Tuesday, March 28, 2000
CPS board won't renew 6 contracts
More cuts possible by Friday deadline
BY JAMES PILCHER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Board of Education on Monday decided not to renew contracts for six administrators, including the coordinator of the district substance abuse prevention program that is to be farmed out to individual schools.
Others who will be out of work at the end of the fiscal year on July 1 include four elementary school assistant principals and a hearing officer, with the cuts saving Cincinnati Public Schools more than $333,000 a year.
The district has until Friday to officially notify administrators, including contracted support personnel as well as principals and assistant principals, that their contracts will not be renewed, giving the board the option of making even further cuts before week's end.
The anti-drug program began 13 years ago and now has an annual budget of more than $400,000 that is completely funded by the federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools grant.
It now employs 10 staff members and helps kids who have been expelled get into rehabilitation programs. It also operates “Teen Institutes,” which takes the anti-drug message to city high schools.
Administrators are now recommending that the federal funds be lumped into the general per-pupil fund that each school uses to determine its own budget, and that the central office staff be let go along with program coordinator Lowrie Turner.
“I don't think they know the ramifications of their decision,” Ms. Turner said. “They can't just use this money in the general fund. This is a huge error that is being made, and it will be a big blow to the kids of Cincinnati Public Schools.”
CPS Deputy Superintendent Rosa Blackwell said there was no dissatisfaction with the anti-drug program. Rather, she said, the schools will now decide which programs are affected.
The cuts were necessitated by this month's failure of a proposed levy that would have pumped $38.8 million into the school district budget. Instead, the district is looking at slashing $18 million or borrowing as much as $25 million to overcome the shortfall.
In addition to the administrators, officials have proposed cutting 30 positions from the central office staff for an additional savings of $2 million.
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