School Committees Scour Budget For Savings

Two new committees will be on the lookout for millions of dollars that can be trimmed from the city’s school spending.

The Board of Education froze all spending and created those two groups at its regular meeting at Celentano School on Monday night, as it seeks recommendations on how it can close the two multi-million dollar deficits: $5.3 million this year and $30.7 million projected for the fiscal year starting July 1.

The board’s vice-president, Jamell Cotto, introduced the two resolutions. (Click here to download a draft copy.) Both passed unanimously with a few minor amendments.

The first resolution freezes all school district spending that hasn’t already been approved or that won’t be paid for with grants. The resolution says that includes all contracts (including those under $20,000 that the superintendent previously approved automatically) and all new hires (including part-timers).

Any checks that go out for emergencies need to be approved by a committee of the board’s three elected leaders, who are currently President Darnell Goldson, Vice-President Cotto and Secretary Tamiko Jackson-McArthur.

This fiscal year, the school district is facing the deficit of $5.3 million after following through on almost all the cuts it initially promised, including combining the alternative schools, closing a high school and laying off school counselors, library media specialists and physical education teachers.

But it never made up the $5 million that Mayor Toni Harp requested in increased school spending, which the alders eventually zeroed out to cover medical benefits.

According to the district’s latest budget projections, most of this year’s cost overrun has been in full-time teachers, whose salaries are $8.1 million above what it can currently afford. It’s also losing big on overages of $960,000 for full-time support staff, $900,000 for full-time administrators and $830,000 for transportation.

But the district has also been able to collect back big savings by cutting $1.95 million in tuition for outside providers, $1.40 million in part-time workers and $1.37 million in maintenance and custodial costs.

The district’s financial situation improved recently with the unexpected award of close to $3.2 million in grants, but it’s unclear exactly where that money’s coming from. For the last two weeks, Superintendent Birks has not been able to answer questions about what specific sources of new money came through.

Birks added that the district has already frozen spending ​“unless it’s absolutely necessary,” like if something breaks at a school building.

The second resolution creates a Deficit Reduction Committee that will develop initial plans to deal with both this year and next year’s budget holes.

Its 15 members will include: two each picked by the presidents of the teachers, administrator and paraprofessional unions; two city officials picked by the mayor; two picked by the superintendent; and three community members and two school board members picked by the Board of Ed president.

The resolution sets two objectives for the committee to keep in mind: that any cost-cutting should minimize ​“harm to student achievement growth” and remain ​“permanent and structural.” The committee will send its recommendations to the board’s standing Finance & Operations Committee on May 1 and May 30.

So far, to deal with next year’s projected $30.7 million shortfall, Superintendent Birks has floated a ​“worst-case scenario” of cost-cutting that could include the reduction of close to 170 teaching positions, the termination of a lease and the consolidation of a school (possibly at the new Barack H. Obama Magnet University School), among other reductions and financial maneuvers.

Birks said she was open to any help she could get in balancing the school district’s books.

During the meeting, the board also welcomed its newest member, Yesenia Rivera, and it privately gave Birks a two-hour performance evaluation in executive session.