With our state and community facing tough economic times, our public schools are facing tough choices. Miami-Dade County Public Schools is continuing to cut costs and make systemic changes that promote efficiency and capitalize on economies of scale.

The District has been weighing alternatives and considering public feedback from community meetings across the county. Under consideration is a wide-ranging menu of options. Superintendent of Schools Rudy Crew has indicated that the school district is considering reductions to salary expenses as a way of dealing with a potential $23–28 million in additional funding cuts from the state. The new cuts are anticipated as part of more than a billion dollars in reductions Florida's Legislature will be dealing with in the days ahead.

The school district began the current fiscal year with a balanced budget but was soon faced with $32 million in funding cuts after a special session of the Legislature last fall. Those cuts were met by the District through a series of belt-tightening measures and by increasing the revenues coming to the District through competitive grants. Both strategies helped the District face the more dire financial picture without the potential for layoffs.

During the course of the fiscal year, the District has faced increased costs in many areas, including food service, property insurance, health benefits and fuel. Funding for health care benefits for the first six months of 2008 totaled $17 million, forcing cuts to other areas. (To review the budget presentation, click here.)

The additional revenue reductions from Tallahassee now make the potential for layoffs a possibility. The administration is looking at where those possibilities exist.

Superintendent Crew has firmly indicated he will not touch specific educational programs, including the arts, yet no decisions have been made. The administration has not formally brought any recommendations to the School Board. All options are under consideration, and the District welcomes input and informed discussion with the bigger picture in mind.

The Superintendent will be holding a series of workshops with the School Board in March, April and May to address the 2007-08 and the 2008-09 budgets. Outcomes from these workshops will be shared with the community.

The District will continue to keep the public informed, especially during tough times like these. As the Northwest Regional Educational Lab 2001 study concluded, effective communications is "less about transmitting information and more about listening and responding to the expectations and concerns of all citizens."