McIntyre's Austerity Plan for Cutting $7M Ignores $27M in the Bank

Last Fall Eli Broad's Tennessee transplant, Supt. James McIntyre, laid out his wish list for slashing teachers and privatizing services in Knoxville, Tennessee Schools, all based on a purported shortfall of $7 million from a $384+ million dollar budget:

Facing a looming budget deficit of at least $7 million, Knox County Schools' Superintendent Dr. Jim McIntyre is outlining a number of drastic cuts.

In a memo to the Board of Education, McIntyre said outsourcing custodial services, closing small schools, and adjusting school start times are areas in which significant savings could be realized. He also said adjustments to high school staffing levels and re-evaluating the policies for community use of school facilities would help eliminate the deficit.

"None of the areas analyzed present options that are without significant impact on one or more segments of our population, and most of the options in each analysis would require changes not just in operations but to what may be seen as a philosophy of support or service," McIntyre wrote. . . .

Looming, I tell you!  Now with this find by Knoxville blogger, Mike Donila, one must ask if McIntryre was unaware of school assets or was he determined to create a false crisis in order to save his Club LeConte cronies a few tax dollars.

Below is page 202 of Knox County's last Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for 2011, which shows a $27,000,000 unassigned fund balance (click to enlarge):