‘What do we do?’ SFPS asks of expected $1M shortfall

State-mandated raises, funds lost to expected enrollment loss strain board

Despite a likely $1.6 million increase in state funding, Santa Fe Public Schools officials on Tuesday began discussing what they might need to do to cover a potential shortfall of just over $1 million in the next fiscal year’s budget.

That’s because the district has to give state-mandated 2.5 percent raises to educators and contend with an enrollment drop of about 300 students. The state’s funding formula allocates money to districts based on student populations.

As a result, the school board might have to curb some planned initiatives.

“The biggest part of the discussion is: What do we do?” Carl Gruenler, the district’s deputy superintendent of business operations, told the board as his department presented a report on financial priorities that included a list of initiatives that could be cut.

Among those options: Pare back plans to create professional development programs for math and science educators, and scale back a mission to increase the number of certified librarians, counselors and nurses.

Tough financial choices are nothing new for the district, which serves about 12,800 students now but expects enrollment to drop next year.

“If we want this, we have to sacrifice this,” board President Steve Carrillo said at one point.

Some of the possible staff or program cutbacks could be problematic for a district trying to expand its staff to deal with the social and emotional needs of its students, many of whom face such personal challenges as poverty and hunger. For example, several board members said, having more nurses and counselors can help identify troubled students who may be at risk of dropping out or engaging in anti-social or violent behavior.

“I’m concerned that we are going down the path of … looking at a menu of great things and choosing what we can’t afford,” while losing sight of pursuing planned initiatives, board member Kate Noble said.

Board members spent considerable time voicing their reluctance to cut some of the programs that staff put on the preliminary chopping block and discussing ways to

use one-time funds generated by the sale of properties such as the now-vacant Kaune and Alvord elementary schools to cover the programs for at least a year.

Gruenler said the state’s Public Education Department increased its per-student funding, known as the State Equalization Guarantee, by about 1.84 percent for next year, resulting in a projection for an extra $1.585 million.

But teacher pay raises passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Susana Martinez could cost the district somewhere between $1.2 million and $1.82 million, depending on how the state directs districts to implement those raises. Santa Fe Superintendent Veronica García told the board that the district expects to receive that directive within a week.

The district, like many in the state, often grapples with making tough financial decisions every spring as it prepares its annual budget for review by the state Public Education Department. Last year, the district wrestled with a roughly $1.6 million shortfall because of decreased revenue.

The board will continue to discuss and shape the budget through future sessions before sending it to the state by the end of May.

Contact Robert Nott at 505-9863021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.