Baltimore school budget to cut estimated $5.5M from charters

BALTIMORE (AP) - The Baltimore school system has unveiled its proposed budget, which cuts nearly $5.5 million from the district’s 34 charter schools.

The Baltimore Sun quotes city schools CEO Sonja Santelises as saying the $1.3 billion budget proposal aims to stabilize the system.

The district suffered a budget shortfall last year that led to layoffs of classroom teachers for the first time in a decade. The district says it also slightly inflated the per-pupil funding for charter schools last year, and so recalibrated the funding formula for this budget.

The proposed cuts add up to an average of about $90,400 for each charter school, which could force layoffs and increase class sizes. The budget is up for a school board vote on May 8.

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Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com