Education Leaders Worry Budget Cuts Could Lead to Layoffs, School Consolidation

By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- State education leaders are crunching the budget numbers and say layoffs and school consolidation are possible if cuts continue.

The worries were announced at a State Board of Education meeting Thursday.

Education leaders are calling the situation a perfect storm of problems. Schools have an increased number of students, higher mandated insurance costs and are already facing 5 percent cuts from the general fund.

The key is that the general fund is not the only source of funding for schools, and the other sources are falling in the midst of state budget cuts. About a quarter of school funding comes from a revolving fund that leaders said is now tapped out. The revolving fund is primarily made up of income tax, corporate tax, and sales tax. Those three sources add up to about 25 percent of the state's education funding, and all three are coming in at much lower levels than projected.

In September alone, the numbers were down $15.9 million, and the discouraging numbers could lead to deeper cuts.

“It’s going to depend on the individual situation for the districts. We’re going to be surveying school districts next week to see exactly what these cuts are doing in the district and what more cuts could do to their district, but reductions in force and other more dramatic measures are not out of the realm of possibility," said Shelly Hickman, State Board of Education Spokesperson.

Hickman said several districts have already expressed concern that they will have to shut down because they are struggling to meet payrolls. At this point, the Board of Education is not releasing which districts they are.

"We could be looking at some school consolidation but all districts are in a tough financial situation so consolidation could be a tricky matter as well," Hickman said.

The State Board of Education has recommended that parents to do homework of their own so they aren't caught off guard if more cuts come down the pipe.

"They need to be talking to their local superintendents and boards about what their individual financial situations are," Hickman said.

Right now, Hickman said it's a wait and see for more cuts, and they will have a clearer idea when collection numbers from October are revealed.

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