TheMiami-Dade School Board has approved Superintendent Alberto Carvalho's plan to balance the district budget by slashing $56 million in spending. The vote opened the door for Carvalho to begin negotiations about moving paid work days from the current fiscal year -- which ends June 30 -- to the next fiscal year, when Carvalho expects the district will have more money. Employees would be paid for those days sometime after July 1. The teachers union has vowed to fight any attempts to move employee work days. To read The Miami Herald article, click here.
FROM NOVEMBER 2008: The Miami-Dade School Board has unanimously approved a plan to slash $89 million from the school system's budget. The cuts were needed to restore financial viability to the district, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho says. About 440 positions, most of them in the district's downtown offices, will be eliminated, and many top administrators will take pay cuts.
To read The Miami Herald article, click here.
EARLIER: Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho plans to eliminate 440 positions as a means of balancing this year's budget. Carvalho expects that a large percentage' of the employees would be reabsorbed back into the district when other employees retire or leave. The cuts are part of a larger proposal to close a potential $158 million budget deficit. The plan also would freeze some district spending and dramatically reduce the size of the central administration. About 290 positions would be eliminated from the downtown office. (Miami Herald)
EARLIER: Its finances already strained in a difficult year, the Miami-Dade school system will need to cut as much as $122 million more from its budget, district officials say. The latest round of cuts stems from problems within the district's $5.5 billion budget, which was put together under former Superintendent Rudy Crew and submitted to the state Department of Education in September. In addition, new Superintendent Alberto Carvalho has said he wants to establish a reserve to cover anticipated cuts from Tallahassee. (Miami Herald)