Indianapolis Public Schools budget plan could include layoffs, salary freezes

Schools across Indianapolis’s largest district could face hiring freezes and layoffs as the district seeks to balance its budget, according to a document published on the district website.

The finance update, which is expected to be presented Thursday for discussion to the Indianapolis Public Schools board, outlines a plan for cutting nearly $21 million from the cash-strapped district’s $269 million general fund budget for 2018-19. Some of the potential cuts include educator layoffs based on subject area, salary freezes, and reductions in custodial services and substitute teachers.

It is not clear whether all the potential cuts will be made. The district declined to immediately comment on the proposal but said staff would be available to answer questions Tuesday.

Cuts to school and certified staff budgets could save about $8.9 million. Those could include freezing external hiring, early retirement, and layoffs. Districtwide cuts—which could include freezing pay and reducing substitute teachers, custodial services, and service contracts—could save about $9.2 million. Those savings could also include proceeds from real-estate sales. About $2.75 million could be cut from special education and English language learner services.

The district could also cut transportation for field trips and after-school activities, saving about $1.5 million from the $37.7 million transportation budget.

The plan is the first detailed look at how Indianapolis students, educators, and schools could be affected by a growing financial crisis. And more cuts may come if referendums to increase property taxes in order to boost school budgets fail later this year. Those measures were originally on the May ballot, but when they received little public support, the school board suspended the campaign. District leaders are now working with the Indy Chamber to craft a proposal that’s expected to be on the November ballot.

The Chamber expects to release the results of an analysis of the district’s finances by July, according to Mark Fisher, the organization’s chief policy officer. But district leaders say they will begin making the case to voters that the property tax hikes are needed before then, through meetings with school staff, parents, and community groups.

Last week, before the details of the potential cuts were revealed, Superintendent Lewis Ferebee told Chalkbeat his administration is dedicated to planning the budget for next year.

“The focus for the administration has been on ensuring that we make the necessary reductions that we need to make right now,” he said. “Those are important messages that families need to hear from us. And we will do a lot of that between now and the end of the school year, just educating families of where we are on the finances.”

Schools are already making cuts this year, with reduced staffing and hiring, according to the document.

Earl Phalen, who heads a charter network that runs two schools in the Indianapolis Public Schools innovation network, said the district already told schools they cannot plan field trips for students. “Those are important educational experiences for children,” he added.

While some of the proposed cuts may seem small, Phalen said they would have an impact on students. Campuses might be able to get by with fewer janitors, he said, but they don’t have “lavish resources.” Cutting those positions will mean that children go to schools that are not as well maintained, he said.

“You cut away a janitor, well, maybe the building is not going to be quite as clean. The children deserve to have a building spick-and-span,” he said. “You cut away a media specialist, well, then scholars don’t have the experience of going to a library and having that as one of their specials.”