Metro Atlanta school budget woes

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Schools across the Atlanta area are slashing their budgets. Here’s how they are making ends meet:

Atlanta Public Schools

● Deficit: $67 million in $589 million budget.

● How they plan to cut: Class sizes will increase by two to four students and teachers will have two furlough days. A 10 percent cut has been ordered for each division. The district expects to trim 400 jobs, mostly through attrition.

Cherokee County

● Expected deficit: $31 million.

● How they plan to cut: An increase in the school tax millage rate by 1 mill has been proposed, which still would require the district to cut 110 positions, down from 123.

● What’s next: Final budget approval expected on July 22.

Clayton County

● Expected deficit: $40.8 million.

● How they plan to cut: Reducing the number of school days by five, eliminating summer school for elementary and middle school, shrinking the superintendent’s cabinet by three positions and trimming transportation to charter schools.

● What’s next: The school board has a work session on Monday.

Cobb County

● Expected deficit: $126.7 million.

● How they plan to cut: Increasing class sizes; cutting 734 jobs, including 579 teacher positions; furloughing teachers five days, shortening the school year five days.

● What’s next: A final vote on the budget is scheduled for June 9.

DeKalb County

● Deficit: $107 million in budget of $1.037 billion.

● How they plan to cut: A designated 289 positions will be cut — 150 central office workers, 100 paraprofessionals, 30 media clerks and nine technical specialists. The central office workers include administrators, secretaries and police officers. Class sizes will increase and teachers will have to take seven furlough days. Administrators will have 15 furlough days. The board slashed $26 million in contributions to employees’ retirement plans and approved a 10 percent pay cut for themselves.


Staff writers Megan Matteucci, Patrick Fox, Janel Davis, Christopher Quinn, Jeffry Scott, Eric Stirgus and Gracie Bonds Staples contributed to this report.