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Jun 10, 2008 2:38 pm US/Eastern

Dade School Board Invites Public On Cutting Budget

A Crucial Budget Deadline Comes July 1st

MIAMI (CBS4) ― The Miami-Dade School Board generated ideas on Monday from the public during a workshop on how to cut the district's $3-billion operating budget. The school system is currently facing a quarter-billion-dollar budget deficit.

School official Marta Pérez oversaw about one hundred school employees and community members who participated in the meeting.

Superintendent Rudy Crew was absent, though, it's believed his staff will go over some of the initiatives and possibly some of the cost-cutting suggestions.

One after another, parents, teachers and even some students stood in line to explain how they would cut costs to save the budget.

One student suggested schools go green "as they are across the nation, saving millions in energy costs".

From installing solar panels to simply turning off the lights in classrooms and shutting off computers, the ideas kept coming.

Teacher Ron Beasley suggested cutting back on technology, and how replacement computers need not be exchanged so readily. He said, "I don't think last year's laptops are outdated or should be treated as trash."

Teacher Thomas James said he was concerned that there were hundreds of administrators making over a hundred thousand dollars a year in salaries.

But a school district spokesman acknowledged that the cuts that are being made are done - in part - by what principals and district budget specialists come up with as they evaluate their schools' staffing needs and budgets.