Manassas Superintendent Addresses Rumored School Division Job Cuts

Manassas City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Catherine Magouyrk said she is not recommending the eliminations of several teaching and instructional assistant positions within the division in the next fiscal year. 

Magouyrk and school district staff are currently working on her proposed school division budget for Fiscal Year 2014 which begins in July and ends in June 2014 and encompasses the 2013-2014 school year.

Once completed, the superintendent's budget will be presented to the Manassas School Board on Feb. 26.

During the budget preparation process, staff said there have been "misunderstandings and inaccuracies" in the community, especially regarding potential cuts in Manassas schools personnel.

Magouyrk said she is concerned about a rumor in Manassas that school officials  are now discussing eliminating some 111 teaching and instructional assistant jobs.

Contrary to how the numbers look, the superintendent has said she is not making a recommendation of cuts at this point, but is examining these positions in an attempt to be fiscally responsible.  

“I’m very concerned about the misinformation in the community about the school’s budgeting process,” Magouyrk said.

Manassas is a small city and the misinformation appears to have taken on a life of its own, she said.

after the departure of former superintendent Gail Pope, said she was asked by the school board, residents and the Manassas City Council to find out why Manassas was spending more money per student than the neighboring jurisdictions of Manassas Park and Prince William County.

Data shows Manassas spends about $1,000 more per child than the county or the city of Manassas Park, adding up to about $7 million more in expenditures for the division.

The superintendent worked with school principals and recommended a review of their staffing allotments and a zero-based budget process to determine how to best utilize their resources to achieve the division’s mission and goals for next year, said Almeta Radford, spokeswoman for Manassas City Public Schools.

School principals helped to identify 111 positions that were above what the state was funding and began the process of linking the positions to specific instructional needs, Radford said. 

The school board will convene on Tuesday for a work session in the school board offices on Tudor Lane. Click here to view the agenda for Tuesday's meeting.

Once the superintendent's proposed budget is presented in late February, the school board will spend a month reviewing the budget. After the review, that body will decide to approve the budget.

That approved budget, in turn, will go before Manassas City Council for its approval later in the spring.

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