Hopson seeks budget solutions
Looks at cuts, reserves
Shelby County Schools will need to tap into its reserves, in combination with increased revenues and “smart cuts,” as it faces a projected budget gap this year, Superintendent Dorsey Hopson said Monday.
But he doesn’t want the district to rely solely on its reserves, or fund balance — an amount he estimated at a little south of $60 million in unrestricted funds this year — to plug the hole.
“I don’t want to be the superintendent that had to lead the district into bankruptcy,” Hopson said in an interview with The Commercial Appeal’s editorial board.
Board members this year have been told to expect a budget deficit of $86 million, due in part to a projected 4 percent decline in enrollment from SCS students moving to charter schools and the Achievement School District. Hopson says he’s outlined about $50 million in potential cuts. The remainder awaits action by board members that may involve asking the County Commission to make up the difference.
Last year, the district decided to close a $36 million budget gap using its fund balance, but Hopson said “smart business practices dictate” that the district shouldn’t rely on that on a recurring basis. The fund balance by state law amounts to 3 percent of the district’s general fund, he said.
Hopson said he plans to sit down with commissioners and walk them through the schools budget in an effort to reach a “happy medium” solution to what he called the most difficult budget year he has seen in his time as superintendent.
Hopson said the district has shed some 2,000 jobs since the old Memphis City Schools merged with the county’s school district and countered the perception that the district’s staffing was top-heavy. He said administration accounted for less than 3 percent of the district’s budget.
Shelby County Commissioner David Reaves, who heads the commission’s education committee, said he can’t see the county contributing the entire $36 million SCS says it needs, but he is willing to work with the district to close the gap “as long as it doesn’t raise the tax rate.”
“I think the commission’s going to be willing to put some more money in,” Reaves said. “There’s going to have to be something in between.”
He said SCS will also need to work on restructuring its funding model in regards to its contribution to charter schools, and examining its footprint, which may require closing underused school buildings.