HISD cuts 277 jobs

There will be more of this to follow.

The Houston school district will have fewer bus drivers, construction workers, finance employees and other staff next year under budget cuts the board approved on Thursday.

Trustees, expecting a severe shortfall in state funding, unanimously agreed to eliminate 277 positions, representing about 12 percent of the central office, according to chief financial officer Melinda Garrett.

The number of layoffs will be fewer, with about one-third of the positions vacant at last count, Garrett said.

Trustee Mike Lunceford suggested that employees earning at least $100,000, including Superintendent Terry Grier, take a pay cut. The move, he said, would send “a very strong symbol that shows everyone’s in this together.”

The Houston Independent School District has 155 employees earning at least $100,000, according to a salary database from September. Of those, two-thirds work in the central office, and the others are school principals.

A 3 percent pay cut for those central office employees — Lunceford’s proposal – would save HISD about $400,000, a fraction of the district’s $1.6 billion budget.

I don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other about Lunceford’s suggestion. It looks good, it’s not an unreasonable thing to ask when others are getting fired and furloughed, and it will save a few bucks. But let’s keep some perspective – the total savings are 0.6% of the remaining gap that HISD currently projects that it needs to fill.

The board so far has agreed to cut $106 million from the district’s budget, leaving an estimated $65 shortfall.

Trustee Larry Marshall said Thursday that he was pleased the board hadn’t raised the property tax rate or reduced a special tax discount known as the optional homestead exemption.

“Not at this point,” responded Garrett, who has said raising taxes and dipping into the district’s $84 million rainy-day fund are options for balancing the budget.

Remember, HISD has room to raise the tax rate without requiring a public vote on it because their tax rate is below the state-mandated limit. I know I’ve seen a figure cited somewhere of how much a tax rate increase would bring in for HISD, but I can’t find it now. My recollection is that a four-cent increase, which is what has been mentioned, would not bring in enough to bridge that $65 million gap. There will still be cuts to come, and bear in mind that we are still using the numbers from HISD’s optimistic scenario, which assumes about $2.8 billion more in public school funds than what is in HB1. All these numbers are very much subject to change.

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