Dallas schools tell employees to prepare for job cuts

[RB TexLa]

Most school districts in Texas are seeking the maximum property tax increase this fall, DISD must have spent more on polling than the others.


Dallas ISD employees told to brace for layoffs

12:11 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 17, 2008

By TAWNELL D. HOBBS and KENT FISCHER / The Dallas Morning News
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School trustees will meet Friday to consider declaring a financial emergency to allow the district to begin cutting staff.

Superintendent Michael Hinojosa met with principals and directors Monday and laid out a plan to fix the budget woes. Campus leaders were told to start preparing staff lists to look for excess positions.

The need to cut jobs arose after the Dallas Independent School District used nearly half its reserve fund to cover a $64 million shortfall in the 2007-08 budget. Dr. Hinojosa disclosed the budget hole last week.

Several teachers expressed anger Tuesday over possibly losing their jobs because of the budget problems.

Officials hope to prevent a repeat in the current fiscal year's budget; the reserve fund is much smaller than experts advise for a district the size of DISD.

Board of Trustees President Jack Lowe said the outlook for this year's budget isn't good. Expenses for this year and last year are practically the same, he said, adding that he expects revenue to be similar.

"We'll wind up with the same deficit," Mr. Lowe said Tuesday. "It's not rocket science; you don't need a bunch of numbers to figure that out."

School officials blamed the shortfall mainly on payroll miscalculations made in the hiring of an additional 750 teachers to reduce class sizes as part of the district's reform effort, Dallas Achieves.

Declaring a financial emergency, or "financial exigency," allows DISD to dismiss employees under contract, including teachers.


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