Springfield Public Schools is gathering input on how to tackle its multi-million-dollar budget deficit for the coming school year.
The district has already imposed a hiring freeze and reallocated some capital dollars, which helped to lower its projected deficit from $10.4 million to $7.9 million, according to Brett Yancey, chief operations officer for SPS.
Overall, the deficit is spurred by declining enrollment and increasing costs. SPS’s enrollment has decreased by more than 2,000 students from its peak of 11,072 students in the 2016-17 school year. Enrollment is expected to continue decreasing. This year, the district is also expecting to spend down approximately $6.7 million of its reserves, going from $20.9 million to $14.2 million…