The Canutillo Independent School District plans to lay off employees, increase classroom sizes and redesign its programs to cut its budget as it faces potential financial exigency — the equivalent of bankruptcy for education institutions.
The Canutillo ISD school board took several votes Tuesday to approve changes across several departments and cut staff, including teachers, librarians, nurses and administrative employees.
The district has not said how many employees will be affected by the changes, but communications director Gustavo Reveles said Wednesday it would be dozens. The 5,700-student district has over 900 employees, including 400 teachers.
“If the whole proposal had been accepted, it would have been about 90. Now we have to go back and based on what (the board) approved and figure it out,” Reveles told El Paso Matters.
The areas and programs at Canutillo ISD that face cuts include:
- Central office
- Career and technical education program
- Elementary school libraries
- Unspecified high school programs
- Elementary music program
- Nursing health services
These changes are expected to reduce the district’s projected $5.8 million deficit for the coming school year to $2.3 million. The board adopted a $67.9 million budget with a $2.75 million deficit for the current fiscal year.
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Administrators initially recommended the district close Davenport Elementary, restructure its counseling program, and eliminate pre-K and Montessori programs, but the board voted to keep them intact.
If all the cuts recommended by administrators would have been approved, Reveles said the district would have a balanced budget for the coming school year. Now, it will likely have to dip into its reserves to cover the remaining deficit.
“Our goal right now is to identify more cost savings, in addition to waiting for some sort of decision from the legislature on potential additional funding that might come our way,” Reveles said.
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Reveles blamed much of the district’s financial issues on stagnant state funding that has not kept up with inflation. The basic allotment that the state gives school districts has remained at $6,160 per student since 2019.
Now, lawmakers are considering raising the basic allotment by $220 to $6,380 per student. Reveles said the state would need to raise the basic allotment by 22% — or about 1,350 — to keep up with inflation.
“Just like most school districts in Texas, we are the victim of indecision by the state Legislature to appropriately fund public schools,” Reveles said. “I know there’s a lot of conversation out there about mismanagement. But, independent audit after independent audit show that we have been doing a good job in budgeting our finances.”
The staffing cuts come as school districts all over El Paso County face financial challenges and declining enrollment.
Canutillo ISD is the second district in the county to opt for layoffs to address its budgetary woes.
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