Proposed budget plan revealed for Miami-Dade Schools

MIAMI (WSVN) -- The Miami-Dade School Board is ready to share its budget plans for next school year.

Four months before the school board will vote on the budget, Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho proposed a budget that offers his plan on how to fill a $108 million budget shortfall.

During his presentation to the board Wednesday morning, Carvalho was clear his proposed budget did not contain any cuts to teacher jobs, preserves music, art and bilingual programs as they are currently funded, and calls for no tax increase.

In order to fill the $108 million hole, he said, he plans to continue reducing the size of administrative staff at central offices. He said he is looking at streamlining financial obligations, contracts and certain programs.

He said he plans to make drastic cuts to alternative education by consolidating some alternative schools. He also proposed making cuts to special summer education testing school programs.

He blamed drastic cuts by the Florida Legislature for the choices he was forced to make. "Terrible economic conditions should never determine our budget," he said. "There are positions that are challenges. The reason that our budget is, in my opinion, significantly different from other budgets-- not just in public school environments, county governments, city governments-- is because it is driven by values, nonnegotiable principals, that the kids are the central point of our attention, of our concern."

Just last week, Carvalho also announced $500,000 in cuts to top salaries, including his own. Also, 200 jobs were eliminated in the maintenance and construction departments.

The school board, however, will have the ultimate say on Carvalho's budget.

In Broward County, a day after 1,400 teachers learned they won't have a job come fall, some 800 administrators and principals learned they will be forced to take a certain number of unpaid furlough days next year.

The move will reportedly save more than $4.5 million for the cash-strapped district.

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