On Monday, April 28, the School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida held a budget workshop, facilitated by Michael Bookman of the Florida School Boards Association. (To review the budget workshop presentation, click here.)

The discussion focused on cutting more than $284 million from the district’s 2008-09 budget, based on an expected $75 million decrease in state funding and over $200 million in increased costs.

Among the key considerations supported by a majority of the School Board:

• Eliminating 261 positions from the district's central administration, saving $20 million.
  
• Eliminating bonus pay for administrators, including principals and assistant principals, saving $1.4 million.
  
• Concurring not to rehire administrators or teachers who have already retired, saving $13.9 million.
  
• Imposing pay cuts for administrators, principals and assistant principals, saving $1 million.
  
• Eliminating all non-mandatory summer-school programs, saving $9.9 million.
  
• Increasing price of school lunches by 50 cents (free/reduced-price lunch students exempt), offsetting cost of food service by $3.7 million.

At the April School Board meeting, the Board approved Superintendent Rudy Crew’s reorganization, which saves the district approximately $13.7 million in recurring annual costs, and he will present the reduction in force recommendation to the Board at the May School Board meeting. Both the reorganization and the reduction in force would take effect on June 30, 2008, or soon thereafter.