LR school panel told layoffs plan

Suggs targets central office

The Little Rock School District's interim superintendent is recommending that the central office staff for the state's largest school district be cut by almost a third -- or as many as 60 positions -- for the 2015-16 school year.

Dexter Suggs outlined his proposals for cutting about $3.5 million in administrative costs for the district's Financial Stability Committee, which is headed by former Little Rock School Board member and lawyer Baker Kurrus and includes current and retired government, business and education leaders.

Kurrus was appointed by then-Arkansas Education Commissioner Tony Wood in February to lead the committee, which will make recommendations to Suggs and Arkansas Education Department leaders on ways to achieve balanced budgets and long-term financial stability in the district.

The district is facing the loss of $37 million a year in state desegregation aid out of a total budget of $320 million. The special state aid will end after the 2017-18 school year.

The state took over the district and dismissed its elected School Board in January.

Suggs on Wednesday didn't list the central office positions that would be cut, nor did he name the affected employees. The individual employees -- both state-licensed and support staff -- are being notified now about the budget-cutting recommendations that still are subject to approval from Arkansas' new education commissioner, Johnny Key.

Key acts as the school board in the state-controlled district. Suggs said he anticipates those decisions to be finalized in the coming week. Certified employees must be notified by May 1 of any changes in their jobs for the forthcoming school year.

He said the district is "going to lose some good folks," and he hopes to recoup some of that talent by filling vacancies elsewhere in the district with displaced employees.

The district's central office staff includes the superintendent; a deputy superintendent; three associate superintendents; a chief financial officer; various curriculum and program directors; and transportation, finance, facility, food service and technology leaders and their assistants.

"We are looking at how we can realign our funds without losing the fidelity of any of our school-based programs," Suggs told the committee. "It's important that we maintain our theater programs, our magnet school programs, our athletic programs. Anything that benefits our kids, we want to maintain. At the same time, we have to find a way to push more resources to the classrooms so that our teachers are provided with the tools they need to adequately educate our kids.

"We had to look at the top layer of our school district," he said about cuts and added, "in other words, anyone who is not directly attached or assigned to a school or directly impacts education in the classroom on a daily basis."

In trimming positions, efforts also will be made to transform what Suggs said is a "top-down" management system to one in which the mission of the central office staff will be to respond to the needs at the 48 schools.

Suggs also listed other changes planned for next year that could slightly reduce expenses. Those include reducing the work year for elementary and middle school principals, and replacing car allowances for administrators with reimbursement for actual miles driven.

The district also will convert the college-style block schedule to a traditional seven-period class day at all middle schools and at three of the five high schools. That will increase teacher-to-student instructional time and benefit students, Suggs said. As for retaining the college-style schedule at Parkview and Central highs, Suggs said the schools are among the highest-performing schools in the state and "if it's not broke, don't fix it."

Kurrus said the school district has the benefit of knowing what its revenue will be in future years, unlike businesses that never know what turns the economy will take.

"Here we have a runway. We can land the plane gently," he said.

The committee passed a motion recommending that the superintendent formulate and execute a comprehensive communications plan explaining the central office reorganization to district employees and the community.

Kurrus said the message has to be that the cost reductions are a way to reinvigorate the 24,000-student district, which he said has not always had clear lines of communication and authority.

"A lean organization can be highly functioning," he said.

Committee member Steve Strickland, retired vice president of regulatory affairs at Entergy Arkansas Inc., urged that the district survey its staff about programs and services that work and don't work.

Committee member Bobby Roberts, director of the Central Arkansas Library System, suggested that Suggs be flexible and keep open as many options as possible for reaching the financial goals.

Committee member Roger Ball, chief executive officer of Centuries Industries, told Suggs it is important that displaced employees know the processes and timelines for applying for other positions in the district.

Kurrus questioned Suggs about efforts to reduce school costs by staffing them more efficiently. He reported data showing that the pupil/teacher ratio in the district is 11.83-to-1, as compared with 12.47-to-1 in Pulaski County Special, 13.84-to-1 in North Little Rock and 15.93-to-1 in Bauxite.

Suggs said the Little Rock district is an urban district with unique challenges for students.

The committee also includes Little Rock City Manager Bruce Moore; Peggy Nabors, former president and staff member at the Arkansas Education Association; and Verma Simmons, retired from the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

Wood attended a portion of the meeting Wednesday to thank the committee members for their willingness to do the budget evaluation and make recommendations. Wood is continuing to work at the Education Department to help Key through the transition into his new job.

Kurrus read a letter from Key, who expressed his gratitude and confidence in the committee's work.

"The importance of your work cannot be overstated," Key wrote. "Any plans that are developed for the academic improvement of the district will not be successful unless those plans are built upon a sound fiscal foundation. The work of this committee will be crucial as Dr. Suggs, the LRSD team, community stakeholders and the Department of Education work together to place LRSD on a path toward educational excellence in every building and in every grade level."

Metro on 04/02/2015

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