Teacher Rallies Start; School Board Preps for Possible $97 Million Cut
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- "Terrible, worse, draconian, catastrophic."
That's how Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals described budget cuts today at a workshop in which the school board discussed how to handle a potential loss of $97 million.
The potential loss would come from Gov. Rick Scott's budget proposal in which he promised massive spending cuts.
While today's meeting covered several topics -- the intervene schools, vacant positions and governance included -- the big item was the budget.
Pratt-Dannals, in his remarks to the board, reiterated that the budget must be balanced no matter the dollar figure.
The options on the table are severe. One would cut health insurance for employees.
Another would eliminate non-core programs, including art, music, physical education, etc., or the elimination of staffing for all after-school programs, including sports and band.