tough times for education

...a letter from our superintendent....

Dear AISD Colleagues:

I wanted to inform you as quickly as possible about where we are on creating an
administrative recommendation to close the Fiscal Year 2012 Budget gap,
against the devastating consequences that the proposed State Spending Bill,
made public this week by the House Appropriations Committee, would have on
the operations of the Austin School District. As you may have heard, public
education in Texas will bear the major brunt of the reductions in the proposed
two-year spending bill, which could reach as high as $10 billion. Foundation
School funding, and virtually every grant program to assist public schools, as
administered by the Texas Education Agency, is proposed for significant cuts, if
not complete elimination.
While districts across the state have been preparing for significant state budget
cuts, well-respected education consultant Lynn Moak says the proposed state
reductions are roughly two to three times more significant than what most Texas
school districts were preparing to handle. Mr. Moak was quoted in the Quorum
Report as saying of the House leadership’s proposed budget, “They had a 60-
year commitment to public education, and by not funding at the minimum, at the
base formulas, they’ve failed to meet that commitment. We’ve never done that.
We didn’t do that in 2003 when they had a $10 billion funding crisis. That’s what
makes this crisis different for public education.”
Based upon our preliminary analysis of the House’s spending proposal, AISD’s
budget crisis has become significantly more challenging. No longer are we
looking at a deficit of $54 million, or even $90 million, which some once thought
was highly exaggerated. Based upon the proposed state funding cuts, it now
appears that AISD must achieve reductions of approximately $113 million, to
balance spending with available revenue for School Year 2011-2012. Our
analysis shows that it is unlikely that AISD will be able to absorb all of these
costs in one year. Therefore, we are working to spread the reductions out over
two years, whenever possible.
In the past two years, we have cut $27 million from the Central Office budget, by
eliminating more than 100 positions and enacting a hiring freeze; restricting travel
and curtailing operating expenses; eliminating paper pay checks; moving towards
self-insurance; and undertaking other cost-savings measures. We also have
plans for Central Office to operate on a 10-hour/four-day work week in July to
save on energy costs, and other operational expenses.
Based upon the well-attended series of Employee and Community Forums that
the District held in the latter part of 2010, on-line parent and staff surveys, and
other outreach, we were able to achieve some agreement on additional budget
cuts totaling nearly $25 million for SY 2011-2012. We have just received the
results of a staffing review that we worked on with the Texas Association of
School Boards, identifying areas of campus and administrative operations where
the District is over-staffed and understaffed, as compared with peer districts and
state averages. Those TASB staffing guidelines can produce savings of $4-6
million.
The Administration is proposing that the District’s Fund Balance be reduced by at
least $15 million to help off-set the impact of these additional cuts. Still, very
difficult days are ahead. School closures are still being reviewed. Positions will
be terminated. Programs will be cut, or eliminated. All of this is discouraging, but
as hard as it is, we must remain focused and committed to our main
objective—keeping our classroom instruction strong, and helping our students
succeed.
On Monday, January 24, the AISD Board of Trustees will approve the staffing
formulas that are necessary to allocate personnel to individual campuses. The
recommended staffing formulas will be based upon feedback from our
stakeholder and the findings of the TASB review, as well as the changes to
classroom curriculum and course offerings that will be necessary for AISD to
balance its budget. I encourage you to watch the Board Meeting, beginning at 7
p.m., either on AISD-TV, Channel 22, or the AISD Website at
http://www.austinisd.org
In closing, let me thank you, again, for your dedication to Austin students. While
you continue your daily focus on educating Austin students, the Administration
and Board of Trustees remain committed to considering every option available on
minimizing the impact of these budget cuts on classrooms and staff. I will
continue to keep you apprised of significant developments, as we proceed
through these very difficult times.

Sincerely,
Meria Carstarphen

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