The details
Miles provided updates to the district’s board of managers during an April 23 budget workshop.
The planned cuts to the district’s central office are coming as officials contend with a declining student population that could see around 6,800 students exit the district before the start of the 2025-26 school year.
Some context
The district’s budget workshops are coming after officials approved a roughly $2.1 billion budget for the 2024-25 school year that contained a nearly $528 million budget shortfall.
In February, Miles said the district is projecting roughly $2.1 billion in expenditures while taking in around $2.07 billion in revenue for the 2025-26 school year.
While the projected 2025-26 budget would still contain a roughly $33 million budget shortfall, Miles said the district is still making gains in its goal to produce a balanced budget for the 2026-27 school year.
A closer look
At a February budget workshop, Miles said the district was expecting a roughly 8,000-student drop in enrollment in the 2025-26 school year. However, he noted during the April 23 workshop that number has since been adjusted to around 6,800 students due to increases in pre-kindergarten enrollment.
While Miles previously said the district would be considering school closures to address the declining population, he maintained no closures are currently being planned for the 2025-26 school year.
Still, Miles said roughly $30 million in cuts to the district’s central office will affect almost every department.
According to budget documents, the district’s Public Affairs and Communications department and Chief of Schools departments will see the biggest cuts, with each departments standing to lose around $10 million in funding.
While Miles noted the officials are planning on cutting 400 total jobs from the district’s central office, he said 300 jobs would be added, resulting in the net decrease of 100 central office jobs next year.
What’s next
Miles said preliminary school budgets would be available at the district’s May 1 budget workshop.
