Suzanne Kelly
MPS Communications
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Suzanne P. Kelly
Melissa Winter
Executive Director, Public Affairs
Public Relations Coordinator
612.668.0230
612.668.0228
January 8, 2002 � Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Carol Johnson today presented a menu of options the district will consider to solve a projected $30 million budget deficit for the 2002-2003 school year. The options include everything from freezing wages for non-teaching staff to limiting transportation, hiking athletic participation fees and increasing the walk distance for high school students.FACING $30 MILLION BUDGET SHORTFALL MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS RELEASES LIST OF POTENTIAL REDUCTIONS
Superintendent announces she will not accept salary increase given gravity of the district�s fiscal situation
The Superintendent also announced that she would not accept the salary increase approved by the Board at their Dec. 18, 2001 regular meeting. The Board had voted to increase the Superintendent�s salary from the current $160,000 to $190,000. Superintendent Johnson said that given the gravity of the district�s budget situation and the fact that non-teaching staff may face wage freezes in the coming year she could not accept the pay increase. �I am asking the board to direct that money instead to our Arts for Academic Achievement initiative which has shown great promise in improving the academic achievement of many of our students. Funding for that initiative is ending and that money can help ensure its continuation.�
In presenting the options menu Johnson reiterated that the state budget forecast means that MPS is unlikely to receive substantial increases in state aid and �as a result, must continue to find ways to accomplish more with less. Rising expenses, insufficient state funding, a backlog of deferred maintenance, and projections for continued enrollment declines means that we must reduce our general operating budget.�
The district sustained $25 million in cuts this school year, which resulted in numerous school support services being reduced or eliminated and over 200 staff positions being eliminated. And in the fall, the Board voted to close three schools for the 2002-2003 school year and relocate two others that were housed in leased sites. Because of the loss of $5 million in state integration aid the district also has removed the magnet designation from two schools and reduced their attendance boundaries.
�Our top priority is maintaining our ability to deliver quality instruction and to provide a challenging and rigorous curriculum for all of our students,� said Johnson. �But we also want our parents, students, staff and community to understand that we can not cut an additional $30 million from our budget without significant changes in the level of services, choice and programs that are offered both at the district and the school level.�
David Jennings, the district�s chief operating officer, said the options presented Tuesday do not represent across-the-board cuts, but rather, involve a strategic effort to restructure the district�s business operations and initiate targeted reductions that focus resources on the district�s highest educational priorities. The goal of the budget process will be to enhance student achievement and maintain the district�s commitment to smaller class size while exercising fiscal responsibility and reducing cost per student.
�As we look for ways to streamline our budgets, we will focus our resources on five major initiatives to enhance student achievement: middle and high school transformation, implementation of the Twelve Point Plan and the 95% attendance initiatives, school readiness and quality teaching,� Johnson said.
Both Johnson and Jennings said the district is committed to retaining smaller classes. The option of increasing class sizes by one student is listed as a potential option, however, because �we want the public to be aware of the gravity of the situation we are facing and to understand that even the most onerous solutions have to be considered,� Superintendent Johnson said.
Among the options being considered is a reduction in schools� per capita funding. Per capita represents less than one percent of a school�s total budget. Some schools might face even greater budget reductions due to lower enrollment or a decrease in the number of students who are eligible for free or reduced price lunch.
Other options to address the shortfall include:
· $6 million - Restructure and/or reduce all district departments
for best service (10-30% reductions)
· $4 million - Reduce and refocus school budgets on highest
priorities
· $3 million - Reduce transportation costs by such things as
increasing the walk distance to two miles for high school students and
moving 4,000 students back to their attendance area schools, no non-academic
after-school buses
· $2.8 million � Eliminate transportation of high school students
(may require state waivers)
· $2.1 million � Further reduce school choice by attendance
area
· $1.7 million - Freeze non-teaching wages
· $600,000 - Increase athletics participation fee or reduce
the number of sports offered for youth and sell Victory Memorial Ice Arena
· $500,000 � Reduce referendum support for school readiness
collaborative
Jennings said he is also working with staff to explore potential long-term savings associated with closing additional schools, re-bidding or restructuring employee benefits, outsourcing and a variety of other structural changes in the way the district operates.
Two public hearings on the options menu are set for Tuesday, Jan. 22
at 6 p.m. at Washburn High School and Thursday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m. at Edison
High School. The district has created a bulletin board on its website www.mpls.k12.mn.us.
The bulletin board will be active through the beginning of February and
will allow the public to read and post reactions to the list of possible
budget cuts. The community is welcome to address the Board at any time
during the delegations portion of any regular board meeting. Budget information
will also be posted regularly on our website. Written feedback to board
members and the superintendent is also welcome at 807 NE Broadway, Minneapolis,
MN 55413. School principals will give families information about ways that
they will be able to help decide on budget cuts that will need to be made
at their child�s school. The public may also e-mail specific questions
to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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