Proposed budget would lay off 192 county teachers
Additional cuts considered after enrollment errors were caught, school official says
Prince George's County school officials are proposing to lay off more than 329 employees — including 192 teachers — next school year to adjust to a $39.6 million budget cut.
Officials had previously anticipated a $42.6 million reduction next fiscal year but recently revealed enrollment errors are expected to hinder the budget even more. The latest estimates would bring the budget to $1.63 billion, which is $82.2 million less than the current fiscal budget of $1.71 billion.
School system Chief Financial Officer Matt Stanski said Feb. 18 that the state overestimated the number of students expected in county schools next school year by 390, so state funding will be less than initially expected. The school system receives state funding on a per-pupil basis.
In addition to the teachers, 90 bus drivers, 10 instructional coaches, and 37 positions from central and administrative offices will be eliminated. Additional furlough days will be required and stipends will be frozen.
Ten- and 11-month employees will be furloughed five days and 12-month employees will be furloughed 10 days, according to the proposal. Officials hope to implement furloughs on non-instructional days so that substitutes will not need to be hired.
Under the proposed budget, the special education department would lose $1 million, and the price for lunch would increase by 25 cents to $2.50. Students who attend specialty programs outside of their local school, such as Talented and Gifted, language immersion and arts, would get on buses at designated hub schools, instead of a local bus stop. Parents would need to drop students off or walk their children to hub locations, he said.
In addition, the start of the Middle College program, which would allow high school students to take college-level courses at Prince George's County Community College while earning their high school diploma and an associate's degree, will be delayed until the 2011-2012 school year.
Stanski said laid off employees will have a chance to be placed at vacant positions within the school system.
Since a new state budget has yet to be submitted by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), school officials are left playing a guessing game about revenue amounts before a March 1 deadline, when the school budget must be submitted to the county.
"It highlights the dilemma we're in when we need to present a budget, but conversations about revenues are still occurring," Superintendent William Hite Jr. said Feb. 18.
Along with Prince George's County, Baltimore city enrollment numbers were also incorrectly identified by the state department of education, with enrollment inflated by 2,000 students.
School officials are hoping the new predicted budget of $1.629 billion for the school system is the bottom line because the school board loses the ability to alter the budget after it has been submitted to the County Council, Stanski said.
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