Brooks warns about cuts to APS budget

Posted at: 10/21/2009 6:47 PM | Updated at: 10/22/2009 7:38 AM
By: Kayla Anderson, Eyewitness News 4; Matthew Kappus, KOB.com

Winston Brooks

APS Superintendent Winston Brooks says cuts to the classroom will happen if lawmakers reduce the state's education budget by three percent.

That is one possibility as legislators try to balance the state's $650 million deficit. But a 1.5 percent education cut is as far as Gov. Bill Richardson says he will go.

Brooks says anything higher than that will likely be felt in the classroom. Every one percent cut from APS' budget equals about $8 million.

"If it gets deeper than 1.5 percent, as much as I am resisting, making cuts to the classroom, it's going to have to happen," Brooks said.

Brooks says if the state slashes 1.5 percent from education, the district would look at making additional cuts to non-school sites like the APS City Center. But any more and the district will have to tap into school budgets.

"If it becomes anything more than that, we're really going to be negatively impacting what we're trying to do in the school district," Brooks said.

Brooks says mandatory salary cuts and furloughs are off the table. But he may have to look at cutting some non-classroom jobs.

"We're going to have to start looking at what I would consider as non-essential jobs," he said.

Parents say they are keeping a close eye on what happens during the special session.

"I think education is the last place they should make cuts," parent Carl Bell said. "It's a trickle down effect. It starts from the top and eventually the ones who are going to get the brunt of it are the students," said parent Suzanne Scatliffe.

Brooks says he expects to start seeing the impact of any decision by lawmakers as early as Nov. 1.

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