Markay Winston’s focus since becoming superintendent of Monroe County schools last July has been on the corporation’s fiscal health.
She presented MCCSC’s two-year phased strategy to achieve financial balance at the school board’s monthly meeting Tuesday night.
The strategy addresses declining student enrollment, higher payroll expenses and a loss of state funding.
“Our decreasing revenue and increasing costs will require long-term, structural changes to achieve fiscal health. I am fully confident that we can address these challenges in a phased and thoughtful way over the next two years,” Winston said in a press release.
MCCSC’s enrollment has declined 7.6 percent over the past three years, resulting in a loss of more than $17 million in revenue from the state. The county is projected to lose an additional 400 students over the next decade.
During the same time period, payroll expenses increased by almost 32 percent to $28.6 million.
In 2023, the state enacted tax caps on referendum funds. That means the $17.3 million approved by Monroe County voters in 2022 for staff wages was reduced by $1.3 million this year.
“The strategy that will be prioritized is one of natural attrition,” said Winston. “Every year, approximately 80-100 teachers and 250- 300 support staff are hired in response to retirements or resignations. As employees leave, we will carefully assess the viability of reassigning existing staff into vacated positions.”
Winston began Phase One of the plan when she was named interim superintendent last July. That was a comprehensive fiscal review and cost analysis, which she presented at the meeting. She said MCCSC will begin Phase Two this spring by implementing some measured cost containment.
The final three phases “will establish a revised financial management plan, implement strategies to achieve financial sustainability, and continuously evaluate,” according to an MCCSC press release.
“Our commitment to our community is that we will continue meeting the needs of our children, and we will make decisions with students at the center,” Winston said. “We value the principles of transparency, honesty, respect, and integrity. We believe transparency is the route to accountability. To that end, I commit to providing quarterly updates at our board meetings so that the public knows exactly what we are doing and how we are progressing toward our goals.”
Winston will present her State of the Schools address at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Tri-North Middle School.
