Dade schools plan districtwide cuts

BY KATHLEEN McGRORY
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Citing a growing financial crisis, members of the Miami-Dade School Board on Monday expressed support for postponing the salary increases promised to teachers, raising the price of school lunches and eliminating transportation for magnet- and vocational-school students.

They also agreed once again to consider repurposing, a controversial proposal to close up to a dozen underenrolled schools, which came under intense scrutiny earlier this year.

The measures are intended to cut more than $284 million from the school system´s 2008-2009 budget. Superintendent Rudy Crew calculated the shortfall based on an expected $75 million decrease in funding from state legislators and over $200 million in price hikes and other cost increases, he said.

School Board members must balance the budget before the new fiscal year begins in July.

“You´ve got a narrow window, and when this is all over, you have to have a balanced budget,” said Michael Bookman, of the Florida School Boards Association, who facilitated Monday´s budget workshop.

The votes board members cast at the workshop were not official, but gave Crew direction on how to move forward with cuts to the budget.

Among the other moves a majority of board members supported:

· Cutting 261 positions from the district´s central administration for a savings of $20 million.

· Eliminating all nonmandatory summer-school programs, saving $9.9 million.

· Agreeing not to rehire administrators or teachers who have already retired, saving $13.9 million.

· Enforcing pay cuts for administrators, principals and vice principals, saving $1 million.

· Eliminating bonus pay for administrators, principals and vice principals, saving $1.4 million.

LOOKING AHEAD

Crew said he fears funding from Tallahassee could be cut further.

“We know there are more cuts likely to take place, even after session, and that it may bring us right back here with yet another discussion about the budget,” he said.

Crew´s suggestion to postpone raises for teaches led to a heated debate Monday.

In order to postpone the raises, which would save the district $48 million, the board must agree to declare “financial urgency,” school system officials said.

Board Chairman Agustín Barrera said the raises, which were agreed upon in a three-year contract signed by the United Teachers of Dade and the district, were tied into funding from the state.

“You pay for what you can afford, and we can´t afford this right now,” he said.

Board member Solomon Stinson supported the proposal. “While it hurts me in my heart to do this, I would rather do this than lay off teachers who already are under contract in the system.”

Two board members disagree.

“We need to give the teachers their step raises,” Ana Rivas Logan said. “We made a statement that we were going to give them their raises. We should follow through.”

Marta Pérez added that teachers already struggle to get by.

The board also agreed to consider postponing cost-of-living adjustments for administrators and employees in other bargaining units, saving $24 million.

Board member Martin Karp stepped away from the dais at the time of the vote, drawing heavy criticism from his colleagues. Board member Renier Diaz de la Portilla was absent.

UTD President Karen Aronowitz, who was not at the meeting, said she was “furious” upon hearing the news.

“The district has stated clearly that their first priority in the budget planning is to respect their commitment to our collective bargaining agreement,” Aronowitz said. “And that´s the first thing they bust.”

She also said that Crew had “lots of lots of stuff larded in here. Balancing the budget cannot come at the cost of salaries to teachers.”

The cut to raises wasn´t the only proposal that caused controversy.

TAKE-HOME CARS

A majority of board members also favored establishing a pool of company vehicles to replace the current take-home car policy. The move would generate $100,000 in savings.

The board also supported plans to reduce the district´s central administration budget for supplies by $1 million and board members´ budgets by 10 percent, or $300,000 -- although board member Evelyn Greer said the reduction to board members´ budgets should be greater.

Board members also expressed support for a 50-cent increase in the price of school lunches, a measure that would offset the cost of food service by $3.7 million. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches would be exempt.

This year, the cost of running the food service program exceeded revenues by more than $12 million, Deputy Superintendent of Business Operations Ofelia San Pedro said.

“The cost increases that we had this year are not going away,” San Pedro said. “Food costs are still going up.”

Stinson expressed concern that some schools were turning to elaborate meals, rather than sticking to standard school lunches. He suggested standardizing meals across the district to save cash.

“I know there can be some cutbacks that can be made in the type of meals that are presently being served,” he said.

As for transportation, board members suggested that Crew move forward on a suggestion to eliminate transportation for students in magnet and vocational programs.

The measure will save the district more than $10 million. It will result in about 150 layoffs, school systems officials said.

Board members did not discuss repurposing, or suspending classes at schools, only to say they would hold a workshop on the matter before July.

The measure could save the district as much as $11 million.

Repurposing was at the center of a heated debate earlier this year. In December, Crew proposed closing a dozen schools, including Emerson Elementary, an A-rated school. Hundreds of Emerson parents rallied to save the school, and months later, Crew said he would not be closing any schools to save money.

© 2008 Miami Herald Media Company