The superintendent’s proposed budget for Prince George’s County’s public schools would barely raise the school system’s operating costs and includes no teacher layoffs.
William Hite’s $1.61 billion budget, an increase of only $238,200 from last year’s budget, requires cost-cutting measures in nearly every department of the public school system to compensate for declining revenue.
Prince George’s Public Schools officials face a $44 million budget gap heading into fiscal 2013, one year after shedding about 700 teaching positions in sweeping cuts that reduced school spending by $13 million in 2012.
Declining enrollment and the precarious budget situations at the state and county levels required a conservative budgeting approach, Hite said.
“We’ve had to make difficult cuts and we still face difficult decisions,” Hite said. “However, we must focus our vision and priorities on the school district’s long-term success.”
The budget outlook could grow worse — state officials are considering shifting retirement costs onto the counties, a move that would add millions of dollars to the school system’s expenses.
Under Hite’s proposal, Prince George’s County’s contribution to the school system’s budget would remain flat as in fiscal 2012, while state aid would increase by only $45,600. Thomas Himler, the county’s deputy chief administrator for budget, finance and administration, expects the county to contribute an extra $2 million to the school system, while another $8 million could come from the state.
Funds and grants would cover an expected loss of about $4.5 million in federal aid.
While no pay raises have been agreed to, $9 million was set aside in the budget for possible increases. Bob Ross, a member of the county’s PTA and president of the Prince George’s County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said raises are a must for teachers who have gone three years without higher pay.
No matter how bad things get, “there still can’t be any more cuts to teachers, or any support staff that works for students,” Ross said. “They’re already living with the bare minimum. There has to be pay raises for teachers, bus drivers and support staff.”
School officials hope to cut more costs through the full implementation of a new school-based budgeting plan, which gives principals control over 50 percent of their schools’ budget.
Principals will have a say in hiring more teachers, and the plan could allow schools to more directly address their own unique needs and save money, according to Matt Stanski, the school system’s chief financial officer.
