An update on the 5-year financial forecast shows the Columbus City Schools sitting a little more comfortably than originally projected last fall.
According to a report presented by the consultant group Public Finance Resources last night, revenues for this fiscal year have been a little higher than anticipated, while expenditures have been a little lower. But Superintendent Dan Good says the 1 percent improvement in the bottom line won't offset the need for continued cuts.
Good says the district still anticipates making $50 million in cuts in the next fiscal year. Those include building closures, reducing the number of COTA passes for 9th and 10th graders, and not replacing teachers cut because of declining enrollment, among other moves. Details on the budget and possible cuts will be presented to the board at the end of the month. In other business, the board last night approved a comprehensive policy on the use of restraints and so-called seclusion rooms for students who pose a risk to themselves or others.
The practice of isolating students, often those with disabilities, in small bare rooms including some the size of a closet, drew statewide attention the last two years. Good says the district's new policy on the use of restraints and seclusion rooms, staff training, and procedures for complaints and investigations, are drawn from new statewide guidelines.
