Cobb County schools will cut jobs and slash educational programs as the district faces a $100 million deficit in what officials are calling the worst budget year in recent history.
The warning to staff has been issued: Brace for unprecedented belt-tightening.
State budget cuts and shrinking property tax revenues have Cobb schools looking at all options to eliminate expenses -- even the possibility of laying off teachers.
The district joins several other cash-strapped school systems in metro Atlanta that have announced that they will be looking at staff reductions as a way to balance their budgets. Salaries make up 90 percent of Cobb schools' general fund operating costs.
“We have already taken steps to let our staff know that this is going to be a very difficult budget year that is going to result in cuts of programs and definitely jobs,” school system spokesman Jay Dillon said on Thursday. “It is the worst anybody has seen ... nothing is off the table.”
The district says it suffered a $109 million loss in revenue from the homestead exemption and a freebie allowed since the 1970s that prohibits school property taxes from being levied on those age 62 and up. State funding cuts since 2003 have deprived Cobb of $197 million, district officials say.
Like Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton County schools are considering tough choices as part of the state budget crunch. DeKalb officials say they could close four schools and cut jobs, including those of 15 top administrators, as the district grapples with a budget deficit that's expected to top $88 million. Officials warned recently that the number of schools shuttered could climb to a dozen over the next two years.
Fulton schools also are facing cutbacks that could eliminate 1,000 jobs, including those of teachers, counselors and janitors, and trim $120 million from the budget.
Cobb teachers are sensing the uncertainty. Some are calling their local association representatives for support.
"There was always a demand for teachers, and now they are looking at an oversupply," said Mike Poore, president of the Cobb County Association of Educators. "It hasn’t been this way."
Cobb school officials also have begun to warn parents about the district's financial trouble.
Recently, the Board of Education began an informal series of public forums to chat with residents about the budget process and what they can expect as the county's largest employer is forced to get leaner.
Cobb employs more than 15,000 people. It began the school year with a budget deficit of about $58 million. By winter, Dillon said, that figure reached the $100 million threshold despite cost-cutting measures like a 2 percent pay reduction for staff, furlough days for teachers and other employees, and the elimination of programs and 14 technical support jobs. The district even dipped into its reserve fund, shifting $10 million to stop the hemorrhaging.
A parent video on the district's Web site says that Cobb is in a "budget crisis." Colorful pie charts and figures in bold red type flash on the screen warning that the school district is losing millions as the state continues to whack education funding and residents enjoy property tax discounts few neighboring counties allow.
“Now, like never before, education funding is facing a crisis that will result in a loss of services, academic programs and jobs," the parent video says. "These changes will impact our children's education and the quality of life we have come to expect. It is important that you as a taxpayer understand the basics of the school district budget so that you are prepared as the changes are approved and implemented. Your opinion on what should be prioritized will play an important role as decisions are made.’’
Dillon said that Cobb has not decided exactly which staff positions or programs will be eliminated. More information will be available as the state finishes its budget process. The district's current budget is $883 million. Its next budget will be drafted in the spring and approved by the board on June 9.
Poore said that last year several young teachers were let go after their third year before they could become tenured in what he believes was a cost-saving strategy. Some of the teachers whose contracts were not renewed for a fourth year had been recruited nationally and internationally to make the staff more diverse, he said.
"Many were in good standing their first two years," he said. "In the third year all of a sudden we are in a budget crunch, the person didn’t have tenure, and they were released."
Dillon said contract nonrenewals are not used for cost-cutting, but are disciplinary in nature for performance issues.
Poore said he understands the district also is considering not paying teachers a stipend for having master's degrees and doctorates. "There is only so much you can do for morale when your paycheck keeps getting smaller," he said.
Staff writer Ralph Ellis contributed to this article.
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