Prince George’s public schools face roughly $145 million in cuts next year despite the County Council’s efforts to add millions of dollars to the school system’s budget, according to school officials. The council’s efforts gave the school system about $18 million more than the board was expecting, but the adopted fiscal 2012 budget still reduces education spending by $13 million from last year.
“The cuts are so deep that our employees are at their wits’ end,” school board Chairwoman Verjeana Jacobs said. “Not to be ungrateful, but at the same time we still have significant cuts in the budget that are going to affect our operations.”
About 1,300 positions would have to be cut under the current budget proposal. About 300 of those are vacant positions, according to the board’s financial staff, and about 530 teachers have applied for an early-retirement incentive program. Teachers have until July 15 to file for retirement.
Letters have been sent to faculty and staff cautioning that layoffs may be required to balance the budget. Even after the additional funding from the council, school officials are still expecting a deficit, and more cuts could be required.
Superintendent William Hite is scheduled to submit a new budget proposal June 9.
The extra money from the council can’t offset the rising costs the school board faces, Jacobs said. While school enrollment in Prince George’s is dropping, operating expenses and health care costs are still increasing the bills.
Of the $18 million added by the council, about $14 million comes from new state funding, while the rest would have to be taken from other sources in the school board’s budget. Council Chairwoman Ingrid Turner said she hopes the $4.5 million from the council will be redirected for restoring the county’s reading recovery program, specialty education transportation, and an outdoor education facility that hosts a popular overnight camp for fifth-graders.
However, there’s no guarantee that the board or Hite will direct the extra money to those programs. Board members are just as concerned about a host of other programs on the chopping block, Jacobs said.
“We’ve tried to make it clear that we don’t want to continue to put Band-Aids on problems when we just want to get them resolved,” she said.
