Just as the DeKalb County school board was set for a final negotiation on its budget Monday night, new information changed everything: The school system has even less money than previously thought.
Officials have spent weeks hashing out an austerity budget that included $60 million in cuts. They thought they were close to a consensus, but they learned Monday that they have to cut or raise an additional $12 million.
The board had been operating under the belief that it was facing a 6 percent drop in the value of taxable property. That would have resulted in a loss of $24 million in revenue. But then the school system's finance chief, Michael Perrone, revealed Monday that the county assessor is now projecting a 9 percent drop.
"That," Perrone said, "is roughly a $12 million hole that we're going to have to fill." It increases the projected deficit next year from $73 million to $85 million.
The increase is so big that it nearly wipes out the 1-mill tax increase that a slight majority of board members was endorsing. The 1-mill tax increase would generate an extra $14.8 million while bringing the school system within about a mill of the cap set by voters of 25 mills.
The newly revealed loss in property values led board members to postpone their budget decision despite a looming deadline.
The budget covers the 2013 fiscal year, which starts July 1. Normally, school systems should have final budgets in place by then, but they can run past that date with monthly spending resolutions. (Officials said the "drop dead" date for submitting a budget to the state is Sept. 30.) That will leave little time, though, to sign contracts and prepare teaching teams for the fall semester.
"Based on the information we just received," board member Jay Cunningham said, "I don't see how we can move forward tonight."
The nine members of the board voted unanimously to postpone their debate until 1 p.m. June 20.
When they meet again, they'll find items thought to have been settled back up for reconsideration. Earlier Monday, Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson said she was again recommending cuts to the Fernbank Science Center.
When the proposal first surfaced last month to eliminate the facility for a savings of $4.7 million, it generated a community backlash and the idea was scrapped.
Faced with deep cuts elsewhere, though, Atkinson put Fernbank back on the table Monday morning. The institution would still be around, but operating with less than a third of its budget: She recommended trimming $3.2 million from the center, leaving it with a $1.5 million budget.
It's unclear where the board will find an additional $12 million. It has already discussed downsizing the teaching staff, decreasing the number of school days, reducing bus trips and cutting back on support staff, from librarians to school police.
DeKalb has spent all its savings and lacks the cushion it had in prior years. That prompted one lawmaker Monday to threaten calls to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the organization that accredits DeKalb and other school systems.
"This is nuts," said state Sen. Fran Millar, R-Dunwoody. "And next year’s not going to be any better. If they don’t rebuild the surplus, I’ll talk to SACS." Millar said the school system should cut teacher pay instead of raising taxes.
Teachers, though, would already see less pay in this budget. They would be docked for two new furlough days, which would shorten the attendance calendar by six days when counting furloughs imposed in prior years. They'd also see cuts in their health insurance subsidies.
Staff writer Nancy Badertscher contributed to this article.
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