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Superintendent’s consolidation plan sparks heated debate; trustees ask administration to finalize plan for July 1 vote
Summary
Superintendent Milton Batiste presented a district cost‑reduction and consolidation plan to close or repurpose several campuses, reduce central‑office staff and consider RIFs to address a projected multi‑million dollar deficit; trustees and dozens of public commenters pressed for detailed, zone‑level savings, legal/HR steps and timelines; trustees voted to have administration finalize the plan for a special meeting on July 1.
Superintendent Milton Batiste told the committee of the whole the district faces an urgent fiscal need and presented a package of recommendations to reduce operating expenditures, including central‑office staffing reductions, targeted reductions in force, repurposing and consolidating school facilities, and closure of select campuses if necessary to restore financial sustainability.
Batiste said district enrollment has declined sharply over the last decade and current staffing and facilities must be right‑sized to the remaining student population. He asked trustees to commit to zone‑level decisions and to approve a path forward that would allow administration to implement agreed consolidations in time for the coming school year. "We have to start changing where our schools look," he said, urging action to avoid deeper structural deficits.
Trustees pressed for granular cost estimates and asked for the number of staff—certified teachers, paraprofessionals, transportation and other categories—broken down by campus, and for the precise projected savings tied to each proposed consolidation. Finance staff said some savings can be tallied now (personnel and facility line items), but others depend on rehousing students into existing sections and the timing of 9‑month payroll obligations. Legal counsel and HR staff cautioned that RIFs and staffing changes must follow policy and statute, including updated job descriptions and proper procedural steps for employee notifications.
Public comment was extensive and often emotional. Speakers representing neighborhood schools and specialty magnet programs urged trustees to protect certain campuses or to consider alternatives that preserve program integrity; proponents of the superintendent’s plan urged trustees to accept the proposal to stop the district’s structural budget decline. Several speakers raised concerns about pre‑K placement, special‑education services housed at certain campuses, and the need to avoid unintended loss of federal grants tied to specific sites.
After multi‑hour debate trustees moved (mover: Mr. Roe; second: Ms. Sides) to direct the superintendent and staff to finalize the retreat plan (the superintendent’s consolidation proposal) for presentation and a vote at a special meeting; the committee set a special called meeting for July 1 and the motion passed with one abstention. Trustees requested updated, zone‑level savings estimates, employee category counts by campus, and a clear timeline and legal analysis to accompany the finalized plan.
