MUSD may close school, all-day kindergarten

The Maricopa Unified School District needs to make $1 million in cuts to balance the 2013-2014 budget, Superintendent Steve Chestnut told school board members Tuesday.

“We are going to have to consider some pretty serious things because finding $1 million in a budget that is already tight to begin with is no easy task,” Chestnut said.

The 2012-2013 budget is $31.6 million.

“The reason for that is the failure of our override election in November and also because of the cuts in state funding that we’ve been experiencing for five consecutive years,” he said.

Chestnut presented the board with a list of “things we may have to consider.”

Options included closing one school, eliminating all-day kindergarten or moving to a tuition-based kindergarten.

“The state of Arizona only pays for a half-day kindergarten,” Chestnut said.

Other possible cuts included were trimming elementary school specialist – “possibly P.E. and music” – or administrative cuts.

Secondary electives such as Career Technical Education (CTE) programs and Maricopa Online also are on the chopping block.

“And this is not an exhaustive list by any means,” Chestnut pointed out.

***ADVERTISEMENT***“We’re going to look under every stone to make these numbers work,” he said. “The goal is to keep these cuts as far away from the classroom as possible.”

However, he said “generally programs are impacted when you have to cut a million dollars.”

Salaries and benefits make up 80 percent of the budget, he said.

He said the district’s budget committee would be working on it over the course of the next six months.