Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Vast majority of school districts cutting expenses

Is your local school board making news by cutting expenses? It's one of many. Cuts were expected in 84 percent of more than 400 school districts surveyed by the Center on Education Policy in Washington, D.C, Christina Samuels of Education Week reports. The trend is the same in urban, rural, and suburban districts.

The survey, conducted between February and May, also found that about 70 percent of responding districts received less money in 2010-11 than the previous year, Samuels reports. Of those, 85 percent made staff cuts, with 68 percent cutting staff in non-core academic areas and 54 percent making reductions in core areas. Furloughs and reduced benefits were mentioned as other ways districts saved money.

For the 2011-12 fiscal year, 57 percent of schools expecting more funding cuts an, anticipate a reduction in teaching jobs, and 50 percent plan to cut administrative jobs, Samuels reports. "School people are just running out of ways to limit spending," Jack Jennings, president and chief executive officer of the Center on Education Policy, told Samuels. "They're just at their wits' end." (Read more) To see the center's full report, click here.

No comments: