Wichita schools to cut $4.5 million

Wichita school employees might see expenses trimmed, but there has been no talk of layoffs because of Gov. Mark Parkinson's most recent budget reductions, according to district officials.

Superintendent John Allison sent an e-mail to employees Friday telling them the district would have to cut $4.5 million from its budget as a result of Parkinson trying to close a $260 million hole in the state budget.

"While we have always worked hard to keep cuts as far away from the classroom as possible, tens of millions of dollars in cuts cannot be made without impacting our schools," Allison wrote.

The e-mail was meant as a way to involve employees in the budget process, said spokeswoman Wendy Johnson, who said Allison was out of town.

"John's e-mail was the first of what will be a long series of e-mails to keep staff informed," she said.

The district braced for the latest round of budget cuts by maintaining a hiring freeze, limiting out-of-state travel and watching every purchase, Johnson said.

Despite these measures, schools might still have to cut more this school year, she said.

"We've talked about options," Johnson said. "They did not involve laying off personnel."

The options involved employee and school expenditures, such as limiting all travel, she said.

The district already had reduced its budget by roughly $20 million since last school year. This school year's $621 million budget was based on enrollment remaining the same as the 2008-09 school year.

But enrollment increased by about 900 students, for which the district should have received $14 million on top of what it budgeted at the beginning of the school year, Johnson said.

After the cuts Parkinson made last week, the district is $4.5 million short of what it budgeted in July, before accounting for the enrollment increase.

Johnson said school leaders should know whether any more cuts are needed by the end of the month, when the district has firmer numbers on this year's official enrollment.

In January, Allison will begin discussing with the school board how to build next school year's budget, which likely faces deeper reductions.