Melissa Bailey File Photo
Superintendent of Schools Reggie Mayo announced on Monday night that the Board of Education is looking to trim $1.5 million from next year’s budget.
The cut comes at the request of the mayor, Mayo (pictured) said.
It’s unclear where in the budget the money would come from. The mayor’s deadline for finding the extra money is Tuesday, Mayo said. His comments came during and after Monday evening’s meeting of the Board of Education.
With the city budget season coming to a head, lawmakers have been facing increasing pressure to find ways to reduce the mayor’s $476 million dollar city budget, which would result in an average residential tax increase of 8.8 percent. A group of citizen budget activists has called for a cuts of 10 percent from every city department and the Board of Education. Meanwhile, school officials recently organized a parent rally to save the school budget.
A cut of $1.5 million would take off half of the mayor’s proposed $3 million increase to education spending. The city’s portion of the proposed new school budget had been $176 million (out of $324 million overall, including outside funding sources).
Thomas MacMillan File Photo
During the question and answer period of Monday’s meeting, public school grandparent Hazel Pappas (pictured) rose from her seat with a question. What’s the latest on the school budget? she asked Mayo.
“We are looking at the budget for some cuts,” Mayo said. “We have been asked to cut 1.5 million.”
“Tell them that’s too much,” Pappas said.
After the meeting, Mayo said the request to trim $1.5 million came straight from Mayor DeStefano.
Is that a big amount to cut?
“Any amount is a big amount right now,” Mayo said.
The trick is balancing the need for services with the need for cuts, Mayo said, echoing sentiments expressed recently by DeStefano
Mayo said he doesn’t know where specifically in the school budget cuts can be found.
“It hurts, but we’re going to have to find it,” he said.