MUSD: Doing more with less

The primary mission of the Maricopa Unified School District is to provide an outstanding education to every one of our 5,700 students. MUSD also is a big business with an annual operating budget of $29 million.

One of our challenges for the 2012-2013 school year was that we had to reduce our operating budget because of the loss of all override funds and continued low funding from the state of Arizona. K-12 education is a “staff intensive” business – 85 percent of the MUSD budget is spent on salaries and benefits. To make the budget balance we were forced to reduce 28 teaching positions. This has resulted in larger class sizes.

We also made administrative cuts. At the district office Dr. Ember Conley was appointed Deputy Superintendent after not filling her previous position and not filling another vacant administrative position. By reorganizing responsibilities we will save $38,000 in salary costs. Having a deputy or assistant superintendent is common for districts the size of MUSD. Nearby districts with similar administrative staffing include Queen Creek, Coolidge and J.O. Combs.

Additional district office administrative costs will be saved this year as a result of Mr. Rick Neilson, CTE director at MHS, taking on additional tasks. At the end of the first quarter the assessment administrator resigned. By having Mr. Neilson assume the assessment responsibilities (in addition to his current job) the district will save $47,000 this year.

Additional cuts at the district office included not filling one and one-half positions in the human resources department, resulting in a savings of $50,000, and not filling one payroll position in the business department, saving $40,000.