Granite School District plans to cut $17 million from budget without laying off teachers

SALT LAKE CITY — Granite School District is forecasting no teacher layoffs as the school board plans to vote on the district's 2010-2011 school year budget recommendations Tuesday night.

Board president Sarah Meier said, "We've done all that we can do to not harm the classroom. I'm pretty sure, at this point, we are not going to raise class sizes."

The board meeting, set for 7 p.m. at the district office, 2500 S. State, Salt Lake City, is open to the public.

The district is aiming to cut $17 million from its budget. The largest district in the state, Granite touts approximately 68,000 students.

A public hearing regarding the budget is scheduled for June 15. The board must finalize and adopt the budget by June 30.

The district does plan to cut 30.5 full-time, non-teaching positions, such as custodians, security officers and information systems employees. Programs are being scrutinized, including plans to ax the energy conservation program.

Other cuts are small — but everything adds up. The district hopes to save $60,000 alone by simply eliminating paper paychecks and requiring its employees to use direct deposit.

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