School's Out For Summer But Work Remains For APS BOE

Wednesday marks the final day of the 2012-13 school year for Atlanta Public Schools, but for the APS board, the work is far from done concerning passing a $568 million budget by the end of the month for preliminary approval.

The Atlanta Board of Education Budget Commission met on Monday to review the proposed budget for fiscal year 2014 and considered three teacher furlough days, eliminating a 3 percent salary bonus to employees who haven’t received a raise in five years and other cuts in an attempt to close a $61 million budget gap.

The board also debated smaller class sizes, which in some schools are larger than state guidelines. But Superintendent Erroll Davis said it wasn’t the time to spend $20 million or so to reduce class sizes so they would fall more in line with Georgia standards.

Some board members indicated Monday they were fine with class sizes staying as-is, as long as they don't increase, while others want to see them decrease in the coming school year. According to state law, public high school classroom sizes can’t exceed 32 students, but the state Board of Education has ignored those requirements in recent years as school districts across Georgia have wrestled with financial difficulties.

According to APS figures in the 50,000-student district, it would cost close to $24 million to reduce class sizes by five students, and about $5 million to shrink by one student the size of classes. 

The board has until May 30 to pass a preliminary budget in anticipation for a final vote next month. Several meetings are planned for next week in an attempt to make up for the $61 million budget shortfall.

In addition to not paying the bonuses and instituting furloughs on non-instructional days, Davis has suggested spending $20 million from reserve funds to assist in closing the budget gap.

Not filling current vacant positions for an extended period of time and reducing programs are other possible measures that could be taken to save money for the district.

See here for live blog coverage of Monday’s meeting from the APS Twitter account @apsupdate.

Are you concerned about the size of APS classes? Let us know in the comment section below.

See also:

• APS Budget Basics
• NAPPS Statement on APS Proposed FY14 Budget
• APS Looking Into Selling Former North Fulton High Campus