By BJ Austin
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-746143.mp3
Dallas, TX – Arlington schools could see cutbacks in campus supplies, teacher training and field trips when school begins next week. District officials, on Thursday, could approve $9 million in cutbacks to help erase an $18 million dollar shortfall.
A hiring freeze that does not include teachers would save an estimated $4 million dollars for the Arlington School District. Assistant Superintendent of Finance Steve Brown says money to school campuses could be cut by more than $1 million.
Brown: They buy paper for the copy machine, field trips, staff development, things like that for the campus. The principals and the school decide exactly how they want to spend it. But, yes, there is a proposal on the table to reduce their campus allotments by a total 30 percent reduction.
Brown says School Board members have ruled out a tax increase, and school funding is frozen at 2006/2007 levels. He says a lot of other school districts are in the same boat, at the tax CAP, and a tax hike would require voter approval. Brown adds that school finance reform passed by the Legislature didn't fix school finances.