DPS whacks $522 million from budget
The Detroit Board of Education averted a possible shutdown of operations Monday night by approving a two-year budget that includes nearly $522 million in spending cuts to get the district out of deficit.
But many specifics of how the savings will be realized -- particularly in regard to union concessions and school closings -- still must be addressed by Detroit Public Schools officials.
"It's going to be critical for us to make some of these tough decisions," board vice president Joyce Hayes-Giles said Monday, noting the region and country are cutting back because of tough economic times.
Under the plan, approved 9-2, DPS would lay off about 818 teachers and 900 other workers, in addition to eliminating 142 vacant administrative jobs and cutting $81 million in non-salary spending.
District officials warned the board in the days and minutes leading up to the vote that without a budget, DPS would see state funding stop, have to shut down operations and possibly enter receivership until a plan was approved.
The district had not made any plans to deal with a shutdown, which could have at the least disrupted summer school classes that are in session today.
It was the board's third vote on a budget, and it still left some issues unsettled.
First, the plan calls for $70 million worth of savings from salary freezes and other concessions from unions. But it has held no formal talks and the unions have not been receptive to concessions in previous proposals.
And DPS also needs to close schools before the 2009-10 school year under the proposal. But the plan did not say which schools, or how many, would be closed. The last proposal called for closing Clinton, Detroit Open, Dossin, Guyton, Mason and Mark Twain elementaries and Northwest Early Childhood Center.
The total budget is fluid, and the board began tinkering with it just minutes after it was approved. The budget, as initially approved, would have laid off 28 of 257 social workers and cut four of 101 psychologist positions. But the board voted later in the night to retain all of those workers.
"When we look at the myriad of challenges our young people face in Detroit and the social ills, keep in mind this one department is being singled out," said board member Tyrone Winfrey, who introduced the motion to keep them. "That's my frustration."
Board attorney Floyd Allen said those employees could still face cuts in the future.
Mauritta Gardner, a supervisor for social workers, said they do not work over the summer, but a social worker still went to a middle school Monday to help with a student who had been sexually abused.
"We need 28 more, not 28 less social workers -- and that's not really enough," she said.
District officials expect to update projections on a monthly basis. The budget assumes that DPS will lose about 6,000 students, but will get about $100 in additional state aid per pupil. The state, however, projects an even greater loss of students, and the Legislature has not approved the K-12 budget yet. Any fluctuations in enrollment or state aid will affect spending and cuts.
The plan, as approved, projects deficits of $112.8 million for the fiscal year that ended Monday and $104.7 million for 2008-09 before getting out of the red in 2009-10 with a $2.6-million surplus.
Contact CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY at 313-223-4537.
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