PRESS RELEASE
District of Columbia Board of Education
825 North Capitol Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002
(202) 442- 4289 Office (202) 442-5198 Fax
For Immediate Release
June 26, 2002 |
Contact: Elena Temple
(202) 442-5190 |
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BOARD OF EDUCATION VOTES TO ENSURE
BALANCED BUDGET
"Plan utilizes saved funds to close gap"
Washington, D.C. -- The District of Columbia Board of
Education (Board) today voted unanimously to authorize the District
of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) Administration to use $11 million in
spending freeze proceeds to cover all remaining spending pressures to
assure that DCPS ends Fiscal Year 2002 with a balanced budget. The Board
also required that all requisitions and purchase orders be reviewed by
both the Superintendent and the Board to determine their educational or
operational necessity prior to approval.
"The Board of Education imposed a spending freeze
this March to assure savings to cover anticipated spending
pressures," said Superintendent Paul L. Vance. "Today we were
granted authority to use what we saved to cover the extra costs of
operating the District’s public schools this year."
"We will deliver on our commitment to balance the
budget," said DCPS Chief Financial Officer Robert Morales.
"The spending freeze and other cost control
measures we implemented reduced the projected spending pressures from $23
million in February 2002 to $9 million today," said Board
Vice-President Mr. William Lockridge. "We are requiring an additional
$2 million be set aside and are closely examining remaining expenditures
to ensure that there is no deficit at the end of the fiscal year. "
"We have always said that if we had timely
financial reports, we could govern responsibly," said Board President
Peggy Cooper Cafritz. "Our actions today further confirm this. I am
confident that the Administration is working closely with the Board’s
Finance Committee to balance our books before any crises arise." |