My information:
- The cuts that are being proposed will impact Maplewood by asking me to cut 0.77 from what we already have "on the books". This cut is based on two factors: staffing ratio was raised from 23.4 to 24.77 per fte (meaning we lose 0.59), and secondly, we currently predict 4 less students in the fall than the numbers that the staffing was based on from last spring(meaning we lose 0.18).
- Maplewood currently shows "on the book" that we have half-time P.E., library, and computer lab.
- My prediction is that the board will choose between two options: one is to cut P.E. entirely in elementary; the second is that they would cut a combination of music and art, or music and world languages or music and library.
- If the proposal to cut all elementary P.E. actually happens, I believe they will mandate that ALL schools eliminate P.E. Specialists entirely, and that they will not allow any school to try to buy it back by using Foundation Funds, for example.
- My plan is to use Foundation Funds (which I have been holding until the summer to better maximize their amount) to mitigate whatever cuts end up being required of me; depending on the new staffing situation, I predict I will be able to fund between 0.25 and 0.50.
Here are points that were brought up by Deputy Superintendents:
As you know, we are faced now with a $19.4 million budget gap (or 4.3 percent of our general fund) on top of the $16 million shortfall we already had to absorb for 2010-11. We have worked hard with our employee groups to come up with a sound approach. But we are well beyond painless fixes. We acknowledge and regret the impact that these cuts will have on valued employees and programs.
Following is the budget proposal the Superintendent took to the board Finance, Audit & Operations Committee on June 23 and then key points for your information and to share:
Overall approach: No one-time fixes
The Superintendent and the Portland School Board agree that one-time fixes are not appropriate. The budget the school board approved for next year already uses $16 million from our reserves. Another two years like that and our entire safety net of reserves will be gone. So the principles that this budget proposal follows are:
• Prioritize schools: Continue to take disproportionate cuts in the central office yet not dismantle vital support functions.
• Preserve a universal core academic program.
• Hold harmless Academic Priority Zone schools. While they will be required to make district-wide program changes described below, their overall FTE will not be decreased. The “zone” schools are BizTech, Bridger, Kelly, King, Sitton, George, Jefferson and Roosevelt.
Breakdown of cuts
Central Support and Operations: $3.1 million
• Cut as many as 25 FTE as part of central departments’ directive to reduce their budget or staff by up to 10 percent. Positions will be lost in many departments.
Special Education: $3.3 million
• Cut 38 FTE: This includes 16 teaching positions and more than 40 special education aides, leading to a total that is equal to about 38 licensed teaching positions.
English as a Second Language: $1.2 million
• Cut 14 FTE in ESL: This includes the 12 new teaching positions plus an additional 2 teaching positions.
Rationale for Central, Sped and ESL cuts
• PPS has consistently cut central departments over the years, focusing our increasingly limited resources on schools and students. These latest central cuts will further impact services to schools.
• ESL/Sped: We have been working hard to strengthen our services in these areas. Yet with the depth of the cut, these services, staffed centrally but delivered through our schools and special programs, must also face reductions.
School Cut: $11.6 million
Eliminate the equivalent of 126 teaching positions.• This year, to ensure all students have access to the same core educational program, we will provide specific direction on what schools should cut.
• We plan to take a uniform cut to common program at the K-8 level so that all schools face the same challenges. For example, all K through 8 schools would cut PE or enrichments and library staffing. That is a way to try to maintain greater equity and more consistent programs across schools. The loss of PE instruction by specialists could be mitigated by having classroom teachers lead students in physical activity, or through other strategies.
• The decision about how to approach cuts at the K-8 level will not be acted upon until we receive further clarity from the Board.
• High school staffing will be cut through attrition and layoff. We anticipate that high schools will see significant increases in class sizes, particularly in core classes, although we will continue to build a common core program across the system. The staffing ratio for high schools (save for Jefferson, Roosevelt and BizTech, which are in the Academic Priority Zone) will go from 23.2 to 27.15.
• High school staff cuts offset: We will mitigate layoffs and attrition by asking teachers to go from teaching five of seven class periods to teaching six of seven to protect offerings to students.
Rationale for school cuts
• Why not let schools choose cuts: For many years, we have let schools wrestle with what to keep. This has allowed for some decision making tailored to individual school needs. But we are beyond where we can take a piecemeal, school by school approach that masks the depth of school cuts and only risks heightening inequity between schools. For these reasons, we will give schools a directive that protects the academic core and meets state and graduation requirements.• Why not shorten year/furlough days: Cutting the school year short and asking all school district employees to take unpaid furlough days are one-time, short-term solutions when what we face is a long-term budget problem.
• Why not freeze pay: The Superintendent and School Board considered freezing employee pay – for some employees for the second straight year. However, our contract with teachers includes a negotiated 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment, and the Portland Association of Teachers declined to re-open that negotiation to consider wage concessions at this time.
• What about a reduction-in-force: Across the board layoffs and attrition is unfeasible because:
o It jeopardizes our ability to keep a core program in place at different levels of the organization.
o Individual schools, particularly those with high concentrations of low income and struggling students, will most dramatically lose core program such as enrichments and electives.
o Class sizes across the board will be increased, potentially to unmanageable levels.
Next steps
• The School Board process: Board members considered the Superintendent’s budget amendment proposal at the FAO meeting Wednesday June 23. A public budget hearing is Tuesday June 29 at 6:30 pm at BESC. The board must formally adopt a budget amendment on July 19. Possible considerations
• PAT: We remain open to conversations with teacher's union (PAT) about re-opening the contract.• State funding: PPS continues to push our state legislative and Congressional delegations for additional resources. A special session of the Oregon Legislature is possible later this summer that would focus on prioritizing the budget reductions and possibly add funding (not enough to cover the shortfall) from reserves.
• Federal funding: Additionally, Congress continues to debate whether to provide $23 billion in additional stimulus funds for education. For Portland, this would mean approximately $16 million in additional funds. It is not certain that this provision will make it into the final version of the current supplemental spending bill.
