Nashville Mayor Karl Dean took a first look at next year’s proposed budget for Metro Schools today. The plan would outsource the work of hundreds of custodians in order to save millions, but even so, the system needs a 2 percent budget increase to close a gap of some $25 million.
Last year Metro Schools cut more than a hundred teaching jobs, and Superintendent Jesse Register says the coming year’s budget has to shield teachers from further cuts.
Register says in part that’s because next year he expects some 1,700 more students to enter the system. At the same time, the system faces step-increases for employees. Those are required raises based on how many years a teacher has worked.
Register says he’s out of places to scrounge more money.
“This year we’ve pretty-much hit the wall – we’ve been using fund balance, we’ve been using reserves over the last couple years to keep our heads above water.”
The system is set to receive some $30 million in federal Race to the Top funds over the next four years, but that money can only be used for new programs, not to plug holes.
For his part, Mayor Dean told Register he wants to see Metro Schools move forward, not back.
EXTRA:
MNPS officials have been wrestling for months with the up-and-down pull, as growing fiscal obligations push against dwindling reserves and potential sales tax shortfalls. You can see a summary of those factors from a January meeting of the Budget and Finance committee here, in PDF form.
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