Superintendent’s Budget Cuts Central Services Jobs
March 2, 2010 - For the second year in a row, Superintendent Del Burns is presenting to the Wake County Board of Education a school budget with severe cuts as school enrollment continues to grow.
Downloads Proposed Budget (full document) At a Glance: 1-page Budget Info |
School enrollment is expected to increase by 3,800 students for 2010-11 and the school system will be opening four new schools: Heritage High, Holly Grove Middle, Mills Park Middle and Alston Ridge Elementary.
While demands for service grow, the continued national economic downturn is affecting state and local governments.
"We are continuing to feel the effects of the national economic downturn that we have experienced over the past 15 months," said David Neter, WCPSS Chief Business Officer. Neter pointed to a series of actions that have affected school funding: a $35 million reduction in state funding, $15.7 million in budget reversions returned to the state and county, and the state furlough that meant all WCPSS employees lost one-half of one percent of annual salary.
Looking at the budget picture for 2010-11, Neter said there will be increased costs and decreased revenue.
Increased local costs will include $2.5 million for hiring school-based employees for the additional students and schools. Additional costs include $3.1 million for retirement benefits, $1 million for health care and $650,000 to maintain existing teacher supplemental pay and extra duty pay schedules.
Decreased revenues include an $8.1 million discretionary budget reduction from the state and a $6 million decline in local revenue.
Anticipating these budget difficulties, Superintendent Burns directed staff in November 2009 to develop plans for reducing Central Services budgets by more than $20 million.
"We’re focusing on reductions in Central Services staff and funding to protect our classrooms," Dr. Burns said today. "We'll be looking at personnel in two ways. Because of the freeze we have had in place for more than a year, we do have some vacant positions and some of those will be eliminated from the budget. In addition, we are going to have a substantial number of positions that are filled that will require a Reduction in Force. We will have fewer people in Central Services."
The Central Services staff reductions will include eliminating the jobs of approximately 83 current employees as well as the elimination of 23.5 vacant positions. School Board Policies 3430 and 4430 describe the Reduction in Force policy.There are significant reductions in Central Services non-personnel expenses also. Reductions in spending include $7 million in Facilities Services, $2.5 million in Technology Services and $1.1 million in Instructional Services.
Neter noted several trends in the school budget. For a second year in a row, the amount of local funding per student is decreasing -- in 2010-11 by $63 per student and in 2009-10 by $37 per student. The percentage of state funding in the school system's operating budget will drop to 56 percent this year from 62 percent last year. And nearly nine out of every ten operating budget dollars will be spent in the schools.
The budget will be posted on www.wcpss.net tonight and board members' questions and staff responses will be posted online during the board review process.
Next steps include the school board's work sessions, a public hearing on the budget, and then final adoption of a budget recommendation to the Wake County Board of Commisioners.
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