Metro Atlanta School Districts Still Cutting Budgets

June 6th, 2012

Metro Atlanta school systems have been facing shrinking budgets for the past few years. Declining property tax revenues and reduced federal and state funds have forced most districts to make some big cuts.

Most recently, the Fulton County School Board approved a $1.1 billion budget. District spokesperson Susan Hale says they were able to avoid furloughs, layoffs, and a property tax increase.

“We haven’t made cuts this year as heavily as we’ve may have had to make them in years previous,” she says, “So, we’ve really had several years of intense cutting and intense scrutiny on our budget, and this really put us in a better position for this school year.”

Hale says employees won’t get a pay increase next year. But they did receive a one-time bonus in February.

But most districts weren’t as fortunate. The Atlanta school board approved four furlough days and cut almost 400 teaching jobs. The school system is trying to make up for an expected 47 million shortfall.

But that pales in comparison to the $73 million budget gap the Dekalb County School System is trying to cover. The school board considered closing Fernbank Science Center to save money. Instead, district spokesman Walter Woods they settled on other cuts, including increasing the number of furlough days from four to six.

“Furlough days were not originally on the table,” Woods says, “The board elected to increase furlough days to close the budget gap. And the millage increase—we originally recommended a 2-mill increase; the board decided on one.”

But the budget hole is even bigger in Gwinnett County. Officials there are facing an $89 million shortfall. Spokesman Jorge Quintana says that took big cuts.

“Two furlough days for next school year; increasing class sizes by an average of two students across the district; and eliminating 50 positions at the central office,” Quintana says.

Other metro districts are in similar positions. Cobb County’s budget cuts 350 teaching jobs and includes three furlough days.

And the Clayton County school board is considering freezing teacher salaries. The district is facing an expected $40 million shortfall over the next three years.