Cincinnati — At an Oct. 11 retreat, Cincinnati Public Schools officials described three subteams formed to help shape next year’s budget and staffing: revenue generation, staffing formulas and a zero‑based budgeting team.

Treasurer Dustin Augustine and Superintendent Susan Bennett Murphy said the teams will produce options to feed into a February forecast and a mid‑December staging date for staffing allocations required by collective bargaining timelines.

Why it matters: School staffing and revenue choices determine whether the district must make cuts to programs or pursue new revenue sources. Administrators said the work is intended to produce a repeatable planning cycle that reduces last‑minute changes and improves alignment between the district’s strategic priorities and its spending.

Subteams and charges: The revenue generation team, led by Mr. Burkhart, will examine advertising, facility rentals, shared services and other nontraditional revenue sources and recommend opportunities that can be counted in the February forecast. The staffing formulas team, led by Sierra Baggett, will review how positions are calculated at elementary and secondary levels and consider how formulas interact with collective bargaining and staffing deadlines. The zero‑based budgeting group will design tools for central office units to cost services at different service levels and to identify where savings or adjustments are feasible.

Staffing deadlines and tactics: Administration said staffing allocations must be shared with schools under contractual timelines (the presentation referenced mid‑December and a Dec. 20 deadline for some filings). Board members and staff discussed the district’s reliance on long‑term substitutes when credentialed teachers are not available and the financial and equity implications of that practice; staff said long‑term substitutes are often paid less than credentialed teachers but are used to maintain classroom coverage.

Board interest and next steps: Board members urged the teams to include marketing/communications and union representatives where relevant and to think about functions rather than geography (for example, consolidating credit‑recovery services). Administration said kickoff meetings are scheduled and that teams will provide reports and recommendations to the superintendent and treasurer for the February forecast update.

Ending: Board members asked administration to tie staffing‑formula work to attendance at regular board meetings and to return with options that reflect both short‑term staffing realities and longer‑term career‑growth opportunities for district employees.