Horn Lake, MS—
FAST FACTS:
- Mississippi in budget crunch
- Schools told to expect 15 percent less next year
- Could lead to layoffs of 300 in DeSoto
dennis.turner@wreg.com
(Horn Lake 2/17/2010) The tight economy is hitting home in the most painful way in Mississippi.
State Lawmakers have cut budgets to the bone, and now we've learned it's going to be especially painful in DeSoto County classrooms.
DeSoto School Superintendent Milton Kuykendall told lawmakers he's going to have to let three hundred employees go in just a few months, unless a big bag of cash, say 25 million bucks, just falls from the sky.
Most parents say they're proud of DeSoto Schools, and don't want to see a dime cut from their operations. "I don't think it's a good idea. I think that we don't have enough employees as it is right now," said Linda Johnson of Southaven.
But with Mississippi in a serious budget crunch, DeSoto, the state's largest district, will have to let people go starting July first.
We're told the superintendent's statement to lawmakers shocked school leaders here as much as it did parents.
Milton Kuykendall remained in Jackson Wednesday and didn't respond to phone calls or messages.
Administrators didn't feel comfortable talking about the budget without his approval.
If you think the current scenario sounds bad, listen to this: Lawmakers have already warned school leaders to expect fifteen percent less money next year. That's as much as 17 million for DeSoto schools which expects as many as one thousand new students.
And while many taxpayers say schools are important. They don't want their taxes raised. They want to see cuts elsewhere. "We expect the government can give more to those children. That's a lot of little children that really need it and don't got it," said Ida Appleton of Southaven.
But as the superintendent said, unless 25 million dollars drops from the sky by July first, he'll start laying off three hundred employees. Historically he's been careful to shield the classroom from those cuts, but some say in this climate, anything's possible.
Parent's say there's got to be a better way. "They're gonna have to find another way to budget from the school system because right now I think it's more important for our children than anything else right now," said Johnson.
If you think the superintendent isn't chipping in, think again. He's taken a ten percent pay cut, and ordered other top officers to take cuts of 8 percent.
