Cincinnati Public Schools is in a budget crisis. The school board has until the end of June to close a $26 million gap − a task that will likely involve cutting staff, district treasurer Jennifer Wagner said.

“We’re running out of time to do a balanced budget by June 30,” Wagner said at a school board meeting in mid-May. “So I’m also preparing the staff for the possibility of doing a temporary appropriation.”

If the district misses the state’s June 30 deadline, it would continue spending over its budget for about three months while figuring out additional cuts. That’s a bad route for the district, Wagner said. Essentially, she’s hoping for the best while preparing for the worst.

And if the board decides to cut administrators to save money, they need to notify those individuals of non-renewal by June 1, per the union’s contract. That’s why the board added a special meeting for Wednesday, to discuss possible administrative cuts.

Who’s leading last-minute budget cuts?

The board delayed hiring for some positions at its last business meeting to hold off additional debt, at Wagner’s recommendation. But they did appoint an interim superintendent, Shauna Murphy, and an interim deputy superintendent, Alesia Smith. Murphy and Smith have spent, collectively, more than 40 years in the district. The two have yet to receive pay bumps for their new roles, though it’s possible the board will approve new contracts with Murphy and Smith in the coming weeks.

More: Cincinnati Public Schools Superintendent Iranetta Wright resigns after no confidence votes

At the same time, the board approved a settlement with outgoing superintendent Iranetta Wright, in which they agreed to pay her upwards of $270,000 through July of next year.

The morning after they were appointed interim district leaders, Murphy and Smith met with Wagner and the district’s union leaders to develop a plan to address the budget deficit. Those options will be presented to the school board at the next business meeting on June 3.

Pandemic relief funds make for ‘grueling’ budget overview

School districts in Ohio need to balance their budgets by the end of June every year, and Wagner said it’s always difficult because schools have more wants than they can afford. But it’s “more painful” this time because pandemic relief dollars are running out.

Wagner has talked about an “ESSER cliff” ever since the federal government doled out billions of dollars to schools to help combat pandemic learning loss. Cincinnati Public Schools received more than $325 million in the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds. The district spent that money on nurses, resource coordinators, counselors, summer learning programs, facilities updates and all sorts of other support for students.

Story continues

More: Southwest Ohio schools got $745 million in pandemic relief funds. Did they spend it all?

Those funds run out in September. That’s a problem, as Wagner predicted, because now schools have gotten used to the resources and personnel that were purchased with pandemic relief dollars. As of mid-May, the district had more than $40 million in recurring pandemic relief costs on the bill for next year. That’s more than $40 million the district doesn’t have − unless they cut more from the general fund.

To avoid cutting supports that directly impact students, Wagner said her team began line by line central office budget reviews last week with executive leadership members.

“Very grueling,” Wagner said. “But it’s the only way I can figure out to just really get to the basics.”

Budget woes stem from variety of problems, CPS leaders say

New projects and Wright’s departure did the budget no favors, Wagner said. It chewed into the district’s savings. The district is also projected to grow by about 1,200 students next year. Inflation costs and fuel, especially, have contributed to the budget crisis, too.

But some board members are frustrated by the process for other reasons. For starters, board member Mike Moroski said, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled the state’s school funding system as unconstitutional 27 years ago. And leaders in Columbus have done little since to turn it around.

At a local level, Cincinnati’s budget gap has changed week to week. Board members Kareem Moffett and Mary Wineberg sought clarification yet again after Wagner admitted to a calculation mistake at the board’s most recent business meeting. The mistake skyrocketed the gap from $13 million to $26 million.

Financial distress also complicates growing the district’s enrollment. While some board members, including Moffett and president Eve Bolton, welcome growth, board member Ben Lindy stressed caution. More students means spreading precious funds even more thin.

“I do not want to see us grow until we have a plan to pay for it responsibly,” Lindy said.

The school board will hold a special public meeting Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Mary A. Ronan Education Center, located at 2651 Burnet Ave. The meeting is also available virtually.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati school board to make more cuts, close budget gap