MPS Financial Report Calling for Changes
Chief financial officer Arthur Watts says it’s time to dig deep into the $10-million deficit that system is currently facing by looking at every department and coming up with a plan on moving forward.
Watts says the system currently has 1,930 teacher units. He says the system is projected to earn 1,680 teacher units for 2020.
“Because we are currently facing a deficit that we’ve been talking about over the last year or so, the district can not afford those additional units. Therefore we want our schools to understand that some adjustments will have to be made,” says Watts.
Officials say they want to be as efficient as possible with meeting the fund balance established by the state.
“If you have some people that are retiring and don’t have to be replaced then certainly we want to take that into consideration. Secondly we want to look at all contracted services. Are there true needs? If not, are these things that we could eliminate or are there some other expenditures that we can reduce?” says Watts.
Superintendent Dr. Ann Roy Moore says there is also the possibility of merging some of the system’s central offices.
We have several buildings where people work. So we’re looking at bringing those people into a more central location and over time getting as many people as possible together in one building,” says Moore.
Watts says while the job is big, he is still confident that the system can handle it.
“We want to make sure that we do the best job possible and just meet the demands established by this school district and do what the public expects us to do,” says Watts.
Tuesday, MPS board members were also presented an update in the system’s accreditation review which shows improvement in several areas. Click here for more.
