School's Over-Budgeting Means Staffing Moves

BALTIMORE - WBALTV.com

A Baltimore city elementary school is close to a half-million dollars over budget, and while school officials said they're not sure why the numbers aren't adding up, they're working to solve the problem.

Administrators at Gwynns Falls Elementary School may be forced to transfer nearly a dozen teachers and staff members because there's not enough money in the budget to pay them since the school lost 31 students.

"When a school loses $450,000, staff is going to have to be removed," said city schools principal's union spokesman Jimmy Gittings.

Officials said Gwynns Falls over-projected how many students would show up this fall -- something that's been a problem across the district. But city schools CEO Dr. Andres Alonso said there's no reason to be alarmed.

"It's only fair to all of our schools that the budget be based on the number of kids who are in the schools. Is this systematic of a larger problem or larger concern? No, absolutely not," he said.

Alonso and his administration have been big supporters of moving the control of school system dollars from headquarters on North Avenue to the schools, where principals could draw up and manage their own budgets.

"I think, as a new principal, that certainly principals need assistance in creating budgets, but even seasoned principals at this point in the game would need assistance in creating budgets because there have been many changes in the system," Gittings said.

Staff forced out of places like Gwynns Falls will be sent to other city schools where principals have seen their enrollments go up, school officials said.

"Treating schools equitably means that we look at their numbers and we make adjustments once we understand what the enrollment is for the new year, and I just don't see this as an issue," Alonso said.

Even so, school officials couldn't say for sure how many principals may have over-budgeted.

In the meantime, the head of the Baltimore city teacher's union said her staff will investigate what happened at Gywnns Falls and other schools that may be affected.

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