Atlanta Public Schools will shed 350 positions next year and mandate two employee furlough days in an attempt to trim about $47 million from the district’s budget.
Monday, the district released plans for a $565.8 million budget for the 2012-13 school year.
The goal, said Superintendent Eroll Davis of his first budget, is to reduce the district’s reliance on its savings account. APS is planning to pull about $10 million from savings to fill budget holes next year, compared to $36 million this year.
“You can only defy gravity for so long,” said Chuck Burbridge, APS' chief financial officer. “We’ve got to bring the budget into balance, and this is the year.”
Atlanta isn’t the only school district grappling with deep budget cuts. Gwinnett County, the state's largest school district, plans to meet a projected $89 million budget shortfall next year by furloughing most employees two days and by leaving open nearly 600 soon-to-be vacant jobs.
The Cobb school board voted Thursday night on a plan that includes five furlough days and the elimination of 350 teaching positions. Fayette school officials may cut salaries for the second time in three years, and are also considering closing schools and possibly ending some health care benefit supplements to offset a multimillion dollar deficit.
In Atlanta, revenue from property taxes has dropped by $119 million since 2008. Over the same time period, APS’ budget has decreased by $56 million. The district is planning for another $20 million drop in property receipts this year.
"It's not as gloomy as it may seem," Burbridge said of Atlanta's budget position.
Atlanta has gradually been making changes to reduce expenses. Organizational changes have been made in almost all departments, for an estimated savings of $3 million. The district no longer hires retired employees, a practice that was costing APS an estimated $1.7 million a year.
But fallout from a state cheating investigation has cost the district millions. At one point, the district was paying $1 million a month to about 180 educators accused of cheating who were on administrative leave.
About 150 of the 350 positions the district plans to eliminate will be those accused of cheating. The remainder is likely to come from attrition, Davis said. The district is in the process of firing those implicated in the scandal; more than 100 have resigned or retired.
Next year’s budget includes about $700,000 to cover legal fees related to the cheating scandal. That money will be pulled from savings, according to plans released Monday.
APS will also have to pull $4.2 million from savings to invest in special education. Superintendent Davis said the money is earmarked to address last-minute concerns about special education spending raised by the federal government.
But there’s also some plans for improvement. The district plans to spend $3.3 million to add an assistant principal at every school – something promised during a massive school rezoning approved last month. A police investigator will also be funded for each APS cluster.
The district is budgeting a one-time cost of $1.3 million for "transition costs" following a decision to close five schools last month. The district expects to save about $3.75 million a year from the closed schools.
Julie Salisbury, a Buckhead parent who sat in on the budget meeting, said it seems like the district's leadership is willing to tackle the tough problems.
"As a business owner and manager, it was refreshing to see a strategic focus applied to this process," she said. "It seems they've gone into this process with an abundance of caution and grounded thinking."
In other news, the district announced it would delay the closure of small high schools. In March, the district announced it would reverse of one of the key initiatives launched by former Superintendent Beverly Hall by consolidating small high schools at four campuses. Small schools, while effective, weren't outperforming traditional programs enough to justify the continued expense, school officials said.
Monday, officials said they will delay the school closures one year, in part to allow juniors to secure valedictorian and salutatorian status. Some changes will still be made this school year to allow students more academic options.
The school board also voted to district the neighborhood of Summerhill to Parkside Elementary.
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