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Saturday, March 27, 2010
Brooks Changes Plan
By Hailey Heinz
Copyright © 2010 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Staff Writer
Albuquerque school Superintendent Winston Brooks, backing off his initial plan to lay off 270 educational assistants, said late Friday that he will look at laying off up to 300 teachers and increasing class sizes to save money.
Attempts to come up with a plan to cover a $43 million shortfall next year began in earnest early Friday when Brooks met with the school board to outline his initial recommendations. He also sent out an e-mail blast to many APS employees with the early plan.
That plan called for about 700 layoffs, including education assistants; non-school employees, such as central office administrators and police; some teachers and others. APS has about 14,000 employees.
The proposal, which requires about a 7 percent cut in next year's budget, is already being revised, and Brooks expects even more changes. The board has final authority over Brooks' proposed budget.
Some board members and APS officials immediately pushed back against the EA cuts, which would have saved $6 million. Brooks acknowledged that was impractical because so many EA positions — like those in kindergarten and special education — are federally mandated. He said he does not know how many, if any, EAs will be cut in the final plan.
He also backed off his proposal to reduce discretionary funding at the schools by 40 percent, which would have saved $8.8 million. By Friday afternoon, Brooks had amended the proposed cut to 20 percent.
"Schools use discretionary funds mostly to hire people," he said, adding that some schools use them for extra teachers, security aides or reading specialists. That means a cut in this funding will mostly take the form of layoffs, he said.
But those concessions mean $10 million must be cut elsewhere, prompting Brooks to consider the increased class sizes and teacher layoffs.
Because teachers earn more than EAs, Brooks said more money can be saved through fewer layoffs.
"It's just a matter of making choices about what you're going to cut, and that's always hard," he said.
Brooks said he ultimately hopes to present the board with ideas for cuts that total more than $43 million, giving it flexibility to adopt some cuts and reject others.
Board President Martin Esquivel said the choices will be difficult.
"We've worked very well together as a board, and this is a time when we need to work even better," he said.
The $43 million shortfall includes a $24 million cut by the Legislature, plus $15 million Brooks wants to keep in cash reserves. Another $4 million must be cut to cover unexpected salary and benefit costs.
Brooks also proposed a hiring freeze, which he estimated would leave 500 positions vacant and save the district about $10.7 million. He said APS usually has a turnover of about 700 employees each year, about 200 of which must be filled, like principals.
He also proposed a 5 percent cut to non-school budgets, mainly affecting central administration. Brooks said this would save about $10 million and result in about 250 layoffs.
Other recommendations presented Friday include drawing down the district's medical insurance reserves, reducing stipends and overtime by 30 percent each, reducing non-payroll spending like travel and contracts and consolidating school administrators.
He said that would mean, for example, having a single principal and administrative staff in charge of two small elementary schools. He cautioned that measure would only save about a half-million dollars.
Albuquerque Teachers Federation President Ellen Bernstein said Brooks' list should be viewed only as the start of a brainstorming process.
"We haven't even started negotiating," she said in an interview. "I'll be asking every single person I represent to give me serious input."
She said larger class sizes would have negative effects on the graduation rate and student achievement. But Bernstein faulted lawmakers rather than the district.
"This Legislature didn't do their job," she said.
Board members raised various concerns about Brooks' proposal, while acknowledging that any solution will likely be painful.
"The fact is we have a shortfall," said member David Robbins, encouraging the board to come up with constructive solutions. "We're not going to just find $43 million in the next couple of months."
Esquivel suggested that Brooks consider pulling certified teachers from non-classroom duties like instructional coaching, saving about $7 million.
Board member Robert Lucero said he would like to see the cuts approached differently, asking each school and department to find their own 7 percent cuts. Brooks said that approach might leave some schools hit harder than others.
"Some schools might be able to handle the 7 percent. If you take 7 percent out of other schools, you'll kill them," Brooks said.
The timeline for the board's decision was still unclear Friday. The administration wants to give the board enough time to consider the budget, while also giving schools time to make site-specific decisions before the end of the fiscal year in June.
Possible cuts
Here are proposals being looked at as of late Friday.
• Increase teacher-student ratios by 5 percent. Savings: $18 million. Layoffs: 300
• Hiring freeze. Savings: $10.7 million. Jobs lost through attrition: 500
• Reduce non-school department budgets by 5 percent. Savings: $10 million. Layoffs: 250
• Reduce school discretionary funds by 20 percent. Savings: $4.4 million. Layoffs: 90
• Eliminate certified teachers from non-classroom duties. Savings: $7 million. Layoffs: 116
• Decrease medical insurance reserves. Savings: $4 million
• Reduce non-payroll spending like travel and contracts by 4 percent. Savings: $2.5 million
• Reduce stipends 30 percent. Savings: $0.8 million
• Consolidate school personnel. Savings: $0.5 million
• Reduce overtime 30 percent. Savings: $0.4 million
Weigh in
The board will hold a special meeting to discuss the budget on April 1 at 7:30 a.m. at APS headquarters in Uptown.
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