Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) averted a $130 million financial fiasco for the 2017-2018 school year, but a significant number of teachers, administrators and school police officers still face lay-offs as school officials faced parents and community advocates this week.
In three community meetings, BCPS CEO Sonja Santelises, school board members and senior staff announced the additional funding recently allotted to the school system by Governor Larry Hogan and Mayor Catherine E. Pugh to help the beleaguered school system close come closer to closing the $130 million gap that would have triggered up to 1,000 teacher and other school-based staff lay-offs.
BCPS CEO Sonja Santelises spoke recently at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School about the upcoming school budget. (Courtesy photo)
“Earlier today we were with Governor Hogan and as he signed the bill that will provide three years of state funding for school districts with declining enrollment,” Santilesis told parents and community advocates in her opening remarks.
But even with a combined city/state pledge of $180 million over the next three years and a three- year commitment of $10 from City Council Chair Bernard C. Jack Young, BCPS still faces an estimated $30 million gap.
BCPS cuts/saved another $30 million from Central office operations, but the remaining anticipated gap prompted BCPS to talk with the community about the possibility of lay-offs.
Santelesis did not state the number of positions slated for layoffs at the individual school level, but parent advocates offered an estimate of 200-250 during one of the town hall meetings. Shauna Anthony, BCPS Office of Human Capital is meeting with K-12 Principals this week to start collecting data on BCPS vacancies for the coming year.
“There will be information sessions with principals and other employee groups,” to explain the process for staff reductions, Anthony said.
BCPS parent and staff assistant Tanya Lassiter challenged BCPS heads to lessen the trauma of layoffs with better planning at the school level. Lassiter and other parents said that too often BCPS employees are working one day and “gone” the next.
“It is such a devastating thing for these kids to go through. Most of our kids are already dealing with separation issues. How do we teach leaders to make these transitions as smoothly as possible,” Lassiter said? Other parents added that the chaotic nature of BCPS layoffs is the issue that made many teachers leave BCPS for other options outside of the city in prior years.
Santelises said that no single school will experience an unfair burden due to the need to zero out the remaining budget deficit. She urged families to connect with their local schools and participate in community budget reviews happening between now and April 21 at each community public and charter school. She sought to reassure those gathered at the budget town halls that retaining staffing is the number one priority for each school.
“When we finished initial budget decisions on the school level the overwhelming priority was staffing,” she said.
Each school submitted budgets this past winter reflecting severe cuts to programs and staff BCPS thought they would face with an anticipated $130 million budget gap. With the recent announcements of additional funding from state and local sources over the next three years, schools have been asked to revise their budgets, share them with the community and resubmit them to BCPS central office staff by April 23. The final combined BCPS budget will then be presented to the School Board on May 9 and approved on May 23. In June, the layoff plan will be initiated, according to the BCPS timeline.
“They talk a good game, but what are they going to do,” said Carolyn Morrow-Council, who brought a range of concerns to the Town Hall meeting to the applause of the audience. Morrow-Council, who has two children in BCPS schools expressed concern about how underserved schools will continue to provide basic instruction and services to students amid another round of layoffs.
“As an educator, I can help my children, but what about parents who are not educated”. The system has failed them,” said Morrow-Council.