- floating subs working full-time - to one per school or doing away with the program entirely. Departmental budget cuts of 7.5 percent are also being considered. Schools may be asked to hold back a position in reserve in the fall. And if all else fails, employees also may see pay cuts.

Budget hearings will be held on May 13  and May 20. The school board is slated to approve the budget on May 20.

Gwinnett schools has kept its tax rate steady for the past five years at 20.55 mills. Most of that, 19.25 mills, goes for maintenance and operation. Georgia law sets a cap of 20 mills for these expenses, leaving the district .75 mills it could raise taxes. Based on the county digest, .75 mills -- about $60 for the owner of a $200,000 home -- would raise less than $25 million for the school district.

"From my perspective that would not be a sound business move," Murphy said.

Murphy said district officials are monitoring budget discussions at the Capitol daily. If HB-904 is approved and changes the Equalization Grant funding, which funnels money to counties with a weaker-than-average tax digest, the district could lose an another $27 million. That hit could lead to five more furlough days or a further increase in class sizes.

Still, parent Mindy Clark, whose son attends Lanier Middle School, isn't worried about the future.

“They are doing what they can to keep from increasing class sizes," she said. "They are one of the few counties that are opening schools. They seem to always manage  to do what  it takes to provide one of the best educations they can for our kids.’’