Los Lunas Schools braces for budget cuts

January 28, 2010

Two Los Lunas Schools board members told constituents last night that the district is bracing for more cuts to education funding during the state legislative session currently underway in Santa Fe.

“We’re doing our best as the administration — the school board — to try to minimize the impact on any of our teachers, administrators and kids,” said Board President Ed Hernandez.

Los Lunas Schools has already had to cut jobs. During the 2009-2010 school year, the district didn’t refill 30 staff and faculty positions after employees retired or resigned.

“We were able to do that through attrition. Nobody actually lost their job,” said Board Member Maria Marez.

All 250-day employees, which includes administrators, had six days of work taken out of their contracts, meaning they lost six days of pay. Teachers, which typically have contracts around 180 days in length, lost four days of work and pay.

Supplies for schools were cut by 50 percent.

“We’re definitely trying to keep a strong learning environment for our children,” Hernandez said. “However, we have challenges with the budget.”

In additional to the state legislature’s special session education cuts of less than one percent late last year, the district lost roughly $487,000 in funding from the state because the district’s student population fell by 70. The decline in students was the result of the School of Dreams Academy, a Los Lunas charter school that opened its doors to students for the first time this school year.

Hernandez said he expects additional state education cuts of between three and five percent.

A one-percent cut creates a $540,000 shortfall for the district. Just $100,000 equates to losing one and a half administrator positions, two teaching positions, or five staff positions.

“We feel we’re going to weather the storm this year, but as it progresses through the year to next year, it’s going to be really, really tough,” he said.

Posted in: Schools