LAS CRUCES---There will be another opportunity for the public to provide feedback or to ask questions about the 2016/17 budget for the Las Cruces Public Schools when the Board of Education holds a public budget hearing on Thursday, June 9 at 6:00 p.m. The hearing will be part of a special meeting held in the LCPS Administration Building, 505 S. Main, in the Loretto Towne Centre, said Jo Galvan, LCPS communications director.
The budget is currently under review by the state Public Education Department (PED).It totals approximately $338.4 million, including $187.2 million in state funding, said Terry Dean, LCPS chief operating officer.
“Changes that are made by the PED will be addressed during the public hearing,” Dean said.
The Board of Education tentatively approved the school district’s budget on May 24. Adjustments made since theninclude a reduction in the number of teaching positions that were to be eliminated in order to reduce the overall number of LCPS employees. Dean said the School Board had approved the reduction of 54 positions, with the direction that any savings would be earmarked to restoring staff cuts. Since the May 24 meeting, Dean said the estimated amount for risk insurance is lower than anticipated and he removed the purchase of district vehicles from the budget, allowing the number of staff reductions to drop to 49.
Dean said teachers are not being laid off. Instead, he said “employees who are in good standing will keep a job but some are being reassigned to another position. The cuts will be achieved through resignations, retirements and natural attrition of employees,” Dean said.
The basis for reducing the number of employees is due to the continuing decline in funding from the state. Developing the new budget began with a starting deficit of $2.9 million dollars. Despite the shortfall, the LCPS budget will provide for state-mandated salary increases for teachers who move to a higher experience level, and it will pay for the minimum wage salary increase imposed by the Las Cruces City Council, which impacts the LCPS classified employees (such as custodians, secretaries, educational assistants and security guards), Dean said.